Another Haiti Surprise – 2010

Last year, 2009, after Project Eden, an organization which seeks to eradicate poverty in the world one community at a time, returned from Haiti, I wrote about the wonderful surprising beauty there. I was not emotionally prepared for it and had the privilege of witnessing it again on the second trip to Haiti last month, July 2010. From July 27th through July 29th, Project Eden conducted training in entrepreneurship and construction, and provided business counseling to business owners. On July 30th we spoke words of empowerment to youth. There was also an executive team which was involved in meetings and other activities related to land development. All of this training and pouring out was wrapped in the Word of God because we desire to combine our initiatives with spiritual renewal.

I was blessed to take part in the entrepreneurship sessions, entitled Be All You Can Dream. These sessions included a spiritual foundation on what the Word has to say about business, accounting principles, and simulation of starting a business in a mall. The participants were divided into teams and it was on! Activities included coming up with a business idea and name, purchasing space in the mall, purchasing “construction” materials, writing and performing in a commercial, and also purchasing the time to film the commercial. The participants were very creative and their thought process, attention to detail, and passion were evident.

On the morning of the last day of the competition, the facilitating team and participants viewed all of the commercials, and although nearly all were not in English, for the most part their messages were clear. During the walk-through of the mall for each business, several teams stepped up their game and brought in delicious product samples. Others welcomed and addressed us as if we were actually walking into their establishment and not just walking on masking tape, and construction paper. The competition was fierce, but the facilitating team was able to single out four teams as top performers and present them with certificates.

On the afternoon of the last day, all the participants in Be All You Can Dream, One-on-One Business Consulting and Construction training gathered and were presented with certificates of completion. Translators were also given certificates of appreciation. Education and training, which is not free in Haiti, is highly esteemed. The room was charged with the sense of accomplishment, love, and appreciation. Based on our experience last year, I knew that there was a chance that we would receive gifts. This year, we received beautiful individually wrapped gifts, words of appreciation, blessings and prayers, and a beautiful acapella version of “Oh, I Love You Jesus”. Sounds good, right? Well imagine my surprise after returning safely home, as I began to look through the slideshow on the Project Eden blog, when I saw picture after picture after picture of hand-written signs from the various teams. It touched my heart and brought tears as I received this unexpected gift. The English is broken, but like the commercials, their messages are clear. See for yourself……



















For a complete overview of the trip which includes daily posts, interviews and more pictures check out the Project Eden blog at www.theprojecteden.blogspot.com.

Kitten Heels
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women