Thursday, December 1st, 2011 -
Diane Cornelius was recently featured in USA Today’s weekend insert for her work facilitating weddings with NWHCM in Haiti.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 - Executive Director Janeil Owen describes new options for NWHCM trips, aimed to offer travelers greater flexibility. Read more…
March 29, 2011 – NWHCM founder and former director Larry Owen is recovering from a successful heart operation in Lexington, Kentucky. We are asking the entire NWHCM family to remember him in your prayers. Read more…
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 – Dates for 2012 short-term trips with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission are now online. As usual, revisions and additions will be made as necessary. Check them out here.
Cases appear to be slowing down in Northwest Department, for the moment
A patient recovers at NWHCM's cholera center while medial staff clean the floors - a constant need because cholera is spread through human waste. Hannah Brewer / NWHCM staff
By Andy Olsen, NWHCM Media Director
Monday, November 29, 2010 — More than 1,600 people have died of cholera in Haiti since the disease first appeared in the central part of the country in October, with numerous cases and deaths in the Northwest Department. NWHCM staff and partner organizations continue working tirelessly to stem the epidemic, though the number of cases appears to be slowing for the moment in the Northwest.
Nearly 50,000 cholera cases have been reported across the nation, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials estimate as many as 270,000 people in Haiti may be sickened by the disease in coming years.
To date, more than 40 patients have died of cholera in NWHCM’s treatment center in Saint-Louis du Nord. As of last week, NWHCM staff were treating between 30 and 70 patients a day from towns around the region, though the number of patients has slowed somewhat.
NWHCM’s medical staff is receiving material and personnel support from the United Nations and the Haitian Ministry of Health, as well as NGOs such as Grass Roots United, MMRC Global, Open Hand, Mission Teams International.
Cholera causes acute diarrhea that rapidly dehydrates its victims and depletes them of electrolytes, eventually leading to heart failure. It is spread by ingesting fecal bacteria from contaminated water sources. It is treated orally by rehydrating victims with water containing salts and sugars and, in severe cases, by administering intravenous fluids and antibiotics.
NWHCM is not currently requesting American medical support teams, nor is it canceling any currently scheduled short-term mission trips at this time. Please stay tuned for further updates.
How To Help
NWHCM continues mobilizing medicine and supplies to support the cholera treatment efforts.
We are still seeking financial donations and supplies to treat patients, in particular: Tetracycline, doxycycline, oral rehydration salts, IV start kits and IV tubing. For more information, please contact Cameron Mayhill at cameron.mayhill@nwhcm.org.
Click here to make a donation to help NWHCM purchase medical supplies to treat cholera patients.
Please pray for the safety of our Haitian brothers and sisters, and for NWHCM’s staff during this difficult time.
NWN MAGAZINE PREVIEW: One missionary’s life-changing encounters in Port-au-Prince.
Read more in the fall issue of Northwest Notes, a regular magazine of Northwest Haiti Christian Mission that arrived in mailboxes in early December. Click here to download a PDF version of the entire issue.
By Jody Castillo, NWHCM missionary in Mole Saint-Nicholas
March 13th, 2010 (from my personal journal):
I’d been praying every day for God to give me His eyes. Today, He did. It began in the eyes of a little boy in a red shirt. His smile was so bright as he stood outside his new tarp home. Before he locked eyes with me, I watched him flying his little kite made of plastic strings. Unaware of what was around him or perhaps in spite of it, his laughter filled my heart where sorrow had started to set up camp.
The little boy led to two other cute kids and then to the leader of their small tent zone. He explained that they have no food and they have no water. They live right across from the palace. “Everyone comes to take pictures of the palace – they stand right outside our tarp-homes – but no one sees us though we are in plain sight.”
We prayed with the leader and explained that we don’t have a lot, but we would see what we could do to help their zone. The 50 families in that Port-au-Prince tent city include over 250 children. We don’t have enough to feed them every day but we will do what we can – knowing God will provide as He always does. Why? Because God gave me His eyes and whispered to focus on what is right in front of me – and in that moment – it was a little boy in a bright red shirt.
