Giving the Gift of Hope and Healing

At DocuTAP, we are inspired to give, especially at Christmas time. And this year, we were inspired to give a little more. Every December, we send a package to our clients, vendors, family, and friends, and this holiday season each package contained a special donation to Mission Haiti.

Over the years, DocuTAP has been passionate about Mission Haiti and its efforts; and after Hurricane Matthew, we knew we wanted to get involved. Below is a true story about a family impacted by October’s storm and Mission Haiti's important work.

Blog from Mission Haiti:

On October 4, 2016 in the Haitian village of Bethany, the Orgea brothers lost everything.

Before Hurricane Matthew, Labon and Jean Orgea ran a small business producing and selling charcoal. In addition to working together, the close-knit brothers built a single-room house where they, along with their wives and children, lived. They also had a garden, which was their primary food source. Despite the tight living conditions, having a decent house to live in, land to garden, and a village with a school nearby was a blessing for the family of fifteen.

Overnight, life was forever changed for the Orgeas. Hurricane Matthew had demolished the house. The garden crops were uprooted and the family business was unable to produce a meaningful income. When the hurricane subsided, the brothers stood homeless, without food, and without jobs.

Piece by piece, the Orgea brothers tried to collect materials from what was left of their village. Warped scrap metal was used to create makeshift houses not much bigger than the average garden shed in the U.S.

Mission Haiti learned of the Orgeas situation and was compelled to act. Funded by generous stateside donors via Mission Haiti’s Hurricane Relief Fund, the non-profit is now in the process of working with the brothers to construct a new house on the same foundation.

In early December, small teams of Mission Haiti volunteers worked with the brothers, clearing old rubble and dirt from the foundation. Without the help and support of Mission Haiti’s donors, the Orgea brothers would still be living in a makeshift shack. Now, with a house under construction and hope restored, the children are attending school while their parents tirelessly work to provide for the family.

The Orgea story is just one of many left in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Mission Haiti plans to build more houses alongside families whose homes have been leveled. If you are interested in helping contribute to a house, or desire to learn more about Mission Haiti’s hurricane relief efforts, please visit mission-haiti.org.

DocuTAP Serves, the charity branch of DocuTAP, has actively been working with Mission Haiti for years. Mission Haiti, a non-profit organization that began in Sioux Falls in 2005, focuses on orphan ministry, school sponsorships, evangelism, medical care, and short-term missions in villages throughout Haiti. To learn more about DocuTAP Serves or Mission Haiti, click here.