Volunteer

WHY YOU SHOULD/SHOULD NOT COME:

Life is not easy in a place like Haiti. Situations can seem like they are beyond hope at times. So why come at all?

In fact, why are WE here? The answer is simple: Christ commissioned all of us: (James 1:27...). Maybe not every one can minister in this capacity full time, but that doesn't relieve you of the command that God has given you for the care of the widow and fatherless. More specifically, Haiti is where God has led us to carry out this commission. Similarly, this needs to be your reason for serving. Your motivation should not be just some humanity effort. If this is the case, your do-gooding may end abruptly in face of insurmountable odds. But with God's strength and the knowledge that this is His will, you can carry on. When you do this, then God can move. Sometimes you see it only in the smile of a beautiful Haitian child, but know that it is there. Do this to honor God even though the people you are helping may never be able to say thank you.

Pray about coming. This cannot be emphasized enough. Find out if this is God's commission for you, then place your motivation in check. Know that you come in obedience to serve and not be served.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

There are several areas of work that volunteers can participate in. One is in the maintenance and repairs to our buildings, plus occasional construction projects. These are more physically strenuous, but necessary work. We don't expect people to work beyond their physical limitations or abilities.

And of course, there are the babies. During the day, changing, feeding, bathing and playing are regular occurrences. At night most of the babies are cared for by nannies. The care of new or sick babies may be assigned to volunteers giving our full time volunteer staff a much needed rest. Caring for the babies is the most vital part of the ministry here.

Again, serving here may not be easy, but your efforts will be appreciated by our staff and (more importantly) by the One who sent you. Haiti is an unforgiving place; poverty, death, and disease saturate this island. Facing these realities will be life changing and rewarding.

VOLUNTEER INFORMATION:

We enjoy having volunteers help us in our work here, whether it's
construction and fixing things or extra caregivers for the babies.
Because of the uniqueness of our facility, in that most of our children are under 2 years old, we do have some guidelines we would like you to follow.

All of our babies come to us in desperate need. As they become healthy, their biological family will often take them back to their homes. Sometimes, due to a variety of circumstances, the biological family cannot care for this baby. Then we place the child in an adoptive home in the U.S., Canada, or Europe. To protect the privacy of the children and their biological and/or adoptive families, we ask that you ask permission before taking any photos or video. We suggest you NOT take photos for the first 2 days until you've gotten to know the babies.

All volunteers who stay at our site are required to fill out an application form with references and send to our volunteer coordinators. We ask that volunteers be 20 years of age or older. Our fees for staying at Children of the Promise facility is $15.00 U.S./day or $100.00 U.S./week. This includes 2 meals a day.

If you are staying at another facility, we would like you to check our web
site before coming. It has a needs list as well as a page of Frequently
Asked Questions. These answers could perhaps answer some of your questions
before you arrive. To find this information go to our FAQ page.

How you will be able to help depends a great deal on your skills and talents.
There are a variety of projects requiring different types of skills. And there
will always be needs for fixing and construction. As far as taking care of the
babies; those who wish to help with that need to understand that we have full
time Haitian nannies who give consistent, long term care to the babies. The help
you would give would be in addition to their care. You could be the extra hands
during meal times, or bedtime. You could do extra work in areas of developmental
needs to little ones who are lagging behind. Possibly your gift is preschool-type
teaching to 2 year olds or helping with the medical needs of so many babies.

These babies and toddlers are very special to us. We know their birthdays, their
likes and dislikes, their physical conditions, and the sound of their particular cry.
We have adopted them as our own during their stay with us. Everything we do is for
them; to make them feel loved, secure and protected. Thank you for your understanding
and interest in these children. For more questions or concerns please email us.

Click here to download our volunteer application. You can either email or mail it to us at: Children of the Promise 7066 Lavender Court, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46237.