Any large problem can be conquered if we all take a small piece. You can help. You’d be amazed at the difference that can be made with a small gift.

Payroll is over $10,000/month. This essential expense makes sure each child is cared for, but it also supports the surrounding communities. This is their biggest need, and they are asking for directed donations for this expense. (Would you like to make a monthly donation towards this expense?)

It costs $9/day to feed the children. COTP is currently caring for over 60 children. Monthly budget for all food is $5000. COTP also spends $1000/month for milk and $750/month on formula.

It costs $40/hour to run the generator during the day, which provides electricity to COTP. Monthly, they pay $1400 for diesel and propane as well.

Make a donation on COTP’s website.

Although an enormous expense, this also is making a huge difference in the local community.

Right now the biggest strain and blessing of our budget is payroll.

You have been to Haiti many times, so I am sure you know how much employment means to those who work for us. In the past few years, we have really tried to raise up our employees. We have given raises and improved benefits. We have also focused on education, support, and empowering them. And our employment force has grown. We now employ just under 80 people. They are amazing. You see that when you sit speak with them, watch them, or sit in on one of their prayer and worship times. We are
blessed to have them.

And we see our payroll blessing the community. Nearly every house within 2-3 miles of us that is being built has one of our employees living in it. In Lagossette, only those who work for us are building. Many of them are leveraging the salaries they take in from us and putting it to work in other ways. 1/3 to half of our employees are actively building new cement homes to replace their former crumbling plaster and tin ones. Actively is the key word there, as you know some people will build a home for years. Several of our employees are finishing homes.

Their biggest need right now is directed donations towards that expense. Please consider a monthly donation of $60 or more.

Options

1 Week of Nanny Care : $60.00USD – monthly 2 Weeks of Nanny Care : $120.00USD – monthly 3 Weeks of Nanny Care : $180.00USD – monthly 4 Weeks of Nanny Care : $240.00USD – monthly

This is a monthly recurring donation.

There are 62 children at COTP just like him, and more coming every day. Show a child that he matters by sponsoring for $30/month. You’ll receive monthly photos and status updates, as well as the satisfaction of knowing you are changing a life forever.

Please visit COTP’s website for more details and to sign up.

Amazon.com offers up to 20% discount on some items if you sign up for a subscription plan. You can send 100 diapers to COTP on a monthly basis for less than $20.

We’ve set up a Wish List on Amazon.com with COTP’s most needed supplies and to help you get the most for your dollar.

Check out the COTP Wish List.

We’d love to help. We can provide resources, such as photos and signage, contacts for discount rentals and catering, and more.

Your contribution would be the cost of the event (food & beverages, rentals, etc.).

If you’re interested in raising awareness in your circle of influence and partying with a purpose, contact us for more details.

As promised, everytime we go to Haiti, we make sure to get a list of immediate needs from the staff there and bring it back asking you to meet those needs. This is our list. We are hoping to get everything shipped out by the end of this month, so please make sure to get your items to us by April 24th. If you have any questions, please email me at brett@e3scottsdale.com

• Bags of rice (5-10) lbs
• Bags of beans
• Bags of pasta
• Tomato Sauce
• Oatmeal  (large tubs)
• Powdered Milk
• baby wipes (smaller packs of 80-100 wipes
• baby lotion
• rice cereal
• diapers (all sizes)
• Shoes (all sizes infant to 10 yrs old)
• Sandals (all sizes infant to 10 yrs old)
• Underwear (all children’s sizes)
• Toys: small children’s toys (yo-yos, etc.)
• CD’s: Children’s Music/ Kids Worship Music (French, English, Creole)
• DVD’s: Children’s Movies/ Christian Movies
• Stuffed Animals
• Plastic Water Bottles (liters)
• Coffee Maker
• Lollipops
• Easter Candy: Peeps, Robin Eggs
• Peanut Butter M& M’s
• Paint Brushes
• Paint Rollers
• Dog Shampoo
• Flea & Tick Collars (dogs)
• Flea & Tick Shampoo (dogs)
• Cheese Grater
• French Press (2)
• Creamer (not refrigerator)
• Tortillas  (corn & Flour)
• Salsa
• Tortilla Chips
• Green Salsa
• Macayo’s Taco Sauce
• Rice Krispies
• Marshmallows
• EmergenC
• Hair gel for curly hair
• Nail polish
• Brownie mixes
• Cake mixes
• Frosting mixes
• Fun Dip
• Chai Tea mix
• Cappuccino mix
• Hammers
• Concrete Nails
• Concrete Screws
• Hacksaw Blades
• Cheese Grater
• Gluten free mixes of all kinds
• Gluten free snacks
• Gluten free pancake and waffle mix
• Gum
• Venus Razors (Refills)
• Hammock
• Haitian/Creole Bibles
• Water bottles
• Spoons (stainless steel)
• Childrens Shoes

