Bonjou nan Ayiti!

Last week the theme of my message was, "He believed in me." The late Jim Valvano often said, "My father gave me the greatest gift I could ever receive. He believed in me." My father did the same thing. There is power when one is aware that there are others who love you and believe in you.

But what about those who never had or knew a father? What about those whose own mother abandoned them or died and left them orphaned? What about those who live in a country with no social services safety net? What about those who are abandoned and left to fend for themselves on the streets in danger and in poverty? What about children who are trafficked and abused, used as sex slaves, who are constantly beaten and told that they are no good? What about children who see other children with the opportunity to go to school and know they will never be able to do that? What about many of the children of Haiti?

Tetkole Band prepares to play for the January 2012 Haiti Immersion Team.

On Monday afternoon when our group arrived in Jacmel, we got to see what is possible when some of the most invisible and forgotten children in the world are found by people who choose to invest in them and believe in them to raise them up to be the best they can be. These are young people who are part of the Tetkole band.

Tetkole, an acronym in Haitian Creole meaning heads together, is a ministry in Jacmel for children who live in very "difficult situations."  Click here to continue reading