Every day, my heart turns to Haiti. Every. Single, Day.
And every online meeting we have together with our Haiti partners, is inspirational!
And heartbreaking.
But there's incredible opportunity within the hardships!
Let me explain.

Every week we listen with open hearts as Reggie or Johanne, Merline or Yndjy share with us the immense difficulties that they and most Haitians face, on a daily basis! These incredible leaders from our partner NGO (Light for Living International Ministries), are visionary! We meet often to discuss all our partnership Programs together... Programs that are able to continue strongly through your giving and care and generosity.  So a warm thank you to YOU - our giving community in Australia!

Most of you may be aware of the serious implications of Haiti’s ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis for all our children and families in Haiti. With daily protests and civil unrest against the government of Haiti, armed gang violence, and now an outbreak of cholera amidst the continuing covid pandemic; with shortages of fuel and clean drinking water, and widespread acute hunger, our families are truly struggling. However, our essential Frontier Projects / LIFLIM Programs: our Food Security Programs and Educational and Training Programs - enable our leaders to continue to provide for our families and children - food, education and critical support! This all happens because of you all - your giving means so much!

This year, more than ever before, as I've tried to grapple with the serious implications of our partnerships 'moving ahead' amidst the incredibly tough reality of life in Haiti , I have realised that we are faced with an unprecedented opportunity! Amidst this crisis, there’s an invitation to change, to re-imagine and to reinvent ourselves. Although it’s tempting to return back to 'the way we've done things in the past' - the old normal - when we are able to again return to Haiti in 2023, we shouldn’t. The 'old normal' was the problem.
We need a 'new normal'.
Let me explain.

When the borders of Haiti (and across the world) slammed shut in March 2020; Haitians remained in Haiti. Rightfully, Haitian nationals were tasked with taking charge and leading their people through these challenging times. Lives are dependent on their leadership. And we have some of the most incredible leaders that we know and love and work with!

Here is the problem: Historically, charity to Haiti has come in the form of handouts - mainly food, clothes, buildings and money. In an ongoing time of crisis like this, we have keep asking ourselves:

• “How can we strategically invest in the capacity of our Haitian leaders, so that they can operate and succeed without us?”
• “If we can’t return for extended periods of time, how can we support our Haitian leaders to carry out all the work we have partnered with them to undertake?

A healthy nonprofit is one who’s program goals and activities directly connect to the independence and capacity-building of vulnerable communities. In other words, a healthy nonprofit is actively working themselves out of a job! Sounds counter-intuitive, I know.

This 'healthy' approach hasn’t been the case with most nonprofits and missions groups in Haiti and around the globe. Giving with the 'best intentions' across the globe is often characterised by deep cycles of aid that cause an unhealthy dependence on the giver while stripping the receiver of dignity. I've spent much time over the last 2 years reading books like When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert and Dambisa Moya's confronting book Dead Aid. All my research - including much online - is now informing our future Frontier Projects aid in Haiti!

So what are the best voices all saying?
Our past ‘normal’ in the nonprofit world hasn’t been working. 
I believe that NOW is our chance to dig deep and do better!

Nonprofits and missions groups work with vulnerable communities that desire real change, and we can be part of that change. What an incredible adventure! We have a divine opportunity to re-imagine WITH our partner communities, what they could look like years from now without our interventions. How can we ensure that we are on the right track? I believe in the following THREE STEPS - and this is how we are have been moving ahead - particularly this year more than ever before! We are creating a NEW NORMAL!

1.   We ask before we aid. I've always believed that our Haitian leaders have the answers within - they are the visionaries in their own communities - particularly for us in Haiti through the leadership of Reginald and Johanne Celestin - (LIFLIM). We always ASK what they wish to do in continuous relationship - and then partner with their vision and inspiration.

2.   We find the real heroes  in their own communities and invest in them. We have invested in new Haitian leaders since 2020 - and this year moreso! We employ Haitian trainers, teachers, leaders and our social worker!

3.   And we are committed to Evaluating our Impact together with our Haitian leaders. This can be hard to do when things are so tough - but we are committed! We will never just keep doing the same old same old! We have undertaken this through many Zoom meetings, in 2022!

As we head into 2023, I believe with all my heart, that now more than ever, we have the opportunity to change course and amplify our impact. My hope is that nonprofits around the world will lean into these challenging times and re-imagine how we can better achieve independence and capacity-building in vulnerable communities. These challenging times for us all  will forever reshape our world, and it’s our responsibility to ensure it’s for the better.

