2019 Becky DeWine School Graduation

Hands Together celebrated the graduation of 150 students on July 5th. We were honored to have Gov. Mike DeWine and Fran and many of their family members join us. There is hope in hardship and light in the darkness. Thanks be to God!

1st Communion in Cite Soleil

On Sunday, June 16 in the Cite Soleil Slum area 216 children gathered at our Hands Together Chapel of St. Ann to receive First Communion.  To mark this special event the clothing that the children wore (the white robe and blue stole) were made by the women of Holy Family Parish in South Pasadena.

Up until the very minute of the ceremony, there was a fear that it would all be cancelled due to the violent civil unrest. During the ceremony outside the chapel there was constant shooting. But miraculously, all went well, and the children and their family members were very happy and excited. We are thankful to the Lord!

Becky DeWine Students Win Award

Proud to announce that the students at the Becky DeWine school in Cite Soleil competed in an academic competition and came out the winners. They competed with many schools in Haiti. We are proud of these hard-working young people!

VIOLENCE IN HAITI CONTINUES - HOLY WEEK UPDATE FROM FR. TOM

Update from Fr. Tom: In the last two weeks there has been almost continuous violence in Cite Soleil. Three of our students were shot as they walked to school. The guardian at our St. Veronica School was shot as well as several of our staff. Holy Week all the churches including the Catholic parish were closed. Hands Together had its Holy Thursday and Good Friday celebrations and celebrated Easter as well.There was absolutely no shooting for at least three hours while we had our religious services.
On Holy Saturday, HT distributed 6,000 meals to the elderly and to those in desperate need. Pray for protection for our students and staff and that the violence would end.

UPDATE FROM HAITI FROM DOUG RE: VIOLENCE

UPDATE ON SITUATION IN HAITI FROM DOUG:

"I arrived in Port-au-Prince on Sunday after 59 angry men from Delmas were throwing rocks and chanting inflammatory things. Fr. Tom invited them into the chapel and gave each the equivalent of $6 and a rosary, then they left peacefully. 
Travel has been impossible till yesterday, as roadblocks were lifted. Fr. Tom & I are in no foreseeable danger at the moment. We have met several times with leaders in the Cite Soleil neighborhood. Schools remain closed and we are using this time to work on building projects which we will share soon in upcoming posts.

School re-opened after the February incidents, but the atmosphere is still tense. At present we closed the school for a couple of days as the violence is happening again. We continue to trust God to protect us as He always has.

We are grateful for all the prayers & notes of concern & folks reaching out. We are very good & filled with holy optimism. Thank you all!"

Heartwarming High School Graduation - Short Lived

--An update from Doug who is on the ground in Haiti--
"Yesterday Fr. Tom and I felt the deep satisfaction and teary fondness that comes with seeing students overcome the worst poverty and violence and finish their H.S. education with dignity and strength". 130 young men and women graduated from our Becky DeWine School and that is truly a miracle. 
This special day was quickly drowned out by burning tires, bullets, rock missiles, and total lawless unrest as the general population exploded in frustration over super high gas prices. The airport is closed and Tom and I may be stuck here a long time. Pray for us and for some relenting to the misery of a lawless, rapacious and hungry people.

Flooding Update

Flooding Update

We are grateful that the rains subsided and the flooding has been alleviated. We are also grateful to the donors and friends who made special contributions to help with the clean-up effort. God Bless You!

UPDATE: Rain is letting up and flooding is subsiding. Thank you to all of those who been donating to this emergency effort to clear the trash & debris!

LATEST NEWS FROM HAITI - Rains & Flooding

I left Haiti a few weeks ago and witnessed terrible misery created by heavy rains there. Fr. Tom called me to describe what has been happening.
The rain begins to fall about 8pm and it is extremely heavy. In Cite Soleil the rain pounds on the tin roofs of the tiny houses.
Within just a few minutes water begins to flow steadily into these dwellings making it impossible to sleep.
By midnight the rains begin to stop and what started as a stream of water up in the hils ends up as a flood of heavy mud carrying filthy garbage and debris rushing down the mountain into Cite Soleil burying the poor.
By four or five in the morning there is thick mud everywhere mixed with sewage. Rats seem to be everywhere as they are forced out of their hiding places by the flow of the water and mud.
By sunrise the entire area of Cite Solei is under water and there is a terrible smell. 
There is no government help! There is no police presence. There are no organizations doing anything.
Seeing the tired eyes of mothers who have not slept for 2 to 3 nights because they must hold their children so they don’t drown, we knew we had to do something. Hands Together rented two large front end loaders for $900US a day. It is now the 6th day.
Pray that this rain ends soon!

God bless,

Doug

2018 Annual Appeal Booklet

We're happy to report the 2018 Annual Appeal booklet has been mailed out to our supporters. It shares what has been happening in Haiti and all of the projects that Hands Together has there. We are so grateful for the kind and generous support from our donors and friends. We can't do this without you! Fr. Tom and Doug send their thanks!

NEWS REGARDING HANDS TOGETHER ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC

We have been fortunate to share a special relationship with Jumping Brook Country Club as they have graciously hosted our annual golf classic for many years.

This special relationship and this event have generated more than a million dollars which has helped countless poor in Haiti over the years. For this we salute and thank Matrix Development and Jumping Brook Country Club and owe them a great debt of gratitude for their kindness.

All things have a life of their own and now it is time to change our annual event. We thank all of you who have attended and faithfully donated to our golf outings over the years, as well as those who worked behind the scenes to make them successful.

While the golf outing has been a terrific annual fundraising event, it has also been a great way to connect with our donors. Our primary purpose in this event was to host a gathering for all our friends and supporters to come together and learn about the work we're doing with their generous help.

We are now in the process of planning another event where our friends and supporters can come together once again, see Fr. Tom, and hear about the work they've been part of for so many years.

In the coming weeks we'll announce the date, time and place for the next event. Please check back to our website and Facebook page for more details as they become available.

Hands Together Attains Exceptional 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator

Hands Together received an exceptional 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for another consecutive year. Charity Navigator puts 1.5 million charities through a rigorous financial check-up and only 15% have received consecutive 4-star ratings. This exceptional designation sets Hands Together apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public. We are grateful for this designation.