Haiti is located in the Caribbean, directly west of the Dominican Republic. It remains the least-developed country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. 80% of the 9 million people of Haiti live below the poverty line, with 54% in abject poverty. About half of the population cannot read. The median age of the country is 20.2 years. But even in the midst of all these grim statistics and in the aftermath of the earthquake of 2010, God is at work.
Global Youth Workers in Haiti: Nego and Ellen
Nego and Ellen Pierre Louis are a young Christian couple working in Jacmel, Haiti. Serving through NMSI and YouthHOPE, they have dedicated themselves to leading the youth of Haiti to Christ. The ministry is called the Bezalel Movement. Since 2005, the Bezalel Movement has been working and is now a registered organization to further the kingdom through youth work and community services.
Nego, a native Haitian, has local connections and translation skills. Ellen, a native of Canada, adds a North American cultural perspective. Together, they have a passion for serving the Lord in Haiti. By raising up a generation of young adults passionate for the Lord and willing to reach out to their communities, they are making a Christ-like difference in this country. Their mission is to evangelize, mentor and train Haiti’s youth (young adults ages 16 and up) through:
• relationships, education, worship and work
• cooperative partnering with individuals, churches and mission teams
• outreach and evangelism to widows and orphans, at risk children, hospital and prison ministries, and the elderly
The Belzalel Movement’s program includes:
- Youth sponsorship
- Literacy teaching and training
- Cooperative partnerships
- Community outreach
- Church
- Post-earthquake relief and development in 2010
We also decided to purchase some animals to help the locals as well. Our idea was to buy some goats for the local Pastor that we work with to raise and breed the goats to give out to all the farmers as well. This way they don’t have just vegetables they are growing but they are also gaining some meat and milk that they can keep and create a living and feed their families with. As it took time for the trucks to be brought up to Seguin and supplies to be dropped this was a good solution in case of something tragic like this occurs again. They will be more prepared and have something to help them survive.
We were also able to hold our first-ever youth convention in Jacmel, where we gathered Christian and non-Christian youth to motivate and encourage their hearts in Christ since most were still mourning or even in shock still. We decided to rent a big club to host all 500+ youth that arrived. The day was filled with encouraging worship, drama performances and a message from NMSI’s own Aaron Arnold who spoke about being a team and learning to work together in times like these. Everyone who came got to have a meal and left with their hearts full and excited. It was such a time of rejoicing and laughter and happiness. We extended the Youth Convention to the following day filled with our youth group going and reaching out to the community. The boys split up and went into the areas of the town and cleaned up rubble and also cleared up around public taps where people get their main source of water. This area was filled with mud and overgrown weeds, which was making it hard for people to get their water properly. The other groups, which included the girls, they went into the refugee camps and talked with the hundreds of people and sang praise and worship songs and prayed for the people there. It was uplifting for the people there but also eye opening for our youth to see the needs of the people affected from the earthquake and even made a difference to all in the community that were affected by the earthquake!
FUTURE YOUTH CENTER: We envision a youth center with a library, computer room, tutoring, art supplies, and sports equipment. This facility would be used to teach youth trade skills to help them earn a living. To build this center, we will need an additional $20,000 for land and $30,000 for the building. To sustain this ministry long-term, we need an additional $1,000 per month. To specifically invest in this ministry, donate to Nego and Ellen Pierre-Louis.
