67 results for author: Rick Conti

Trip application forms

The following link will take you to an information sheet and a set of application forms for the next work team to Haiti. Trip application forms for October/November 2011 home-building team For general information about past and future trips, please refer to this page. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

From Hawaii to Haiti

This trip report is from a young man from Hawaii who had never been to Haiti before: Day 1: Wednesday  - “The Awakening” We left Hawaii later in the evening around seven or eight pm.  At first, my initial thoughts and feelings towards the trip were anticipation and excitement: What will God have for us? Who will God place into our path for us to meet? What will Haiti be like? What will the team members be like?  These questions filled my head throughout the many hours from Honolulu to Los Angeles, as well as from Los Angeles to Miami.  These flights and the long layover in LAX really helped me to form the start of a special relationship ...

Notification of transition of sponsorship programs

Servants for Haiti recently issued the following letter to its supporters: Most of you have received information about the upcoming change in the focus of Servants for Haiti. I am writing to update you on where things stand. As of July 1, 2011, Servants for Haiti will no longer manage the sponsorship programs for Kingdom Kids Orphanage or College Jean Rigaud Antoine (CJRA). The new organization that will take care of those sponsorships is Haiti International Alliance (HIA), founded by Pastor Rigaud Antoine, who also founded and manages the school and orphanage. Two former board members of SFH serve on the board of HIA. We have been cooperating ...

Soccer means Hope

The organization Ambassadors in Sports reaches out to those in need through the global language of football (American soccer).  Servants for Haiti is teaming up with AIS by giving them nets, balls, T-shirts, and other soccer equipment to be used in Haiti.  All the equipment was donated by the Westford (MA) Youth Soccer program. Partnering with other organizations is a key component of our new direction.  SFH is excited about this great new partnership and is grateful to the Westford Youth Soccer program for their generosity. For more info about Ambassadors in Sports check out their web site or contact Rich Mears at rich.mears@crossworld...

Trivia – The Sequel

Our Second Annual Trivia Night, held on Saturday, April 12, was a tremendous success. We want to thank everyone who contributed to making this event not only a lot of fun, but profitable for the people of Haiti.  Next year, plan to be part of the excitement. Reserve April 7, 2012 (first Saturday in April again) for next year's event. Watch our web site for updates as the date approaches. We want to make this event one that people will look forward to year after year.  Your feedback will help make next year's event even better.  If you were at this year's trivia night, please fill out this evaluation form.  Thank you! 100% of the ...

One year…

It's cliché to say that the past year flew by.  How many have you heard ask, "Where did the time go?" That is not the case in Haiti, where one year ago today at exactly 4:53:10 PM ET, the landscape changed dramatically both literally and figuratively.  If your year consisted of mourning lost loved ones, being fitted for prosthetic limbs, searching desperately for food, water, and shelter, trying to avoid rape, murder, and kidnap, and suffering cholera, it could not have passed quickly enough. Those are the issues our friends in Haiti have lived with day in and day out.  To us here in the U.S., a difficult time is a snowstorm that melts away ...

New Directions FAQ

These Frequently Asked Questions are regarding the new direction that SFH is taking in 2011.  The changes were introduced in a letter from SFH president Laurae Richards dated 12/26/2010. Q. How was the decision arrived at to change the direction of SFH? A. Individual board members had been sensing for some time a need to change how SFH serves the people of Haiti. Through further prayer and discussion, the board agreed unanimously that our methods had to change. Part of the motivation was the earthquake, but it's likely we would have made these changes eventually anyway. Q. When are these changes taking place? A. We have already begun ...

New Directions for SFH

There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that the horrific events of January 12, 2010 have brought about substantial changes in the physical, spiritual, political, and economic landscape of Haiti. Those changes will affect the conditions in Haiti for the foreseeable future. While we have continued our support and relief efforts, the board members of Servants for Haiti have also been busily thinking and praying about whether and how our activities should be affected by the new context there. Is what we have been doing for the past five years the best way we can address the long term after-effects of the earthquake? Are the assumptions under which ...

A Future for Junior

Back in 2000, when the folks who started SFH first visited Haiti, we made a lot of new friends.  Over the years, some have moved on and others seem to have simply disappeared.  One young man we hit it off with right away was a boy named Junior.  His name didn't fit his appearance as he towered over his friends of the same age. For a time, Junior attended what has since become CJRA, the school SFH supports. Due to a mixup with a sponsorship program that preceded SFH, he was forced to drop out of school.  This past summer, a team member named Jeff met Junior and was impressed with his intelligence and work ethic.  Jeff decided to do something to ...

Another Miracle on 34th?

Far be it from Servants for Haiti to promote a commercial venture. When it benefits our friends in Haiti, however, we feel that it is at least worth mentioning. Recently, Macy's stores have partnered with a group of Haitian crafts people to sell their wares through Macy's web site and 25 stores. You can read about their new product line on a number of web sites, including this one. We applaud American businesses using their marketing power this way to benefit Haiti.  We have also been investigating ways of doing the same.  (See a previous post on this topic.) Maybe you will find yourself feeling like the woman from "Miracle on 34th Street" ...