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!” — Revelation 19:6-7
Since that day in March we’ve seen God do immeasurable things! We blogged about this tent city and immediately we got responses. We were able to feed these families every 10 days through donations from individuals and churches.
It wasn’t always easy. You can’t just go downtown to have a Bible Study with them and think it’s going to magically come together. You can’t just pass out peanut butter without a mob trying to attack you. What sounds so easy – “helping people” – is one of the hardest things to do here.
After some rough first attempts, we decided the best way to distribute food was to bring the people to us instead of taking the food downtown. We moved our meeting locations every week and gave them transportation money each time. It was frustrating at times, but we wanted to be a source of encouragement – to be His hands, feet, and face. We prayed with them. We cried with them. We laughed with them.
South Lansing Christian Church, in Lansing, Michigan, contacted us in March and asked how they could help. We sent them the names and ages of all 50 families. By May, the church had collected and shipped supplies for each family.
They gave charcoal stoves, pots, oil, rice, beans, toys, towels, sheets, food, charcoal and dishes. They even gave tents matched specifically to each family’s size.
September 2, the day we distributed everything, was a wonderful day! We drove the families to a small hotel outside of Port-au-Prince, where we took our time and gave away the supplies in an organized matter. The families thanked us over and over again. There was a sense of pride as each one got their tailored special gifts. On this day, the roar of the Lord was mighty within me. My heart almost burst open!
They had no idea what a joy it was for us, and I wanted to thank them just for letting us be a part of their lives. Our little boy in the red shirt – Juvensky – changed my life and opened my eyes to a whole new way to love people.
NWHCM’s first high school opens doors for those who lost everything
Cody Smith, a short-term missionary from Lexington, Kentucky, taught English at George Washington High School in October. Andy Olsen / NWHCM staff
By Andy Olsen, NWHCM Media Director
Thursday, November 11, 2011
Port-de-Paix, Haiti — When 24-year-old Kedna Saintil lost her father in the January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, she went north to Port-de-Paix to live with her aunt. Before she had even arrived, her aunt was busy making preparations for Saintil’s future — like enrolling her in Northwest Haiti Christian Mission’s new high school.
The school, College Georges Washington (or “George Washington High School” in English), opened in October with roughly 500 students enrolled. Though it also offers kindergarden classes, the primary focus is on providing a quality education to older students like Saintil, many of whom came to Port-de-Paix after the earthquake toppled their homes and families.
“I like it here,” Saintil said. “There is more discipline and it’s less chaotic than my school in Port-au-Prince. That’s a good thing.”
The school is NWHCM’s first venture into secondary school, the rough Haitian equivalent of American high school. It offers students a Christian education and free school uniforms at a modest tuition. And in a nation where class sizes can swell above 100, the school has pledged to limit classes to 50 or fewer students.
“We want to give a good education,” said Pastor Valbrun Derival,the school’s director. “When you have the word of God and a good education, you can change the country.”
Derival estimates that as many as 50 percent of the students are from Port-au-Prince. He said that even though some sectors of Haiti’s economy came to a halt after the quake, it is essential to Haiti’s future that youth are able to continue their educations. “If someone doesn’t have a good education, they can’t participate well in society,” he said.
Educating displaced youth from Port-au-Prince has its challenges. For one, many still suffer trauma from their experiences there, and that can make a teacher’s job difficult. But Derival urges his staff to have compassion on those students and be patient with them as their wounds heal.
“Some of them will put their heads down on their desks and don’t always do well,” Derival said. “They have sad stories that make you want to cry. I ask the teachers to have wisdom with them, to understand their situations.”
Click here to learn more about NWHCM’s education ministries.
Click here to make a gift to NWHCM’s education fund.
RESTORE aims to awaken young leaders to impact their communities
By Brent Bramer, Director of Help Heal Haiti
Our world is broken. It’s a simple fact that anyone can realize by turning on the TV. From the news of another world disaster to the notion that we need more stuff…our world, in the end, leaves us more broken than we were before.
Jesus envisioned a different way. A way that no longer breaks us, but rescues us, restores us and redeems us. Our passion is to awaken that truth in the lives of students in a way it never has before. That’s why RESTORE exists.
