Latrines are what collaboration looks like in Non Mongot, on La Gonave island in Haiti!

Yes, you read that right. In large part due to the vision and love of Met Yves Joseph from Non Mongot, latrines are paving the way to spiritual transformation.

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Using CHE (Community Health Evangelism) strategies, Pastor Yves, Joseph has helped facilitate initiating CHE committees in over 45 villages beginning in the upper mountainous regions of La Gonave. As a result nearly 7,000 decisions have been made for Christ over the last few years since 2010.

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They began in one village, teaching lessons on how latrines can help stop the spread of disease. If the residents dug the latrine hole, they would receive two bags of cement to create the above-ground platform. The cement was donated in collaboration efforts with outside NGO’s (non-government organizations).

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The CHE Committees followed those efforts with lessons on washing hands after using the latrine. Now with 100% compliance in many villages, Medical teams with DecAid Project are finding less and less of the diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and the likes in these villages. In fact after the last hurricane in 2016 these villages had almost none of those outbreaks while the rest of Haiti suffered tremendously.

 

That storm killed at least 580 people and more than 35,000 were left homeless. Remembering that a few months after the devastating earthquake in 2010, a cholera epidemic hit outside of Port-au-Prince, killing at least 3,597 and sickening over 340,000. That was after the earthquake itself killed between 46,000 and 316,000 people (Wikipedia). It was impossible to know exact numbers due to factors such as tin housing, density of populations in poor areas and unknown numbers in rural areas.

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While these latrines may not look like your dream bathroom retreat; it is what collaboration looks like in La Gonave, Haiti; and it is saving lives from disease and for all eternity! Collaboration in unity works every time it is done for the glory of God the Father.

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Due to the politics and natural disasters that have impacted Haiti, there is still a mind-set of “What can you do for me?” towards foreigners.  At the end of our training this past December 2017 in Haiti, one of the community women leaders said this: “I learned that it is better when I do things for myself rather than expect others to do things for me.”  CHE is a biblical based, wholistic model of development and transformation as a result of people finding purpose and significance as sons and daughters made in the image of God.   That woman was seeing her potential as a child of God.

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This little country of Haiti has had its share of natural disasters, political and spiritual abuse, internal strife and poverty; but God is moving in a mighty way. Rebecca Walker with The Hospitality Table is helping to build collaboration and provide leadership training to help the Christ-Followers in Haiti to bring about spiritual transformation and physical development to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

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Does the Western Church have the same faith and clarity of purpose to see these kinds of transformation results from collaboration in our communities?  Hospitality Table is committed to building disciple-makers both in our U.S. churches and in communities around the world.

 

Join us in prayer and financial support  by purchasing coffee for your ministry and home from our Singing Rooster Partner as we help empower discipleship in Haiti.