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Haiti ministry founder speaks to local groups, church
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
Pastor Marc Honorat has seen first-hand how poverty stricken Haiti can be. He’s lived it.
But he has also experienced a new life thanks to the generosity of others. And this week, he has been speaking of those efforts to members of the local community.
Honorat is the founder of the faith-based mission Haiti ARISE (Actively Raising Individuals to Serve and Evangelize) Ministries. The nonprofit organization was established in 2000 to meet the needs of Haiti, perhaps the most impoverished country in the western hemisphere. Haiti ARISE’s goal is to help the people of Haiti by establishing schools, medical clinics and providing instruction to employ people and eventually help its economy.
He will conclude his visit Sunday by sharing his story at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flower Mound from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday.
Jim Attrell, director of operations at Trietsch, went to Haiti to take part in the missionary effort. After his experience, he invited Honorat to share his story to the church.
All members of the community are invited. After all, Honorat said the message he is spreading is important.
“Our vision is to give people hope,” Honorat said. “We want to give them an education by sending their children to school and to give them skills. If they have skills, they can find work and can provide for their family.”
Honorat was born in Haiti and was one of 15 children. His family couldn’t afford to keep him, so at the age of 5, his parents gave him away.
“They weren’t able to feed us or send us to school, so they gave me to a lady who they thought I would be better off with,” Honorat said. “But it was not that way.”
Honorat said he was a child slave for seven years, doing various kinds of work in exchange for just one meal a day and a spot on the floor to sleep, all the while being mistreated.
Not until one of his brothers came for him at the age of 12 was Honorat finally able to be put into a children’s home, which allowed him to enroll in school.
While in school, Honorat became sponsored by the family of Canada resident James Roberts, who is now vice president of Haiti ARISE. That allowed Honorat to finish school at the age of 25 and also to enroll in college, which he began in Jamaica before completing in Canada.
Today, Honorat and his wife, Lisa, have four children. They live and work in Haiti and travel to North America to share their vision of Haiti ARISE.
But despite the poor conditions he grew up in during his early days in Haiti, his experience remains a staple of what he does today.
“If not for the people who took the time to give to me, I don’t know where I would be today,” Honorat said. “I feel like I need to give back.”
And thus, Haiti ARISE was born. The organization focuses on several projects to help residents earn a living and have a better life. Haiti ARISE has already established a technical school in Grand Goave, local churches and a Bible college.
Haiti ARISE is in the middle of several ongoing projects as well, such as clean water well drilling and regular rice/clothing distributions.
Another project is one the organization never saw coming -- rebuilding the technical school.
Volunteers began building the school in 2003, and it was complete in 2009. Once complete, it allowed 350 students to take classes to learn a variety of trades. In 2008, the school had its first graduating class.
“If we can educate adults and help them start their business, they can make money, feed their family and then turn around and send their own children to school,” Roberts said. “Then their kids will have a trade school to go to as well. So we want to stimulate the long-term growth of their economy.”
But that dream took a hit in 2010 with the earthquake that killed 300,000 people and destroyed many structures, including the technical school.
“What took seven years to build was gone in 45 seconds,” Honorat said.
The remains of the school were then used as a living campus for some of the half million people who lost their homes.
Today, a larger and more sustainable version of the technical school is nearing completion and is set to be open in January, though volunteers are still needed for final work.
Haiti ARISE is also taking part in EachOne, BuildOne, a program that helps people who lost their homes in the earthquake build a new one. Those who assist in this project use newer building blocks that are earthquake resistant. To date, 28 homes have been constructed.
“They help build it, so they can have ownership in it,” Roberts said, adding that the cost of those homes is about $6,500.
Another project that has just been complete is a medical clinic, which is open six days a week. Roberts said it serves 1,000 people a week. He said with $24,000 a year, the organization can bring in seven staff members to the clinic, including a trained doctor and two trained nurses.
Future projects include construction of a primary school and a secondary school. Honorat said the existing school filled up in one day and serves 300 children.
Education is a core component to the mission’s success, but it’s something that’s missing in Haiti. Honorat said less than 1 percent of the people in Haiti receive a post-secondary education. The organization has set up the Education Fund to help children attend school.
Haiti ARISE is also hopeful for a children’s village, which would provide an alternative for the orphanages children currently go to. Roberts said a children’s village would ideally pair six to eight children with a set of parents to help them function as a family.
All of this on a $300,000 annual budget.
The call to action Honorat has shared is to get involved, either financially or through volunteer service. Trips to Haiti to help can be either short-term (two weeks) or longer.
“Haiti is a place in great need, especially after the earthquake,” Honorat said. “We need people to get involved. If you don’t have the money but you have a skill, you can come teach.”
Honorat said knowledgeable people can be used to teach in a technical school, teach languages or instruct how to build homes. He said doctors and nurses can be used to set up clinics.
Attrell has participated in Haiti ARISE efforts and encourages others to do the same.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it’s still pretty bad,” Attrell said of the living conditions in Haiti. “They’re back to basics with the concrete buildings. Some of them are OK, but most of them aren’t. A lot of people are used to living in tents, and they probably will be for a long time because they don’t have the money or the contractors to build homes.”
Attrell said people who are considering joining the effort are asked to read three to four books to become familiar with the situation.
“One of the first things you learn is it doesn’t help to give them a U.S. five-dollar bill,” Attrell said. “But buy something from them. That will help their commerce.”
Organization representatives say any help is needed for the country that’s 600 miles off the coast of Florida.
“It’s hours away, but it’s a world away,” Roberts said.
For information, go to www.haitiarise.org or contact Attrell at jima@tmumc.org.
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