RESTORE is an in-Haiti retreat that awakens, equips and empowers next generation leaders to bring cultural change to their communities. We want the core students of your youth ministry, college age ministry or campus ministry. Students and leaders who are primed to be world-changers on campus, in the workplace and in their communities. Students who are hungry for a different way.
The experience of Haiti — joined with teaching, worship and reflection — brings forth a response beyond what a formal trip or camp experience can provide. It can awaken Christ-followers to live the gospel throughout their everyday lives. This is an opportunity for two worlds to collide and bring forth a beautiful new perspective, a perspective that recognizes a suffering world and begins to see it through the eyes of Jesus. Most importantly, this is the opportunity to become the change this world so desperately needs, the very change Jesus called us to be.
Want to learn more? Want to get onboard? Check out the links below and prayerfully consider if RESTORE might be a good fit for you. It could change your life.
Help Heal Haiti is a ministry of Northwest Haiti Christian Mission aimed at mobilizing the next generation across America to invest in Northwest Haiti and make a difference in Jesus’ name.
Marie Julie, 10, plays in the Miriam Center, NWHCM's residential program for special-needs orphans. Andy Olsen / NWHCM Staff
By Cameron Mayhill, NWHCM Director of Development
Monday, October 4, 2010 — Several years ago, a man named Pastor Andy worked as a preacher for Northwest Haiti Christian Mission in Saint-Louis du Nord, a small city on Haiti’s northern coast. His wife, Emanulla, worked as a nurse in the mission’s birthing center. When it came time for Emanulla to give birth to their first son, Ralph, the baby was born with his umbilical cord around his neck. In desperation, the nurses tried to deliver the boy and save his life. It took CPR to revive him, but in many ways it was too late. Having been starved of oxygen, Ralph suffered permanent brain damage.
Andy and Emanulla did their best to take care of baby Ralph as their faith was put on display before a watching community. Many other families in Haiti would have let Ralph starve, washing their hands of a disabled child. In Haiti there is no place to go, no help for “the least of these” in a country that is “the least of these.” But despite the best efforts of his parents, baby Ralph soon died.
Mike and Leah Warner, an American couple, were traveling on a short-term missions trip to Haiti when they heard Ralph’s story. Leah’s eyes filled with tears as she recalled her own daughter, Miriam. Leah had been pregnant with Miriam when she found out the baby was not forming correctly. The doctors suggested an abortion, and Leah refused, trusting that God was in control. When Miriam was born, the baby girl lived only a few hours. Moved by the two tragic deaths, NWHCM and the Warners founded in 2001 what would become the Miriam Center. It was originally dubbed Heaven’s Waiting Room, a place where severely disabled children could wait in comfort for their turn to enter Heaven.
To our great delight today, however, most children at the center are growing and thriving. Many of them may well live long lives under the mission’s care. There are currently 31 children in the program and some of these children came to us after the earthquake after being orphaned in Port-au-Prince. The hope is to grow the program by launching a new Bonneau Miriam Center Campus, which will provide for over 100 special-needs children in a one-of-a-kind home and therapy facility.
TwitChange: One of many exciting partnerships
In an effort to see the new Miriam Center grow and provide for as many special-needs children as possible, Northwest Haiti Christian Mission reached out to build partnerships with the Christian charities Orphan’s Promise, Kimmy’s House, and A Home in Haiti, among others. Each stepped up to the plate to raise funds to help Northwest move forward with this amazing opportunity.
Sometimes, a fundraiser is so unique that it begins to take on a life of its own. TwitChange, an initiative of A Home in Haiti, is one such fundraiser. It began when Shaun King, pastor at Courageous Church in Atlanta and the man behind A Home in Haiti, had an idea. What if he could utilize Twitter to raise money to help people in Haiti?  That idea grew into TwitChange, a celebrity tweet auction.
In TwitChange, bidders compete for the chance to have any of over 150 celebrities follow them, retweet them, or mention them on Twitter (some lucky winners even get all three). The first TwitChange auction took place in September, raising more than $540,000. All proceeds will go to A Home in Haiti to help Northwest Haiti Christian Mission build a new Miriam Center in Bonneau, Haiti.
TwitChange anticipates another celebrity auction during the holiday season.