So, from us all at Frontier Projects Haiti and Light for Living International Ministries in Haiti , we bless you and your families and wish you a very special Christmas! See you in the New Year - which we believe for you as well - that it will be a year of incredible IMPACT - for your loved ones and for those you care for across this vast, beautiful planet that is our Global Community!

With Love, thoughtfulness and Gratitude,
Cheryl
Cheryl and John Ward
on behalf of our Frontier Projects Team

My heart is always filled with hope! Despite the reality that it has been a difficult time across the globe, with rising costs of living and difficulty accessing supplies, and as you would realise, Haiti still being no stranger to these difficulties. Every day in Haiti our leaders from our partner NGO - LIFLIM (Light for Living International Ministries) deal with ongoing fuel and food shortages, days without access to electricity, and then there's the constant political unrest and gang violence!
​
​However, now more than ever, we remain committed and hopeful, we stay positive and we continue to empower our leaders, families and children through educational and social programs designed by our inspirational Haitian leaders! 

Hatchlings Early Learning Group in Australia heard about the incredible Love Community story through our inspirational ambassador, Michael Crossland.
Rachel Langford and the whole team at Hatchlings - across their two campuses at Waterford and Rochedale in Old, Australia are now supporting the education of all our LCH children! They will also join with the children in Haiti to participate in ESL fun and learning via live video-link in 2022! Incredibly exciting!

We have been able to celebrate the birthdays of the children with a monthly gathering, and of course cake ! The celebrations honour each child during their birthday month. It is a lovely way to bring a smile to the faces of these precious children and young adults. ​

Frontier Projects partners with LIFLIM in Haiti to provide holistic support for parents in poverty by assisting in areas related to their children’s well-being. Through the incredible support of Michael Crossland, our champion, friend & ambassador, & YOU, our incredible sponsors, we have re-united over 30 of our Love Community children back into their own homes, through our Love Family Homes program.  Our 9 orphans in Love Community Home (LCH) are always lovingly cared for & attend school in a large family environment.

We continue to employ a Haitian Social Worker - Yndjy Belval to support each child through their school & home life and support their families with monthly food packs (from you, our sponsors), community support & life-skills. 

As part of our commitment to building community across the globe, we are offering our sponsor-families the opportunity to get to know your sponsor child better and to allow them to get to know you. We are inviting you to put together a short video or letter about yourself and family. We would like to share this so your sponsor child / children get to know you. This could be a start to forming a relationship with you. This is not meant to be professional or flashy, but simple and real. Please consider finalising a short video or letter as soon as possible, so we can prepare all the material together to present to the children. If you prefer a letter with a photo you can email this to us and we can translate to French for you.  You can find a blank template right here if you would like to use it!

As you know with EOFY fast approaching, you have an opportunity to reduce your taxable income through making a donations of any amount. You are invited to do this as a one off lump sum, or set up an ongoing donation or continuing your sponsorship!  Any support you are able to offer to the children of Haiti is appreciated, we know this is a challenging time and we appreciate you more than words can say!  www.frontierprojects.org/simplygive.html
  
Thank you for your incredible care and support! 
Blessings! ​

Merry Christmas wonderful friends and families! All the very best for a New Year filled with joy, peace and love throughout 2022!

At this time we always love to share our heartfelt gratitude for all of the ways you have blessed so many, through Frontier Projects Haiti.  
 
We simply couldn't do it without you, so THANK YOU! 
 
The gift of your partnership and support continues to enable Frontier Projects Haiti to radically change the lives of hundreds of sponsor students, children and their families. After the earthquake this year, so many of you gave again! We were blown away by your generosity and care. From the bottom of our grateful hearts we thank you.  
 
We would like to acknowledge and share with you efforts from the staff on the ground in Haiti - our partner NGO - Light For Living International Ministries (LIFLIM). The resilience and joy shown by our precious leaders in Haiti - often against seemingly insurmountable odds - is constantly inspirational! Intuitive wise decisions by our Haitian staff Reginald & Johanne Celestin (Directors) and Yndjy Belval (our Social Worker) allowed all our Programs to continue safely.  Regg, Johanne and Yndjy have shown resourcefulness and initiative to safely navigate the way through many challenges, including a natural disaster with the 7.2 magnitude earthquake near Les Cayes, political devastation and gross instability, and of course the Covid-19 pandemic. They have overcome lack of basic resources and acute food shortages, skyrocketing prices for goods and fuel, to continue to provide your food parcels, often personally delivered to the families, to ensure safety.  Incredible!

