Haiti, located in the Caribbean, shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is on the eastern 2/3 of the island, and Haiti makes up the rest of the island. In the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was a French colony, Haiti became one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean. However, this wealth was gained through the African slave trade and the destruction of environmental resources. In the late 18th century, Haiti’s slaves rebelled, and Haiti gained its independence from France in 1804. Since then, Haiti has experienced periods of political violence, and it is now one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 2010, the country was hit with a devastating earthquake that heightened the problems of poverty the people were already experiencing.

The Children of Promise program in Haiti began in 2004. The program ministers to children in the community of Calebasse. Woody Bellhomme, a former Children of Promise sponsored child, directs the program in the community. Sponsored children receive food, education, and health care. Because there is no Church of God in Calebasse, the sponsored children are a part of the Christian ministries at the House of Blessings orphanage in Calebasse. Tania Desir, who grew up at the House of Blessings, directs the orphanage, which is home to 30 children from infants to high school graduates. Children sponsored through Children of Promise go to the orphanage to be discipled and to experience the love of Jesus in a Christian community.

Your sponsorship helps bring nutrition, education, health care, discipleship, and wholeness to a child in Haiti.