Northwest Haiti Christian Mission is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aims to rescue others from hardship, restore families and communities to wholeness, and redeem lives to their full potential in Jesus’ name. For more than 30 years, NWHCM has demonstrated its commitment to help bring people out of spiritual, physical and social poverty.
Lead singer Aaron Morgan shared his thoughts from the Christian band’s recent trip to Haiti, and in particular how the Miriam Center touched his family.
The band Seabird has quickly made its presence known on the national Christian music scene since its first album debuted in 2008. Since then, the Cincinnati-based group’s music has been featured on radio stations across the country and on television outlets including MTV, CBS and ABC (their songs have been used as themes in hit television series including Grey’s Anatomy, Pushing Daisies and Numb3rs). Seabird has toured solo and with groups including NeedToBreathe, David Crowder Band and Jars of Clay.
Morgan poses with children at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. Photo courtesy Aaron Morgan.
In June, Seabird visited Northwest Haiti Christian Mission as part of a trip with Help Heal Haiti, a division of Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. The group visited NWHCM’s multi-faceted ministries and has been an advocate for the mission’s work at concerts and other venues. Seabird’s lead vocalist Aaron Morgan recently answered a few questions for Northwest Haiti Christian Mission’s media director Andy Olsen about their experience.
NWHCM: Why did Seabird decide to visit Haiti? AM: My dad is a missionary and inspired me to go to Youth With A Mission right out of high school. YWAM is where I really fell in love with world missions and traveling abroad. When I started the band I had always hoped to use our music to get us into countries that might otherwise be closing their doors to Christianity. This is something I’m still very passionate about, so when the opportunity to go with HelpHealHaiti was presented I immediately wanted to make it work.
NWHCM: Was what you found in Haiti different than what you expected? AM: I expected Haiti to be more island-ish, if you will. And it was in parts, but it reminded me a lot of Ghana, Africa. Not just because of the people but because of the way people live and work. The buildings and homes also reminded me of my time in Ghana. I also expected to see more of the Voodoo and spiritual oppression than we did. I can remember being in Malaysia and feeling a spiritual heaviness, but I didn’t experience that as much in Haiti. Even while visiting the Voodoo temple it seemed like more of a scam than anything real or powerful. Men were talking on their cell phones while accepting money from villagers waiting to pray to the voodoo doll they believe fell from the sky.
NWHCM: Tell about a moment of experience that you had in Haiti that was powerful for you or that made a lasting impression. AM: When my wife Celeste and I visited the Miriam Center (special needs orphanage) for the first time it was difficult for me to hold back the tears. I was introduced to a little 4 year old girl who couldn’t walk or talk mostly because of malnourishment. My daughter London just turned 4 and my heart was broken thinking about what it must be like to have a disabled child because you don’t have enough food to keep them healthy. That was something I’ll never forget. The kids in the Miriam Center are so well taken care of, but the need there is still so great.
NWHCM: What, if any, plans does Seabird have for increased involvement in Haiti? AM: We have been speaking about our trip to Haiti at our performances and have been selling HelpHealHaiti shirts to help support what the NWHCM is doing there. We’ll also be coordinating with HelpHealHaiti director Brent Bramer to organize a benefit concert later this year.
NWHCM: In what ways did the trip affect your faith or walk with God? AM: This trip was an excellent reminder for me to be thankful to God for all the little things in life. It’s so incredibly easy to be ungrateful when things don’t go our way. But to see the way the Christians in Haiti give thanks to God for all things really puts things into perspective.
NWHCM: Bands and celebrities visit Haiti and other distressed countries all the time. Why do you think such visits are important? Does being a Christian band change the role that such a visit plays? AM: I think if a band has a platform to share about the needs of a place like Haiti it can be very important. We obviously recognize that people in America already know Haiti needs help, but if we can show them how simply some of these needs can be met it might inspire more people to go for themselves and give. Being Christians in a band certainly does change the role or responsibility we have on a trip like this. We’re not there simply to give out food or to purify water, we’re there to save souls and to quench an everlasting thirst.
The 24-year-old from Carrefour, a sprawling city south of Port-au-Prince, stole glances at the floor as she described the days following the earthquake. Fear. Sadness. Weeping.