What's been happening in 2021… 
 
Bouvier Mountain School is continuing to flourish with 140 students and 8 full time teachers. Bouvier School welcomed three new dedicated teachers this year. Shelove Millien, Dieufort Volcy, and Smith Juste. To support the teachers, a Haitian School Supervisor and Trainer - Mr Germeil also joined the team!  He has been employed to tailor specialised teacher development training and provide professional supervision for the teachers.  
iNSPIRED EDUCATION - https://i-edu.com.au/kshare/ based in Queensland- through CEO Rashan Senanayake, has shared his passion for education by partnering with FPH to sponsor multiple children for their educational needs in Haiti. Thank you, Rashan! 28 students have so far been sponsored for the whole school year! Check out our partnership video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDdCXh5hid0 & read more at: https://www.frontierprojects.org/kshare.html 

We have developed a FPH calendar to sum up what we do and to bring you joy! 
Our incredible 2022 Calendars arrived on Christmas Eve!! Filled with smiles, love and photos from all our Haiti programs as well as inspirational quotes from our Ambassador Michael Crossland! Every calendar purchased brings hope and can feed a family for a week! With love from us all… They are only $20aud (plus postage if needed) and are available on our website HERE. https://www.frontierprojects.org/2022calendar.html

This is a way you can feel close and connected to FPH all year round!  
And EVERY CENT GETS SENT 
GET ONE HERE. https://www.frontierprojects.org/2022calendar.html
​Just some of the calendar pages are shown below...

Through building great relationships and partnerships we continue to be able to do what we do - despite not being able to take teams to Haiti in person - which breaks our hearts. Connection and relationship is something we believe is so vital.

We invite you to get to know your sponsor child and build a relationship. When you write, we translate your words to French and ensure they receive this. When they write back, they write in French and we translate to English.  Jump on email with your family get to know each other!  
 
Tips on communicating: keep it simple, share your true family blessings. Share a digital photo of yourself and your family if you like.
 
*Please understand this is a process and any reply won’t be a quick turn around.  
 
We are looking forward to another year of achieving great things with your incredible support.    
 
We wish you a beautiful Christmas and a happy and blessed New Year! And we wish you and your loved ones, a 2022 filled with joy and peace.  
 
Love Cheryl and John Ward and the entire FPH team xxx ​

In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined the same thing happening again. 

I went to Haiti for the first time, just after the 2010 earthquake when the earth shook and thousands and thousands of people died in 12 seconds. It was devastating to see the level of destruction that was still everywhere when I touched down in Haiti, December, 2010. Let alone what it must have been like to live through such death and trauma - as our leaders and all our families from LIFLIM (our local partner-NGO in Carrefour) did. To try to understand the meaning of tragedy like I had never witnessed, shook me to the core and bonded my heart to my Haitian brothers and sisters forever. 

Our precious friends on this small island in the Caribbean are once again going through the shock, horror, disbelief of another shaking and now the start of picking up the pieces (literally) and beginning again...together. But we are there from the start with them, this time! With our prayer, love, care and support, hope, faith and love abound! The medical, physical and emotional needs will take time to meet but we are there with them for the long-term!

We are so thankful that the greater Port Au Prince area was spared physical destruction (for the most part) as the lives lost surely would have rivaled the infamous earthquake of 2010, but it is important to note that all wounds are not just physical, and the people who survived the earthquake a decade ago are reeling all over again. 

One of the local men in the community of Cavaillion - directly near where our Frontier Projects farm is located, said to Pastor Reggie last Sunday: “Everything that we had was destroyed. My wife is 9 months pregnant and counting days until the baby arrives and she had just left the house when it happened and the house collapsed."

So many who lost family and friends a decade ago by being brutally crushed by rock and wood, are re-experiencing memories long buried. The emotional toll is huge. 

Pastor Reggie shared with us in his video straight after the quake, that when things like this happen, people came to him worrying that "they are not in the plan of God". Reggie loves on them and he his family and our teams comfort so many fearful people - reassuring them that they loved and seen, heard and precious beyond measure!

It would be hard for them not to feel fearful and it is our greatest desire - all of us at LIFLIM and Frontier Projects - to be supportive emotionally and spiritually as well as financially. Our giving generously in time, prayer and financially IS helping to restore HOPE, TRUST and indeed LIVES! 

