Help Make Christmas Special in Sous Savanne

Over two years after Haiti?s devastating earthquake, the nation still struggles with a cholera epidemic as hundreds of thousands suffer from a lack of food, medical care, and adequate shelter. For a nation already crippled by chronic poverty, the earthquake in January 2010 and a series of brutal tropical storms since then have been a severe setback to national development.

Focusing on the village of Sous Savanne, Hope Force has established a permanent field team in Haiti to carry out long-term recovery initiatives. These include ongoing medical programs such as clinics and health education, the Child Sponsorship Program to provide food and basic necessities for families in need, and the ?Houses of Hope? project to build safe, durable homes in Sous Savanne and the nearby village of Babay.

As HFI works to bring much-needed relief to the people of Haiti through the Child Sponsorship Program and other recovery initiatives, we invite you to join in our efforts by sending a Christmas Gift Bag for one of the children in the CSP. These gift bags will be delivered in December by our field team as part of a special Christmas program.

Assembled bags can be sent to our office by November 25. All items should be packed in a one-gallon Zip-Lock bag. Please mark ?boy? or ?girl? on the bag with a sharpie and include your sponsorship number if you sponsor a child. Following are suggested items:

? Sun dress or ?Sunday dress? for girls
? Shorts or T-shirts for boys
? Basic school supplies
? Small, durable toy
? Underwear
? Hair clips or jump rope
? Small games such as dominoes

Our goal this Christmas is to put a priority on sending clothing for the children. If you can help with this, please mark ?Boy? or ?Girl? on the bag along with the clothing size.

If you don?t have time to put together a Christmas Gift Bag, you can place an order for Hope Force to assemble one for you. This can be done by sending a check to our office or giving online with a note about your gift designation. Christmas Gift Bags can be purchased and assembled for $25. If you sponsor a child, we also invite you to double the food delivery to your child this month by adding an additional $11 to your sponsorship gift.

Assembling a Christmas Gift Bag is a fun and fulfilling way to make a special connection with a child in Sous Savanne. Since the standard of living is much lower in rural Haiti, even small gifts can be extremely meaningful. In addition to the impact these gifts make on children who receive them, they can also be a blessing to those who assemble them. Time and again we hear stories of the joy experienced by families or individuals as they compile gifts for children in need. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to serve the community of Sous Savanne.