Boca Grande, Miami Valley Hope For Haitians close to goal of 50 homes
When asked where she sleeps, Iltica points to the ground in Périgny, Haiti, not far from the dilapidated home that was destroyed by a devastating earthquake last August. For Iltica and other families in Périgny, their hopes for sturdy homes are about to be realized.
Construction is scheduled to begin within the next week on the first 20 of those new homes, thanks to the perseverance and dedication of Boca Grande and Miami Valley Hope For Haitians, which has raised funds to build 41 of the 50 homes and a community center that are planned in Périgny.
Longtime Hope For Haitians Committee Chairpersons Ben and Louise Scott, natives of Piqua, Ohio, and winter residents of Boca Grande, Fla., said Haiti needs help now more than ever.
“Louise and I, our committee and donors are greatly saddened for the Haitian people. They have gone through so much adversity we wonder how they can even exist,” Ben Scott said.
“We urge everyone who can give financially to please do so because Food For The Poor is doing everything it can to relieve their suffering,” he added. “Love your neighbor. That’s what the Gospel teaches us.”
Now, Boca Grande and Miami Valley Hope For Haitians are making a final push to reach their goal of 50 homes.
Families in Périgny already were suffering in destitute poverty before the 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14 that destroyed tens of thousands of homes. Just days later, Tropical Storm Grace compounded the misery.
Ilitca’s home in Périgny, Haiti, was already vulnerable after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The earthquake in August 2021 made conditions even worse.
Photos/Food For The Poor
And then two more significant quakes struck the same region in late January, destroying nearly 200 more homes and damaging 591 others.
Ilitca’s home already was vulnerable after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The August earthquake made conditions even worse.
“Our little hut fell apart completely,” she said. “So, I sleep in this little hole with my husband. I have nothing to survive. The situation has taken everything away from me. We’re on our own. Only God and the sky knows how we are living.”
Jocelyn Glezil, a community leader, said the biggest need in Périgny is housing.
“People are very miserable,” he said. “Ninety percent of the homes were devastated and people are just now attempting to patch their homes. The farmers can no longer work because everything the land produced was taken away by the earthquake. The people need your support and are counting on Food For The Poor and its donors to help them come alive again.”
Community member Josette prays for a new home. When it rains, water pours into the damaged shack she shares with her husband and six children.
“When we have nothing we just wait. When I find a little something, I give it to the kids,” she said. “Otherwise, we all wait.”
Since 2009, Boca Grande and Miami Valley Hope For Haitians has built more than 550 homes on the island nation through FFTP. Most recently, the groups funded more than 150 homes over a three-year period in Savann Kabrit.
This is the second year Boca Grande Hope For Haitian’s annual in-person fundraiser has been canceled due to pandemic. However, the committee which has held the event with FFTP each year since 2009 did not let the pandemic curb their passion for helping families in Haiti and are hopeful they also will reach their goal this year.
“We are profoundly grateful to the Boca Grande and Miami Valley communities for all that they have done and continue to do to provide hope to these families in Haiti,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said. “The needs in Haiti were already enormous before the August earthquake. Thanks to our donors, we are working diligently to build homes.”
To support the Hope For Haitians project in Périgny, go to FoodForThePoor.org/bocagrandehomes
Committee members include: Chairpersons Ben and Louise Scott, the Rev. Gary Beatty, the Rev. Jerome Carosella, the Rev. Michelle Robertshaw, Henry and Ginny Bryant, George and Lois Castrucci, Patricia Chapman, John Denneen, Lou and Corie Fusz, Jim and Lynda Grant, Stephen and Susan Jansen, and Tom and Nancy Lorden.
