A letter from Sharyn and Rodney Babe in Haiti
July 2009
Greetings from Haiti!
Since I last wrote, a lot has been happening to keep us busy.
Officially, I (Sharyn) am the missionary in the family now — teaching at the Episcopal University (UNEPH) in downtown Port-au-Prince. UNEPH continues to face giant challenges as it struggles to survive. This past session had a delayed start due to student protests in two of its departments. The session should be finishing up now for the summer break but instead we are just half way through. The last couple of weeks have seen classes cancelled due to students from neighboring universities protesting. Unlike students at UNEPH, these students at government universities, who had earlier remained quietly inside their own campus, have caused major rioting, rock throwing and burning vehicles, which has effectively closed down the entire downtown area. On several days police resorted to tear gassing crowds. My computer course regularly has to be cancelled as well because Internet connection is so poor and sporadic that we were unable to function in the computer lab. The other classes are going strong, however, and the students remain eager to learn and appreciate the opportunity they have at UNEPH. Please pray for these young adults as they continue to work toward a better society against sometimes overwhelming odds, setbacks and obstacles.
One of Rodney’s training sessions held in a school whose roof was destroyed in the last hurricane season.
Rodney continues his work with IOM and although his office is in Port-au-Prince, he travels throughout the country almost every week. IOM’s PREPEP, which Rodney oversees, is stabilizing communities and doing fantastic capacity building in many difficult areas of Haiti. It’s amazing to see the Lord’s hand at work in so many ways, in so many of IOM’s projects. Lately, PREPEP has added to its original focus (community stabilization and infrastructure development) issues affecting food security and flood prevention. That includes canals, irrigation, water storage and distribution as well as soil conservation and reforestation efforts. The results are amazing and accomplishments mind-boggling. He smiles as he says, “It’s good to see U.S. tax dollars doing God’s work.”
A nursery where more trees are growing. When they’re established using contour planting techniques, they will prevent soil erosion, one of Haiti’s most difficult problems.
And then there is the voluntary outreach. The two of us are involved with a very exciting agricultural-based development outreach. We’ve been fortunate to have some energetic young men who have managed to ignite several communities with a desire to restore their environment. Home nurseries have sprung up in seven areas. The work accomplished includes conservation efforts using rain catchment canals, training on contour planting techniques, planting erosion-preventing grasses and planting about 200,000 trees this season.
During Easter school break, two university-trained animators also volunteered in a remote community to do a teacher training program. This particular community has a dream — to see their area again become a center for coffee production.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support of our efforts here in Haiti! And may God richly bless you!
Sharyn and Rodney
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 286