So daily, we speak or write with our leaders - our brothers and sisters in Haiti -  and let them know that we believe as they believe - that God is weeping through their grief and trauma with them. He IS their strength and hope. He has nothing but Compassion and Love for his beautiful, beloved people. And we join with so many in Haiti who get to be His Hands and His Heart to all who need Him and each other -  so much ...

So is there Hope? Yes! And today her name is Kettelie. Read her story below.
​Love Chez. xx

Supporting our children not just to attend school, but to monitor their literacy skills, our social worker - Yndjy Belval & our Programs Administrator, Johanne Celestin, started meeting with the children for literacy checks on a monthly basis. The children are growing in confidence!
We also believe it's necessary to give the children other types of Fun Days as well, during such a serious time! We did this in 2020 -  creating life long memories!

 To say that this financial year has been a HUGE year, is of course, an understatement - for us all! But it's been AMAZING and we are filled with gratitude! We are grateful for you our sponsors and supporters, we are grateful for our small but awesome FP team and our wonderful ambassador, Michael Crossland - who shares our story across the world, we are grateful for our amazing leaders and teachers on the ground in Haiti, and of course we are so grateful for every child and family  that we are privileged to be able to help - seeing their lives be transformed through our sponsorship, education, training and our welfare programs.

Even in the face of the COVID19 pandemic and the fact that Haiti is still in the grip of this and further political and financial upheaval, Frontier Projects Haiti in partnership with Light for Living International Ministries (LIFLIM) grew and strengthened in all our Priority Areas:

1. LOVE COMMUNITY Child Sponsorship continued to grow steadily and we now sponsor over 40 children into their own homes!  We permanently employed our Haitian Social Worker (in training) YNDJY BELVAL to work directly with these families - visiting them at home and at school every month to oversee their wellbeing. Our 9 orphans / displaced children at LOVE COMMUNITY HOME have participated in specialist educational and recreational programs and psychologist sessions during the months when schools were closed by the government due to the COVID19 pandemic.  Our amazing ambassador, Michael Crossland continued to support Love Community in every way, sharing his story, their story... and raising vital funds! Thank you, Mike!!

2. BOUVIER SCHOOL grew in sponsorships, teachers and staff and programs this year! The Food and Wellbeing Program was initiated when 'Feed My Starving Children' Foundation ​generously gave hundreds of nutritious meals to our program through John sharing our story with them and applying successfully for their support! So grateful, as many children can often come to school hungry.  We employ two parents from the Bouvier Community to prepare the meals twice a week! Our eight amazing teachers continued their Staff Development Training - both online with Chez and John and with a Haitian education consultant! The Bouvier School Board was initiated and the school and teacher's apartment underwent some renovations.  

4. ALYSSA RENEE BARBER from the USA joins the Frontier Projects Haiti Core Team! Alyssa spends months in Haiti over the last two years for Frontier Projects, and her incredible work with our team leaders in Haiti as Co-facilitator of Programs has helped every program to grow and improve! We love this amazing, vibrant, caring and passionate friend  - and so do all the children, youth and leaders in Haiti that she so lovingly cares about! Welcome Alyssa!

5. JOURNEY of TRANSFORMATION 2019:  So many FIRSTS this year THANKS to our fantastic Aussy/USA/Haitian team: Ben Adams (Aus), Reginald Celestin (Haiti), Laurie Newland (Aus), Yndjy Belval (Haiti), Robin Brown (USA), Alyssa Barber (USA) & Chez & John Ward (Aus).
Click HERE to read all about it!

5. COVID19 PANDEMIC: KEEPING OUR CHILDREN and FAMILIES SAFE: (Click HERE to read more on our website about what is happening in Haiti) 
We continue to be committed to the following priorities and will continue to respond to the situation as it may change:
i) WE CLOSED BOUVIER SCHOOL in line with the Presidential order and INITIATED FURTHER TRAINING FOR OUR TEACHERS in the meantime:  Our staff used this time for FURTHER TRAINING... with safe-distancing practices-  as a group of 10. Bouvier School along with all other schools will reopen on August 10th, 2020.
ii) We TRAINED OUR LEADERS, CHILDREN and FAMILIES  in SANITATION PRACTICES.See photos below.
iii) We are PROVIDING VITAL MEDICAL, HEALTH and SANITATION SUPPLIES along with their usual sponsorship MONTHLY FOOD SUPPLIES. See photos below.
iv) We are CONTINUING our FROMZION- SPONSORED VOCATIONAL TRAINING COURSE for our Love Community mums.
v) WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS and SPONSORS to continue to provide HEALTH CHECKS and SANITATION & MEDICAL/VITAMIN packages for our families.
If you would like to join us with funding the cost of a Family Sanitation and Medical/Vitamin Pack, you can Simply Give HERE. ​

On Thursday, March 26, Haiti became one of the last Caribbean countries to report its first cases of COVID-19.  Covid-19 was officially detected in Haiti but the impact is only just beginning to be felt NOW.   

