Folks,
As the year is ending, I am struck with its razor-sharp contrasts.
Haiti is the country where I have lived and worked for the past 10 years, and it is falling apart around me. Diesel prices have tripled. There is no gasoline to be found. Food is outrageously expensive. I had to spend $700 mid November to stock up on basics for a month: pasta, beans, coffee, canned goods, oil. No meat or veggies. 700 Dollars USD.
The stress is very tough on people, and I feel it. It’s hard not to. People I care about are finding it difficult to survive with no work, limited transport, and little food. And the violence continues.
But, then there is CODEP, and that is what holds me together. Folks are still – STILL – working to harvest and plant seeds, prepare the mountainsides, and transplant seedlings. They are carefully nurturing their gardens so they can feed their families. I am so grateful, lucky, and amazed to have landed in a place where people focus on hope.
I urge you as I have never done before to help them stay strong in their hope. Please send a contribution this holiday season so that 2022 can promise more for my – for our – Haitian family.
Michael Anello, Executive Director
