It's a wonderful life?

Brandy and I are blessed to have wonderful friends. As I write, we are at our friends’ cabin in Northern Minnesota soaking up the morning sun, listening to the loons on the lake, getting glimpses of hummingbirds on the feeders, and of course, drinking delicious Java Relief coffee!  We are enjoying a short getaway from the craziness of 2020!

As Americans, this year has brought us things we never imagined. The rioting in Minneapolis was a reminder for us of the life Haitians’ experience on a weekly basis. We have witnessed these riots first-hand numerous times in Haiti, but we've never seen them in our back yard.  We now know how it feels to be in lockdown and have curfews, but we still have a wonderful life when compared to the trials our dear Haitian friends experience day after day.

I asked Luken Erm*, the young man we've partnered with in Haiti, to explain the situation he and the children we support in Cite Soliel are currently experiencing.  Here are his words with some editing:

The children of Cite Soliel

Cite Soleil is the most populated, dangerous, and poorest of all the slums in Haiti with nearly 300,000 people. The inhabitants have no drinking water or electricity; 99% of the inhabitants are unemployed, and may not even have one meal a day. 

Fortunately, the Luken Foundation has brought a positive change among the people on a spiritual, financial, economic, and social level. For several years we have educated 76 children, and have hired tutors to help them with homework. The children are very intelligent, respectful, lovable, innocent, and peaceful. Many of these children are raised by their mother who cannot afford to give them something to eat regularly. Most of these children were abandoned by their father, who likely ended up in an armed gang. Many of which have been killed with clashes between gang rivalries or the police. 

We also feed more than 150 children per day in the large facility we rent. On Sundays, we use the facility for church services. We invite the community in for worship and teaching, and provide a meal for them when we can afford to.

Every summer we organize a two-month camp for more than 300 children! They learn bible lessons, how to sing and dance, how to speak in public, how to love their neighbors, how to play football, basketball, and much more. It is the highlight of their year!

War breaks out

For several years there was more peace in Cite Soleil and there was a sense of hope for the inhabitants of this slum. We started to believe things were changing here but we were wrong because another war broke out between armed gangs in January.

Sadly, for the last 8 months, we cannot reunite and help the children during this war – it is just too dangerous. Many of the people of Cite Soleil have fled to seek refuge with a friend or relative. Every day I receive sad news. Last week a 9-month pregnant lady was killed by a bullet to the head by armed bandits. Also, an 8-month-old child was killed by bandits according to Chenet, a member of my team who lives in the area.

If it was just COVID19 we could bring them together and help them while respecting the principles and the rules of hygiene. But because of this war, all of our activities are paralyzed, and the children are scattered to other parts of Port-au-Prince. What is even worse is that most are not treated well by their relatives. They are abused, raped, mistreated. The children are suffering and we must act. 

A refuge to keep the children safe

Many months ago, God put a picture in my mind of a new place of refuge for the children. In my heart, I knew it was for whenever there is a problem in Cite Soleil and the children cannot be together, but I did not understand the vision at that time. The Bible says in Job 33:1 that God speaks sometimes in one way, sometimes in another, and we do not notice. This is what happened to me. In March 2020, I got the same picture in my mind, so I acted by my own means and strength to try to do what I thought God wanted. I went to the bank to borrow money to pay for this refuge center to keep the children safe, but the bank told me that they do not lend money for this kind of activity.

I felt that I failed — I said, “God I have no money, I give up”. That's when I heard in my heart, “Luken, I know you have nothing and I'm all in for you. Tell Ricky**, Steve and Brandy about the place of refuge.” I was scared to ask because I know Ricky, Steve and Brandy are not rich people and they have helped us a lot - they cannot carry all of our burdens. But as God recommended to me, I did what he said. Ricky, Steve and Brandy received the news with warm hearts! 

The space we found will not be an orphanage but a house of refuge for children when there is a problem in Cite Soleil. It will also be a shelter for older children who go to school outside Cite Soleil, they will stay in this new space during the week and on weekends they will return home to Cite Soleil if there is no war there. I give glory to God because the government has allowed us to do this for the children. 

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help us. I love you all,
Luken Erm 
 

*To know more about Luken, go to JavaRelief.com and look under “Meet The Team”

**Ricky Burge is a dear friend from Texas who has dedicated his life to helping Luken and the children of Cite Soliel. He formed the Luken Foundation and travels with us to Haiti frequently. He has a heart the size of Texas!