The President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, called for the immediate shut down of all schools, factories, airports and borders. A daily curfew was put in place for all Haitian residents. ​​As of the posting of this blog (5/5/20), the nation of 11 million has so far only tested less than a thousand people for the deadly coronavirus and has 865 confirmed positive cases and 26 deaths. But most Haitians can't afford testing- let alone medical treatment.
​
​While the economic implications are tough enough in Australia, the impact in Haiti for those already in such vulnerable situations can be devastating.The majority of Haitians do not have access to any preventative training or medical and health supplies needed to combat the disease if it grows rapidly.

We are also very aware that not being able to work in the future, may have disastrous implications for our Haitian families - and therefore - our sponsored children. 

As Directors of Frontier Projects Haiti, John and I went into immediate meetings with the CEO of our Partner-NGO in Haiti: Reginald Celestin, from Light for Living International Ministries. Pastor Reggie works with our teachers from Bouvier School, our Love Community Home Parents, our Love Family Homes parents, our trainers at Libellule Training Academy and our Haitian Social Worker. We also began meeting regularly online with Johanne Celestin - our Programs' Administrative and Finance Co-ordinator and also our Social Worker, Yndjy Belvel, who works directly with our Love Community children, orphans and families. 

Meet our three core Haitian leaders below, who are working tirelessly in Haiti to care for our families and children.

We are committing to the following priorities and will continue to respond to the situation as it may change:
1. CLOSING BOUVIER SCHOOL and TRAINING OUR TEACHERS
We have now closed Bouvier School in line with the Presidential order.  Our staff will use this time for meeting (with safe-distancing practices) for further training as groups of 10 or under are allowed in Haiti.
2. TRAINING OUR LEADERS, CHILDREN and FAMILIES  in SANITATION PRACTICES 
See photos HERE
3. PROVIDING VITAL MEDICAL, HEALTH and SANITATION SUPPLIES along with their usual MONTHLY FOOD SUPPLIES.
See photos HERE
4. CONTINUING our FROMZION- SPONSORED VOCATIONAL TRAINING COURSE for our Love Community mums, teaching them the trade of Pattern-making and Sewing! 
5. WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS and SPONSORS to continue to provide HEALTH CHECKS and SANITATION & MEDICAL/VITAMIN packages for our families.
If you would like to join us with funding the cost of a Family Sanitation and Medical/Vitamin Pack, you can Simply Give below: just click the DONATE button to give in a few simple steps.

Much love and thanks, Cheryl and John and all the children, families, orphans, students, teachers and leaders in Haiti. Blessings and stay safe. xxxx

We spent day doing early morning renovations and traveled back to the mission to have lunch and prepare for the monthly Love Family Homes meeting and food bucket distribution. At these monthly meetings, it is our goal for our families to come together into community to learn about different life skills and to find ways to support each other. It was a pleasure to be present this month to witness how Johanne and Yndjy put together each session and prepare every food bucket with their own team.  Alyssa, who is living in Haiti for the next few months, is also a big part of Love Family Homes programming, and with love and wisdom, she was not afraid to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's such a blessing to have a strong team!

The thing is, as a team, our hearts and minds are so focused on all that we are undertaking for the children and families -and amidst all the constant political unrest - that posting takes a back seat...(not to mention the sketchy wifi connectivity). But apologies and here I go catching up from Day 4: HUGE day as we helped Johanne and Yndjy and Alyssa get ready for Love Family Homes Program bucket collection day! Once a month all the families come in to gather as a community, share stories and care and receive their monthly staples food bucket! It was such a privilege to spend time with them all. We have now returned over 30 children out of the orphanage and back into their homes with family! Supporting the families holistically is what we are all about and we passed on love and care from all their wonderful sponsors. Xoxo❤️❤️❤️

Talk to you soon,
​The Frontier Projects Team

(click below for our photo journal)