People, Places and Things |
A Ministry of Hope: The Hands & Feet Project The
Hands & Feet Project, a children’s village in Jacmel, Haiti that was
started by GRAMMY-winning band Audio Adrenaline in 2004, has
suffered severe damage from the latest hurricane to hit the area.
To make a donation online to help Hands & Feet Project, go to www.handsandfeetproject.org.
Contributions via mail can be sent to Gustav Relief, c/o Hands
& Feet Project, PO
Box 682105, Franklin, TN 37068. Following
the destruction from hurricane Fay, hurricane Gustav buried the village in
several feet of rock that came tumbling down the mountain during the
storm. Although the overwhelming process of restoration has begun,
tropical storm Hanna that hit this week again devastated the village and
relegated the children and staff, 48 people in all, to live in one
second-story room. “We
are in need of much
prayer and financial support right now,”
says Drex Stuart, a lifetime missionary
who has previously served in Haiti and heads up the Hands & Feet
Project with his wife, Jo. “Thank God all
of our children and staff are safe. However, we have had major damage to
our property, even worse than when [tropical storm] Noel hit last
November. “With
our property completely buried in approximately four to five feet of
mountain rock, we are doing the best we can to begin the clean-up
process,” continues Drex. “Much
of our supplies, food, clothes, diapers, formula, etc., have been
destroyed and two of the houses where the kids lived were
flooded with four feet of water and are currently unlivable. All 36 kids
are living in the main house with the nannies.” After
Gustav hit Haiti, Audio Adrenaline frontman Mark Stuart and his father,
Drex, who happened to be on a break in the US, flew into Haiti with a
civil engineer to assess the damage and come up with a plan to protect the
village. Following the
assessment, the cleanup process began, but after four days of clearing
rock and piling them up to make an earthen dam that would eventually be a
12-15 foot high concrete retaining wall with re-enforced steel for
protection, tropical storm Hanna came through this week and washed all the
progress away. “Our
property is about 50 feet wide, but we are also going to help our
neighbors finish their walls, because otherwise ours will be
ineffective,” says Joel Griffith, Hands & Feet project managing
director based in Franklin, TN. “In
total we will build a 200-foot retaining wall covering a Christian school
that has 850 kids, the homes and property of five neighboring families
representing 50 people and our property housing 36 orphans and 12
staff.” “We
had major damage to two of our children's houses and we lost most of our
property walls, the foundation for our new cafeteria/kitchen. With the retaining wall and purchasing a backhoe to keep it
up, we are looking at an estimated immediate need of $100,000-
$150,000,” continues Griffith. “Although
at this time we cannot handle supplies because of shipping costs, we are
asking for monetary donations through our website, www.handsandfeetproject.org.” As
hurricanes Ike and Josephina threaten Haiti yet again, Mark Stuart also
urges people to help: “Pray for Haiti,
it’s a country that is often overlooked by the news channels when
hurricanes happen because there are really no tourist areas.
No reason to really pay attention, but it’s a place that really
could use our help.” For
more information about this ministry, go to www.handsandfeetproject.org. The
Hands & Feet Project, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is a
children’s village in Haiti started in 2004 by Audio Adrenaline.
It welcomed its first child in 2005 and currently has 36 children
ranging in age from 2 months to 9 years old. The goal of the Hands &
Feet Project is to provide a caring and loving environment for orphaned
children in Haiti. The need is great and Hands & Feet Project is
committed to saving the lives of orphaned children, giving them life more
abundantly with a home, food, education, love and acceptance.
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