Serving Christ, Helping Haitians Improve Their Lives

Founded in 1987, Hand to Hand for Haiti is a Connecticut-based, faith-driven organization that partners with community leaders in Haiti to provide education, medical care, sanitation, and evangelism.

Our current missions include a permanent clinic in Carrefours-des-peres in the north of Haiti, a school in Point Sable on the island of , and sponsoring Project Teach, a teacher-training mission that has been impacting education in Haiti since 1998.

Although we are a small organization, we have been able to achieve results with very little overhead (<5%). That is because we work with trusted, effective partners who are leaders in Haiti. We have no paid administrators. The only staff who are paid are those who run the clinic in Carrefours-des-peres and the teachers in our school on La Gonave.

We also partner with community organizations in Cap Haitian and in the island of La Gonave. As they have proposed projects for community improvement, such as latrines, clinics, and education, Hand to Hand for Haiti has responded with training and funding. Organizations are held accountable to meet goals and standards before receiving money.

Joseph and Micheline Michel, along with two other couples, started Hand to Hand for Haiti on a prayer in 1987. They met regularly to pray about how to alleviate the tremendous needs of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Out of those prayers came an organization that still runs on a shoestring, targeting needs by partnering with Haitian leaders who supply project ideas and manpower. One example is a new clinic.

In Haiti, doctors and clean water are scarce. In 2011, Hand to Hand for Haiti addressed both problems when it opened a clinic in Carrefour-des-peres and provided a well to serve both the clinic and the community. Still, the heart of the mission is healing the spirit. “Jesus said we will always have poor people with us,” said Hand to Hand for Haiti president Joseph Michel. “We are helping people to meet their earthly needs, but our main goal is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.” Even after the devastating 2010 earthquake, Joseph witnessed people singing praises to God, sustained by the hope that comes from faith.

After the 2010 earthquake, Hand to Hand for Haiti distributed $10,000 to three partners who were helping displaced persons. Mission trips include Bible teaching and other training for church leaders, in addition to mobile clinics and health education. They also conduct crusades where people commit their lives to following Christ and gain an eternal perspective.