At a camp for internally displaced people in the Boudon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, women and children prayed and sang hymns under a tarp in a nightly ad-hoc worship service before going to bed. Andy Olsen / NWHCM staff
Whether in the earthquake zone or miles removed, millions of Haitians were forced to confront death and pain in unprecedented proximity. And while many churches collapsed and pastors were killed, many others were there to provide comfort and support, reminding a grieving people that God loves them even in such times.
At the Citadel Church in Saint-Louis du Nord, 35 people became Christians during those days, according to Remy. At a women’s ministry event at the church a month later, another 82 people came to Christ.
“Many people who had left the church have come back,” Remy said. “It’s not the same anymore after the quake. People now want to be active in the church, forming singing groups and participating more.”
Other NWHCM staff have reported groups of Haitian evangelists marching through towns, stopping at churches to pray with worshippers there.
NWHCM Executive Director Janeil Owen said that despite the tragedy of the quake, it has served to break down social barriers in churches between poor Haitians and privileged Haitians.
“Before the earthquake, we were all fighting each other amongst our classes, and (one person) was lording authority over you. Since the earthquake, we are all citizens together now, heavenly citizens,” Owen said.
“Church is packed out now,” he said. “Revival has come to Haiti.”
To read more about NWHCM’s church planting and evangelism ministries, click here.
Click here to make a gift to NWHCM’s church planting and evangelism efforts.
They lost everything. Now thousands of internally displaced Haitians have come to the Northwest in search of new beginnings. How can we help them?
At a bus stop in Port-au-Prince for buses departing to Northwest Haiti, passengers arrive well before sunrise to claim their seats. Though the flow of earthquake survivors leaving the capital has slowed to a trickle, the displaced are still leaving the capital in search of opportunities elsewhere. Andy Olsen / NWHCM staff
Text and Photos by Andy Olsen
April 3, 2010
Port-de-Paix, Haiti — Almaide Joseph remembers when she was the breadwinner, a source of hope for her family. The 38-year-old was an urban entrepreneur, buying and selling goods across the border with the Dominican Republic while mothering her family in their comfortable Port-au-Prince home — a place with lights and electricity, perpetually wrapped in street noise and big-city bustle.
With the help of her husband, a schoolteacher, Joseph regularly sent money to her less-fortunate relatives in Port-de-Paix. They counted on Joseph’s support to help pay their rent and feed their families.
That was before the earthquake, 60 seconds of hell that robbed Joseph of her house, her husband, and nearly everything else. It forced her to move back to her hometown, Port-de-Paix. Now she sits restlessly in the dark home she once helped to pay for, dependent for food on the same relatives her income once fed. She has no job, no goods to trade, no money to spend.
“Things are bad in Port-de-Paix now,” Joseph said, balancing her 3-year-old daughter, Fabi, on her lap. “There are no jobs, and everything is very expensive.”
Joseph is part of a massive return of Haitians from Port-au-Prince to the countryside, a reversal of a three-decade trend where small towns bled their populations into the nation’s sprawling capital city in search of education and jobs. Since the Jan. 12 earthquake, more than 600,000 people fled Port-au-Prince to return to rural towns and cities across Haiti, according to government and United Nations figures.
A survey of displaced individuals in Port-de-Paix revealed little eagerness to return to the capital anytime soon. For most, the reasons were the same — being destitute among family is easier than being destitute among strangers.
The Strain of Providing
About a mile from where Joseph is staying, Solange hobbled up the steep, rocky hillside where her rented two-room house is perched. Left nearly paralyzed in an accident as a child, Solange walks with great effort on her half-folded legs.
The middle-aged woman from Port-de-Paix is no stranger to begging — she cares care for herself and her six children, and work does not come easily to disabled women in Haiti. Still, when four nieces from Port-au-Prince showed up at her door, looking for a place to stay in the city where they grew up, Solange welcomed them warmly.
The girls, who lost their parents in the earthquake, sleep packed like sardines on the dirt floor of the cramped home. Three of them, in their twenties, were college students before their university collapsed. The fourth was in high school but has been shut out of local schools because she cannot pay the tuition.
Each day, Solange and the girls fan out across the city and outlying areas to beg for food. It is full-time labor for the family. What each one gets, they bring back to the house to share with the rest.
