Haiti Partnership

Rebuilding Haiti with God’s Word

After the earthquake, the Canadian Bible Society, through the generous outpouring of support from donors:

Haitian Bible Society General Secretary Magda Victor at the roofless Tabernacle de Gloire church in Port-au-Prince, where about 1,000 people lined up to receive Creole Bibles to replace those they lost in the earthquake.

CBS continues to help in rebuilding Haiti through its partnership with Haiti Partners, a Christian organization helping Haitians change Haiti through education for students, teachers, leaders and disciples.

Update from Haiti Partners

In a recent e-mail, Kent Annan of Haiti Partners reported:

“Somehow faith didn't crumble along with so many buildings in the earthquake.

A woman in one of the many tented camps in Port-au-Prince, carries her new Creole Bible on her head.It is remarkable to see the courage and resiliency of so many Haitians during these past months. Clearly, church life has been vital to many people. It is amazing to see people look to God and hold each other up – while continuing to face such sorrowful loss and challenging recovery. In response to the need of many who lost their Bibles or could never afford them in the first place, Haiti Partners has just launched a distribution of 10,000 Bibles.

Haiti Partners’ DISCIPLES Program is giving these Bibles through its church network. These churches – from many different denominations and all over the country – have worked together in education and community development for many years. The Canadian Bible Society is generously giving 10,000 Bibles per year as part of a three-year partnership. This effort was planned more than a year ago, and it's needed more now than we ever envisioned.

The gift of these Bibles is a tangible way to support people's faith during traumatic times. "Thank you" is what we keep hearing from those receiving the Bibles and other materials. We're eager to pass these many “thank yous” along to the Canadian Bible Society.”

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HAITI PARTNERSHIP

The Need:
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. 95% of Haitians currently identify themselves as Christians and the Church is one of Haiti’s key institutions. A partnership between the Canadian Bible Society and Haiti Partners answers several needs for people enrolled in the DISCIPLES Program by:

• Providing Bibles for Christians who can’t afford one because a Bible in Haiti costs about $10 and 80% of Haitians live on less than $2 a day
• Making the Scriptures approachable for 50% of Haitian adults who are illiterate
• Modeling servant leadership where the leaders serve the people

The Plan:

• Providing 10,000 Bibles per year, over three years – giving Haitians access to God’s living Word in churches, schools, and literacy centres
• Fostering unity within Haitian communities and between church denominations
• Encouraging practical Christian living as groups look to Scripture for God’s direction for their personal lives and their communities

The Action:
You can help CBS meet project costs of $125,000 per year – (To date, CBS has raised $46,416.00)

• $25 provides 2 Bibles
• $50 provides 4 Bibles
• $100 provides 8 Bibles
• $450 provides 36 Bibles for an entire classroom

“When we needed Bibles for Haitians, the Canadian Bible Society came through for us. Their help means changed lives in communities throughout Haiti. Thank God for their ministry.” ~ Tony Campolo, PhD, President, EAPE

“Our partnership with Haiti Partners will help change the nation of Haiti by providing literacy skills to those who currently cannot read or write. Illiteracy breeds poverty. The Canadian Bible Society is proud to provide the textbooks (the Bible) for the Haiti Partners literacy program so the devastated nation of Haiti can rebuild from the physical, economic and spiritual rubble. Together we can change a generation and change the nation of Haiti!" ~ Ted Seres, CBS National Director