We’ve made tremendous progress this year toward the key goals we set out for 2022.  However, due to the current situation in Haiti, our 4th Quarter will not proceed as we had planned.  We remain hopeful that calmer days ahead will allow us to resume these plans.   We believe the need for COTP is as great now as ever for the region in which we serve.  Therefore, we’ve adapted our efforts to meet the current needs of those we serve.  COTP’s mission is and has always been to serve the most vulnerable children and families in Northern Haiti.  Now is the time to show up and be COTP in our community and in Haiti!

 

With so many needs in Haiti right now, what is COTP prioritizing in this season?

  • Health: supporting physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our staff, families we serve and our community
  • Economics: sustaining our payroll, supporting local economic activity, and supporting our families as they navigate these challenging times.
  • Education: encouraging and orienting ICEP students to their future when the present seems bleak, educating families and the community for the challenges for the current crisis
  • Representing Christ: taking every opportunity to imitate Christ as we love and serve

 

What will this look like on the ground in Haiti?

  • Sustain base payroll for all of our national staff through the 4th quarter, regardless of if they are able to get to work or not due to the insecurity.  COTP currently employs over 100 Haitian Nationals.  Our monthly Haiti payroll is over $40,000, which is roughly 45% of our overall budget. These people ARE the front lines of COTP and their pay supports close to 100 households in our region!
  • Ensure security and basic resources are sustained toward the safety of all living on our campus. This means regular communication and updating our security protocols. It also means working with a variety of options to acquire the needed resources. Purchasing in the country is always our first choice. COTP purchases nearly all of our supplies locally and utilizes local services, contributing another $15,000-20,000 each month to the local economy.  As goods become scarce in Haiti, we also utilize Agape Flights, which regularly flies in goods for missions organizations in the Caribbean.  Finally, we are organizing a shipping container from Minnesota in the next month, in order to inject resources that are difficult to find in Haiti.
  • Sustain quality, trauma competent care to the children on campus who are entrusted in our care for this season. In spite of the situation, we continue to strive to find healthy, permanent family placements for each child. COTP typically has 60-70 individuals staying on our campus on any given day, including children in our care, House Parents and nannies, as well as key National Leaders and their families.  When instability is high, additional staff stay on campus to ensure they are safe and able to continue their work at COTP.
  • Sustain connection with all Family Strengthening Programs participants, providing mental health and educational support as well as extra nutritional assistance as we are able. Typically, these families visit our campus weekly. When this is not possible, our staff keep in touch with each family in order to support and encourage them. Our staff are currently putting together immediate response kits with basic resources for each family, which include food and basic care/medical supplies.
  • Engage all ICEP students. Most schools in Haiti have yet to begin. Our school year kicked off earlier this month, with teachers engaging 300 ICEP students in distance learning. Our goal has been to remind students that they still have the power to impact their future through education and can continue toward their future goals despite the difficult circumstances.  A small number of the highest need students have been meeting on our campus a few days a week as well.  Soon, we plan to offer weekly nutritional support to students as well!
  • Engage our staff, the families we serve, and our community in Cholera education, prevention, and response initiatives in order to meet this threat head on. Cholera is becoming a major issue in Haiti. COTP’s ministry currently reaches 500-600 families through our programs, education, and employment. We also have the ability to reach several villages in our surrounding area. Our medical staff have already begun educating these groups on Cholera prevention and treatment. We are working to provide clean drinking water to as many of these families as possible, through our own system and by acquiring additional water purification measures.
  • We pray and we point to Christ. We take the time to voice what we are grateful for and give thanks to God. We share about our struggles, and about our Faith. As we do so, we reflect Jesus and we encounter Him!

 

For those who are not in Haiti, how can we help?

Pray

Sometimes this just seems like standard language to include before we get to the real needs.  Prayer is the real need right now.  There are so many things we cannot control in this world and in Haiti, but God can. We need to continually ask Him to do a work in Haiti and at COTP.

Give Financially

As previously reported, inflation and other financial hurdles have already created financial hardships for COTP.  At the start of the 4th quarter, we projected our year end financial need to be $529,000. In order to sustain our work and take the above response, we need to raise a good deal of money. This big number is the sum of a lot of smaller needs.  See the list below for some of the specific ways this money is being used.

Praise report:  less than 3 weeks into the quarter, we’ve already seen close to $100,000 donated, cutting our total need by 1/5th!  This was a huge boost!  We ask that you continue to give in order to sustain our work in Haiti!

Specific Financial Needs

We all want to know where our money is going and how it is being used. We want to maximize our resources. This is incredibly important to COTP as well!  Here are a few of the specific financial needs facing COTP.  These specific needs are a part of our total financial need laid out above.  

Immediate Relief Supply Kits

$5,000 COTP Staff Kits

$5,000 Program Family Kits

$3,000 Community Kits

Cholera Relief Supplies

$1,500 Aquatabs, home water filters, cholera test kits

Shipping Container Fees

$10,000 Shipping and customs fees

Weekly Grocery Needs

$1,200 (per month) Daily staff meals

 $3,000 (per month) ICEP Student meals

 

 

Connect

We want to connect with each of you.

  • Want to hear more about what is going on?  Contact one of the emails below and we’d love to set up a time to chat with one of our staff in MN or in Haiti.
  • Want to have an update in your church?  Let us know and we’d love to coordinate with you.
  • Have a connection who you think may be able to help COTP with relief supplies or ministry insights?  We want to hear about it!
  • Please reach out to any of the following people:

 

 

There are so many different examples of ways the COTP community has stepped up to help support Children of the Promise during this difficult season. We are incredibly thankful for the generosity many have shown. Thank you for continuing to show up!