Haiti. For many, just hearing the name of this island, located in the middle of the Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans, brings to mind visions of poverty, corruption & destruction. However, if you allow your heart to open and swim past images you’ve been barraged with, I promise you this: your eyes will be opened to the beauty, love and hope the people of this island encompass. If you do begin to wade just that much deeper, than those first predisposed notions, I promise: you WILL begin to understand the suffering & pain of the men, women & children, woven into that very same beauty. I promise: it WILL stir up an urgency to do something to help these beautifully broken people.
Founded in 2008 by Yonel Ismael, a young Haitian man who was at one time an orphan himself, Gradec Orphanage is located in the heart of Port Au Prince, Haiti. Yonel has partnered with Pastor Wilson Lindor and his wife, Madam Claudette, who live at the orphanage and care for fifteen children. Currently, Gradec Orphanage attempts to survive without regular support from churches or organizations.
Yonel and Pastor Wilson work two jobs & donate their income back to the orphanage. Their combined income, along with donations to the orphanage that are few & far between, is barely enough to allow their doors open & the children off the street. At this point, you may be wondering, “
How can I help?” To be honest, your thoughts may be more along the lines of, “Why should I care?” You may be thinking, “There are enough problems in my own family, in my own church, in my own community. Why should I be willing to care about this orphanage so far from home?” Well, to be honest, your belief in Christ is why. If you believe in Christ, & take his words to heart, you will begin to discover there is room for your heart to begin to open to the needs of the children of Gradec Orphanage.
As a matter of fact, throughout the Old & New Testaments, the God of the Bible commands us to take care of widows and orphans. Proverbs 21:13 says, “If a man shuts his ear to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” James 1:7 states that, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” The children of Gradec Orphanage need our help. God placed a big vision on the hearts of the founders of this little orphanage. In order to keep this dream a reality, Yonel, Pastor Lindor & Madam Claudette need our help to pull them from the water and keep them from drowning. I am writing to request your assistance in raising $3,000 US dollars for an entire year’s worth of rent. We need your help to raise these funds by September 29th, or the doors of Gradec Orphanage will be closed and the fifteen children currently residing there will be homeless.
We can’t do this alone. I am writing to request that you prayerfully consider opening your heart and donate. I promise you that 100% of your donations will be going directly to sustain the orphanage. I promise, you will not regret doing so.