“I have to do what I have to do,” Solange said, gesturing in the rehearsed manner of a woman who has lived most of her life hand-to-mouth. “Only God knows how long I can do this.”
The majority of the displaced settling into Northwest Haiti are dependent on government assistance and the charity of a few good samaritans and NGOs. The mayors of Port-de-Paix and nearby Saint-Louis du Nord, in partnership with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, have provided food and petty cash to hundreds of displaced families in the area.
UN reports say roughly 50,000 internally displaced Haitians have landed in Northwest Haiti. Roughly 90 miles north of Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix has about 100,000 inhabitants, according to the Haitian government. As the largest city in the Northwest Department, the city’s population has swelled by as much as a third since the earthquake, by some estimates.
Those numbers are difficult to verify. But step into the street and ask someone to point to a household sheltering displaced people, and they are likely to point somewhere just a few steps away.
The influx has strained the city and the region. Relief food and supplies are in far scarcer supply here than in Port-au-Prince, which has prompted some families to return to the city. The cost of living in the northwest is also higher than in the capital, because goods must arrive here by way of long, expensive journeys over some of the worst roads in the country. Of the dozen households surveyed by NWHCM staff in Port-de-Paix, only two claimed to have any food in the house.
Others have already returned to Port-au-Prince in search of opportunities that just don’t seem to exist in the Northwest Department, especially in the small towns west of Port-de-Paix. If too many displaced Haitians return to Port-au-Prince, however, it may make the nation’s problems even worse and undermine the goal of the international community to revitalize Haiti’s rural towns.
“If we can give these people a reason to stay in the Northwest, a.k.a. ways to make income, then we can change the dynamic of Haiti,” said NWHCM Community Development Coordinator Curtis Rogers. “Job creation, agricultural development, and economic development can all play a large role in giving rural Haiti its voice back.”
Signs of Hope
In many ways, the displaced in Northwest Haiti are hidden. There are no sweeping tent cities here, no rows of public latrines, no long food lines outside military compounds. Many of them stay indoors most of the day, having little else to do.
Yet there is no mistaking the signs of change. Community members say they see find faces everywhere. On a sunny afternoon, a woman stood alone at the bus station in Port-de-Paix, waiting to meet a niece who was arriving from the capital, one of the few people still trickling into town each week.
In Gris Gris, a poor neighborhood in Port-de-Paix, Melota Timothee sits behind a counter at a small store she’s set up in the living room of a home she’s renting. She lost her store in the capital when her house collapsed, but the family has scrapped together some money with the help of relatives in Miami. A young girl walked into the store to buy a piece of candy, which Timothee sells alongside a humble assortment of drinks, crackers and lye soap.
“It’s too soon to say how much we’ll earn from the store,” said Timothee, 44. “We’ve only been open a few days.”
A few blocks away, in a home on the main road through town, 13-year-old Christ Armelle Davis studied notes from class that she wrote two months earlier, before the quake. She copies them nearly every day to another page, even though she cannot get into a school in Port-de-Paix because her family has no money.
She will still have to take the national exams someday, Davis explained, so she wants to be prepared. She is a teenage portrait of the resolve of many of the displaced. They say they are willing to work and study hard to get back on their feet, if they could just get a chance.
“Hopefully, this disaster will cause supporting agencies and other NGOs to turn their focus to the farmers and workers of rural Haiti, without whom Haiti cannot survive,” Rogers said. “When this happens, NWHCM will be there to help.” Displacement of People from Port-au-Prince
Source: UN, SNGRD
How NWHCM is Helping
To date, NWHCM has:
Distributed more than 150 tents to displaced earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.
Begun distributing more than 200 water filters to communities in Northwest Haiti and in the Port-au-Prince area.
Dispersed more than $30,000 and thousands of meals through local churches to help families in the Northwest that are caring for and lodging displaced Haitians.
Initiated a plan to nearly double the number of meals NWHCM will provide this year to needy families and children in Northwest Haiti.
Provided medical assistance by sharing supplies, medicines and personnel with hospitals in the region, treating patients in our Saint-Louis du Nord hospital, and sending medical personnel to the Port-au-Prince area.
