ABOUT RESTORATION HAITI
The Situation
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere despite the willingness of many who want to help. Many people who have a desire to help with good intentions often inadvertently hurt the country and the Haitian people.
Example:
Introduction
My name is Ben Schweiger, my brother Josh died when he was fourteen months old and my family started The Joshua Foundation for the purpose of building The Joshua House Lodge to bring glory to God from this tragedy. I was five when Josh died and 15 when our family decided to build the Joshua House in Haiti. I graduated high school in 2013, the year The Joshua House welcomed its first guest. Since then, I graduated from Delaware Valley University with a major in Conservation & Wildlife Management. During my sophomore year I traveled to South Africa and met someone who introduced me to a coral reef restoration initiative in an effort to help the impoverished residents of that country. I immediately felt a strong calling from God to focus my passion and energy in that same field to help people of a third world country. My calling from God lead me to do just that in Cap Haitien, Haiti.
The Joshua House Haiti
Our family’s Joshua House has seen 1200 visitors who share a love of Christ and a love for the poorest in the country of Haiti. Without exception when a team reaches out to us to use our Joshua House for their missionary adventure they ask what they can do to help. Fortunately, the Joshua House shares a property with an orphanage and school that serves the community. Our partners in this effort have provided much need clean water sources, healthy sanitation systems and recently constructed a medical clinic that is just ¼ mile from the Joshua House. We have made it our goal to make sure the help we encourage guests to bring is good help opposed to help that sometimes hurts the country similar to the examples above.
My Restoration Project
The venture I am embarking on this summer 2017 is for the purpose of helping Haiti respectfully and responsibly. The project will provide immediate jobs/income for the community and will promote a healthy fish habitat to bring more ecotourism to Haiti. Ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." The concept arose in the 1970s and almost all of the Caribbean Islands benefit from it but Haiti has not.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere despite the willingness of many who want to help. Many people who have a desire to help with good intentions often inadvertently hurt the country and the Haitian people.
Example:
- Shipping food to Haiti hurts the local farmers
- Bringing free clothes and other consumer goods hurts the local merchants that are trying to sell these items
- Building homes and other projects conducted by visiting missionaries does not help the Haitian economy and contributes to the nation's significant unemployment
Introduction
My name is Ben Schweiger, my brother Josh died when he was fourteen months old and my family started The Joshua Foundation for the purpose of building The Joshua House Lodge to bring glory to God from this tragedy. I was five when Josh died and 15 when our family decided to build the Joshua House in Haiti. I graduated high school in 2013, the year The Joshua House welcomed its first guest. Since then, I graduated from Delaware Valley University with a major in Conservation & Wildlife Management. During my sophomore year I traveled to South Africa and met someone who introduced me to a coral reef restoration initiative in an effort to help the impoverished residents of that country. I immediately felt a strong calling from God to focus my passion and energy in that same field to help people of a third world country. My calling from God lead me to do just that in Cap Haitien, Haiti.
The Joshua House Haiti
Our family’s Joshua House has seen 1200 visitors who share a love of Christ and a love for the poorest in the country of Haiti. Without exception when a team reaches out to us to use our Joshua House for their missionary adventure they ask what they can do to help. Fortunately, the Joshua House shares a property with an orphanage and school that serves the community. Our partners in this effort have provided much need clean water sources, healthy sanitation systems and recently constructed a medical clinic that is just ¼ mile from the Joshua House. We have made it our goal to make sure the help we encourage guests to bring is good help opposed to help that sometimes hurts the country similar to the examples above.
My Restoration Project
The venture I am embarking on this summer 2017 is for the purpose of helping Haiti respectfully and responsibly. The project will provide immediate jobs/income for the community and will promote a healthy fish habitat to bring more ecotourism to Haiti. Ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." The concept arose in the 1970s and almost all of the Caribbean Islands benefit from it but Haiti has not.
Project is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Kids Foundation. To learn more about PKF and their faithful work in Haiti as well as the Pittsburgh area, visit pittsburghkidsfoundation.org
Donate to Make a Lasting Difference
Your donations contribute to the ongoing reef restoration program that gives local fishermen and other local Haitians the education and resources to best manage their own natural resources. Every contribution helps provide salaries to pay local Haitians who are actively working on the program and helps fund the reef rebuilding materials.