Microfinance is defined as the provision of small loans (microcredit) to poor people. This includes consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services to help them engage in productive activities or grow very small businesses. Many Americans don’t realize that there are billions of people who don’t have access to the banking and financial institutions that are so important to the way we handle money. People in rural and impoverished areas have to rely on loan sharks and predatory lending. Most common are 5/6 loans, or loans with a 20% interest rate. Whats so bad about a 20% interest rate, you ask? The interest of these loans is often compounded on a weekly or even daily basis! This creates a vicious cycle that harms more than it helps, and makes it almost impossible for people to better themselves.

This is where organizations like Kiva.org come into play. Kiva has provided over $100 million dollars in microfinance loans. Kiva was born of the following beliefs from www.kiva.org:

• People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
• The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.
• By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.

Kiva promotes:

• Dignity: Kiva encourages partnership relationships as opposed to benefactor relationships. Partnership relationships are characterized by mutual dignity and respect.
• Accountability: Loans encourage more accountability than donations where repayment is not expected.
• Transparency: The Kiva website is an open platform where communication can flow freely around the world.

The main draw to microfinance–for me– is the concept of providing a “hand up” instead of a “hand out”. The ability to empower people to better themselves can have far greater long term impact than simply meeting a need. Not to say that charitable giving is bad, because amazing things happen when people give of their time and money. However, the confidence and satisfaction that comes with making your own way can be a tremendous catalyst in breaking the cycle of poverty.

So, back to Rimbert. He is 32 years old, married in common-law, and the father of 2 children. He alternates his daily activities with his livestock business. He raises his livestock and later sells them interantly. He wishes to expand his livestock business. He requests a loan to purchase heads of cattle. His loan is scheduled to be repaid in 8 months, and the loan is being distrubuted through one of Kiva’s partners in the area: Asociación Arariwa.

Asociación Arariwa has been an active partner on Kiva for over 2 years, and they’ve provided 3445 loans for a total of $2,649,000. Of all of those loans, only 9 are deliquent, and zero are in default. Though Rimbert is a man, Asociación Arariwa’s main goal is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of low-income women and their families by offering financial and educational services.

Over the next few months I’ll be providing updates on Rimbert’s repayment progress. I hope that this experiment will encourage you to branch out and fund a loan of your own. As little as $25 is all that’s required to get your feet wet, so get out there, get off your donkey, and bring your cracker!

While in Haiti, our team took time to assist the on staff nannies with daily chores, ranging from feeding the children, to brushing their teeth. We played with the children, held them, and did everything we could to make their lives just a little bit better. We also cared for the sick babies during the night, as they needed to be seperated from the healthy ones during their recovery to keep sickness from spreading.

One of the projects we undertook while we were there was the build an “interview gazebo”. When families from the community who want to have their children cared for by COTP, or need to give them up for a chance at a better life, they meet with the staff in an area where current baby residents are playing, crawling, being fed, etc. This area was never intended to be for interviewing people, and it quickly became inconvenient if a child was sick, or restless. Our job was to design a new meeting area away from the children, where they can meet with the staff, or have their babies examined by the on site nurse, Amy. We poured a concrete foundation, built an awning and covered it with tin.

