How it Started
In 2001, Jerry Dickherber closed his construction company and retired. This would be no ordinary retirement. Sonja had already made trips to Haiti to assist with Dr. Paz's dental mission there.
Their hearts went out to the starving children on the island of LaGonave. The feeding program for children ages 1-5 was established in 2001.
Under the leadership of a Haitian man named Dede ("Day-day") Charles, 350 children now receive one meal of rice and beans each day, six days a week, at no charge to them.
The children that attend the school are also fed one meal a day during the school year.
The food is purchased locally. Haitian workers prepare the meals and are paid in kind - each worker receives enough additional food each day for her own immediate family.
Water critically needed, too!
The residents of Anse-A-Galet on the island of LaGonave were so far from drinkable water that each family sent at least one person on a long journey every day with a large container to fetch water.
Often this family member was an older child who was unable to attend school because they were occupied with the water chores.
In addition, the water that they found was often contaminated.
A Schramm well drilling rig has been purchased and moved to LaGonave. The people of Anse-A-Galet now have two new wells providing good, clean drinking water right in their village.
Long Term Solutions
Rice and beans are staples of the Haitian diet. This does not provide all the nutrition that they need. Locally grown vegetables would help to fill this nutritional gap.
An additional 20 acres has been purchased on the island of LaGonave, four miles from the church. This has become known as "The Promised Land."
Future goals include providing a well for irrigation of the "Promised Land." Once irrigated, the 20 acres will be divided into small plots, with each church member having a plot for food and to provide income for their family by selling produce. A covered produce market in Anse-A-Galet is also planned.
Please Help
When you donate to Celebrate Jesus of Haiti, Inc., your funds go directly into the feeding program, school, and other ministries which directly benefit the Haitian people.
Nobody from a developed country is paid anything by Celebrate Jesus of Haiti, Inc. Only local Haitian workers are paid, while the Dickherbers and other volunteers from the United States donate their time and travel at their own expense.
The well drilling rig and the transportation of the rig to LaGonave has been paid for by the generous donations of Guts Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thank you!
Jerry with the well drilling rig in LaGonave, Haiti - ready to drill for water!