Assisted various partner ministries in Port-au-Prince with shipping, receiving, and transporting relief goods.
Welcome to Points, a unique way to support someone on a NWHCM mission trip and help the needy at the same time.
Simply sponsor a child or adult in any Northwest Haiti Christian Mission program, and a short-term missionary of your choice will earn points toward his or her trip. They can convert those points into a scholarship for their trip, funded through a special mission scholarship program.
Your sponsorship will change the future for a child forever. And it may just change the life of a traveler, too.
How it Works
1. Sponsor a child or adult online at nwhcm.org in any mission program. The greater the sponsorship amount, the more points a traveler earns.
2. When creating a sponsorship, be sure to include the words “Points Sponsorship” and the traveler’s name in the notes field.
3.The traveler specified in the notes field will automatically earn points for your sponsorship, and those points will be automatically credited toward a scholarship for their upcoming mission trip. Unused credits can be used by the traveler on future mission trips.
4. Enjoy the relationship you will begin building with your sponsored child or adult, and remember to pray for the traveler your sponsorship is supporting.
To qualify for Points, a sponsorship must be:
Established online at nwhcm.org, or made over the phone
Established with an automatic donation plan via credit card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
Established indefinitely or for a minimum of one year
Established for the full amount of the Sponsorship Need, except for Miriam Center sponsorships. Partial points will be awarded if Sponsorship Need is less than the program amount. For example: A Miriam Center sponsorship of $200 a month (out of a total Sponsorship Need of $300 a month) would earn 120 Points. A Miriam Center sponsorship for the full $300 a month would earn 180 Points. See below for a full explanation of Points amounts.
For Travelers
Earning Points
You can earn Points for every new sponsorship of a child or adult that a sponsor designates as credit toward your trip. You can also earn Points for medical sponsorships, as outlined below. Note: Points may not be earned for mission trips departing before May 30, 2010.
Sponsorship Point Values
*Click here to learn more about NWHCM Medical Sponsorships
Click here to sponsor a child or adult in Northwest Haiti today.
Redeeming Points
It takes almost no time at all to begin benefiting from Points. You can cash in your Points for large or small amounts toward the cost of your mission trip. When the amount of points you’ve earned reaches any of the benchmarks below, NWHCM will automatically credit your Points toward your upcoming trip.
Point Benchmarks
FAQs
How is the Points program funded?
Points is paid for through a dedicated scholarship fund that NWHCM has established. This money has been generously set aside by donors and NWHCM to provide scholarships for people traveling on mission trips with NWHCM. The goal of the scholarships is to make overseas missions more accessible and to encourage lasting investments in the lives of children and adults in Haiti.
How can I check my Points balance if I’m going on an upcoming NWHCM trip?
Remember that your Points will be automatically applied to your trip cost when your accumulated Points reach one of the redemption benchmarks, so no action is required on your part. NWHCM will notify you of your trip balance 30 days prior to your travel date.
If necessary, you may check your Points balance and the balance for your trip anytime by e-mailing us at travel@nwhcm.org. Please do not phone our U.S. business office to check your Points balance. Thank you.
Do my Points expire?
Yes. Points expire 18 months after the date of the trip for which they were accumulated. For example: If you are awarded Points for a particular sponsorship two months before your mission trip on June 1, 2010, and you do not use them for that trip, those Points would expire on December 1, 2011.
Can Points be applied to our group as a whole?
Yes. If your church or group is handling trip costs as a lump sum instead of as individuals, then Points may be earned for and applied to the group’s total trip cost. However, any Points earned for that group will expire after the group’s travel date and may not be used for future travel. In addition, those Points may not be transferred to individuals. If you wish to inquire about handling trip costs as a lump sum or are unsure of your group’s status, please contact NWHCM’s travel manager.
Can I start a new sponsorship and credit the Points toward my own upcoming trip?
Yes. If it’s a new sponsorship, you can earn Points for it!
Do I need to have a firm trip date before earning Points for my upcoming trip?
No. You can earn Points for your upcoming mission trip even if you do not have a specific date range just yet. Please be sure to have sponsors include in the note field a general idea of when you may be traveling.
