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Building Homes in Haiti

Written by Danielle Kinvig

October 24, 2012

When someone says they’re going to build homes in Haiti, most conjure up an image of construction. But, when Mike and Karen Woodard of FamilyLife went to build homes in Port-au-Prince in September 2012, they weren’t there to hammer nails or paint walls.

They were there to build homes by building families.

Rampant poverty, unemployment and political corruption – not to mention 2010’s devastating earthquake – have ravaged the island nation and weakened its very foundation: the family. Haiti has the highest percentage of orphans of any country in the Western Hemisphere, due in part to violence and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.[1] Over 80% of unions in Haiti are common-law and having several simultaneous relationships is not uncommon.[2]

FamilyLife Canada is working to impact change in the home by equipping local leaders with resources and encouragement to minister to families in Haiti. Mike and Karen, along with Phil and Lorraine Taylor – also of FamilyLife – spent one week training Haitian leadership couples to provide support to families. Each couple committed to presenting what they learned to others to begin a movement to build better marriages and families throughout the country.

“We were determined to go to train couples and inspire multiplication,” says Mike. “One of our donors actually said, ‘Ok, you’re going to Haiti to train people about marriage, shouldn’t you be doing humanitarian stuff? Shouldn’t you be taking food and clothes and things like that?’ I pondered that and my conclusion was, you know, if we don’t deal with the family issues, all the clothes and housing aren’t going to really provide a sustainable future for Haiti.”

When the Woodards and Taylors met with the 11 Haitian leadership couples, they echoed his sentiment. “We are getting lots of help – and praise God for that – but the family, the home, needs to be built,” they shared.

The Woodards and Taylors leading A Day Together seminar in Haiti

The group, made up of pastors, denominational and church leaders, relief workers and radio show hosts went through FamilyLife’s A Day Together materials and training. The seminar leads couples through a series on communication, commitment, closeness, companionship and change (the difference God can make in a marriage) and time for practical application.

“They said to us, ‘we minister to a lot of people, and this ministered to us.’ They appreciated the transparency in our sharing,” adds Mike.

Each couple also received digital seminar materials in French and English and FamilyLife’s HomeBuilder small group studies translated into French.

“The thrilling thing was that these leaders have set a date to meet again and they’re wanting to pull together an association for the family in Haiti. It’s just exciting to be a part of that,” says Mike.

The Taylors also travelled to the Carrefour area, bordering Port-au-Prince, where Global Aid Network (GAiN) is working among a local partner to provide medical clinics as well as community health training sessions, covering topics such as hygiene and sanitation training. GAiN, the humanitarian division of Power to Change, has been working in Haiti providing disaster relief since 2004. Among the congestion and tent cities in Carrefour, the Taylors led A Day Together seminar for 40 couples, a session for 100 young unmarried adults, and preached to a congregation of 1,500 people on Sunday morning.

“We want to rebuild the structure of homes in Haiti,” concludes Mike. “Please pray that God would permeate the Haitian culture with a new perspective for the family. Pray for these couples who are really leading the charge in this area and for wisdom in how we at FamilyLife can continue to encourage and help them.”

[1] Goldstein, Margaret J. 2006. Haiti in Pictures. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications.

[2] Cosgray, R. E. (1999). Haitian Americans. In J. N. Giger & R. E. Davidhizar (Eds.)