We also repaired several sections of the fence that spans 3/4 of the edge of their property. The front of the compound is a concrete wall, but the side and rear borders were chain link and needed some work. We repaired fallen sections, which will now do a better job of keeping out cattle, and also strung two rows of barb wire across the top for increased security. On a personal note, if you’ve never had to work with barb wire, consider yourself lucky!

This was one of many trips we’ve made to COTP, and everytime we go we try to discover a need and do everything within our means to help these amazing people. This last trip we uncovered a plan to significantly better the compound for the forseeable future. Energy consumption is is one of their biggest obstacles. Currently they are powered by a diesel generator, which recently was forced to be upgraded because of deteriorating equipment. New batteries and a new inverter have helped; allowing them to run the generator more efficiently–even providing power at all times (in the past this was not the case). However, because this is their main source for power, the generator runs for 10 hours a day, costing $1,000 a month in fuel costs alone. This is a huge portion of their monthly budget.

The solution ot this problem comes through a pursuit of solar energy. Our goal is to install a solar system which will offset the use of the generator tremedously, allowing them to cut the time it runs down to 1/4 of what it does now, saving them about $9,000 a year. The suns rays are free, but using them to provide energy is not. In the long run,solar power will be cleaner, quieter, and far less expensive. However, the start up cost for the system is quite significant. Children of the Promise has already made a large investstment in new inverters and batteries, which are compatible to a solar system and are an expensive component.

This is where you come in. In order for us to make this a reality, we need to raise $35,000. This amount includes all the panels and equipment needed to operate the solar panel setup. We realize this is not a direct donation to the people of Haiti, however this project will allow us to allocate more of our funds toward the children in our care and the surrounding community for many years to come. We as that you consider partnering with us on this project in one of the following ways:

Adopt a Panel: We will need 32 solar panels to complete our system. The panels generate 205 watts each and have an expected lifespan of 25 years. Each panel will cost $1,000 (including installation). If you can be one of 32 people to sponsor a panel, we can make this project a reality.

Sponsor the Project: The project will cost slightly more than the cost of the panels alone. Of you decide not to sponsor a panel, please consider a donation to help raise the remainder of these funds. Here is a projection of what we will save over the next 10 years:

The savings are incredible. In the states people install solar panels with the hope that they will pay off in 15 or more years. Having the system pay for itself in four years is an incredible opportunity that will indisputably lead to amazing savings. Our goal is complete the project before the start of 2011. If you would like to partner with us in this project, you can send donations to:

Children of the Promise
PO Box 123
Prinsburg, MN 56281

We welcome any questions or input that you might have relative to this project. Please contact Jamie Groen directly at jamjengroen@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Also, please feel free to download a copy of our proposal, as well as technical documentation.

Proposal PDF

Technical Documentation PDF

A team from E3 Church is heading to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, to provide assistance to a local crèche:

Haiti is an unforgiving place; poverty, death, and disease saturate this island. Facing these realities will be life changing and rewarding. All of the babies come to COTP in desperate need. As they become healthy, their biological family will often take them back to their homes. Sometimes, due to a variety of circumstances, the biological family cannot care for a baby, and the child is placed in an adoptive home in the U.S., Canada, or Europe.

We’re sending a team to build a much-needed fence and tackle whatever projects that the COTP staff need them to do. In addition to the building/maintenance projects to work on, there is always the need to assist with the care of the children. During the day, members of the team will be changing, feeding, bathing and playing with the babies. At night, they may care for new or sick babies to give the full-time volunteer staff a much needed rest.

All proceeds from the auction will benefit this trip, paying for travel costs and supplies for the children.

Thank you to everyone who bid! If you would still like to make a donation, click the link below.

To make a donation to the team, click here.

All donations are tax-deductible. Donors who purchase items through the online auction may claim a charitable contribution deduction for the excess of the purchase price paid for an item over its fair market value. The donor must be able to show, however, that he or she knew that the value of the item was less than the amount paid.