How can I start taking advantage of Points?
If you are planning an upcoming mission trip with NWHCM and you have not already received a brochure about Points and about NWHCM sponsorships, please contact us. We encourage you to use these valuable materials as you serve as a sponsorship advocate for NWHCM.
Click here to download a Points flyer to help you as you raise support for your trip.
Rules and Details
1) Points may only be earned for new sponsorships. Existing sponsorships or increases to existing sponsorship amounts are not eligible. Only sponsorships started after March 10, 2010 are eligible.
2) The cutoff for earning Points for a particular trip is 30 days prior to the travel date. New sponsorships created 30 or fewer days prior to the travel date will earn Points for a future trip.
3) Unused points expire 18 months after the trip date for which the points were initially earned.
4) Points may not be applied toward trips of other travelers or family members.
5) Points are redeemed automatically by NWHCM, and may only be redeemed when the total point amount reaches one of the Point Redemption Benchmarks. Unused points will be counted as surplus toward a future trip.
6) Sponsors who are identified as intentionally closing existing sponsorships and replacing them with new ones, with the intent of earning extra Points, will be disqualified from participation in the Points program. NWHCM reserves the right to disqualify sponsors and Points at anytime, at its discretion, without prior notice.
7) Points have no cash value and may not be redeemed for any goods or services other than NWHCM trip scholarships, as defined above.
Wednesday, January 27 – Your next favorite T-shirt has arrived, and it has a conscience.
The NWHCM T-shirt design by SpendYourself features the word "Hope" in Creole. Available in men's and women's sizes. Graphic courtesy SpendYourself.
Two apparel companies have teamed up with NWHCM to sell T-shirts benefitting the mission and its earthquake relief efforts.
Both companies, SpendYourself and Yellow Black & White, are offering hand-screened shirts with custom designs that draw attention to Northwest Haiti in an artistic and beautiful way. Available for order online, all shirts are made in the U.S.A.
Louisville, Kentucky-based SpendYourself is an all-volunteer organization committed to producing shirts to support reputable Christian ministries around the world. Their shirt design focuses on communicating a message of hope for Haiti. Proceeds from shirt sales will support NWHCM relief efforts with a special focus on clean water projects.
The T-shirt design by Yellow Black & White features the Haitian saying, "Everything's already OK." Available in red and black, men's/unisex sizes. Photo courtesy Yellow Black & White.
Los Angeles-based Yellow Black & White has partnered with NWHCM in the past as a corporate sponsor for a benefit concert featuring music artist Judith Hill. Their T-shirt features the message, “Tout Bagay Deja Byen,” a Creole phrase that means “Everything is already OK.” All proceeds from shirt sales will go toward NWHCM earthquake relief.
To order shirts, please visit the companies’ respective websites:
Click here to order a T-shirt from Yellow Black & White.
January 10, 2012 Hi, I”m Ben from Overland Park, KS, I’m not part of any specific group, I have traveled to Haiti with my wife Brittany and our friend Shekah. I’m 34 years old and I become a Christian at the. […] Source: nwtraveler
January 9, 2012 Well folks we’ve nearly finished packing our 18 bags!  It’s time to head home to Haiti and we couldn’t be more ready! We have truly enjoyed our time in the states! It’s been so encouraging! . […] Source: castilloavektimoun
January 7, 2012 My name is Amanda Morphew, I came with my sister Katelyn and my friend Becca.  I have been to Haiti before, I came in July of 2010. Haiti is an amazing place, i love it so much. Its such a beautiful. […] Source: nwtraveler
January 5, 2012 I have come to the realization that I haven’t come to change Haiti. I came so that Haiti could change me. It has only been a few days here at the mission, and God has used me more than I ever imagin. […] Source: nwtraveler
October 17, 2011 After living in Haiti all of these years – I still cannot wrap my mind around this. I’m watching my 2 year olds covered in orange from a bag of Cheetos – stains on their shirts from the bowl of. […] Source: castilloavektimoun
Simply sponsor a child or adult in any Northwest Haiti Christian Mission program, and a short-term missionary of your choice will earn points toward his or her trip. They can convert those points into a scholarship for their trip, funded through a special mission scholarship program.
