Haiti Trip Day 2: Teach a Nation to Fish

Most of us have heard the Chinese Proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” That’s most definitely Operation Blessing’s motto. We started the second day with a tour of one of OBI’s most groundbreaking livelihood projects: the largest fish farm in the entire Caribbean, operated by Dr. Valentin Abe, one of Time Magazine’s 2010 Top 100 Most Influential People in the World.

The fish hatchery was incredible! Each one of the barrels contains 30,000 fish – a special crossbreed of Egyptian and Israeli tilapia that grow fast and are resistant to salt water. I’ve never seen so many fish in my life! OBI President Bill Horan showed me where they’ll be installing a solar panel powered water filtration system that will help DOUBLE the hatchery’s fish production from 1.5 million fish to 3 million per year!

The fish farm project sets up Haitian fishermen with Tilapia cages. OBI started with 20 and now have 110 families in the program! The project creates profitable businesses and steady income that has already helped many families improve their living conditions.

I visited one of the villages in the fishing project, bordering Haiti’s largest lake a few miles outside Port-au-Prince. These are the poorest of the poor in Haiti. Many of the children suffer from malnutrition. Some of them ran around naked because they have no clothes. The nearest water source is an hour’s walk in 95 degree heat, and the water they’re getting is not drinkable. With no other option, they drink it anyway.

One of the villagers, Prophet, made a huge impression on me. He lives in a little hut by the lake with his 8 children. As a result of the fishing project, Prophet has been able to improve the sides and roof of his house, and earn a living to feed his family. OBI also supplied Prophet and the other villagers with Lifesaver purifying jerrycans to remove contaminates from the water they walk so far to get, and make it safe to drink.

I also met some young men in the village who were busy hand-weaving fishing nets. I was totally amazed by the speed at which they were able to create such beautiful and intricate patterns!

My absolute favorite moment was when Bill Horan, David Darg and I walked up to the top of the hill overlooking the

village and the lake to the straw tent that serves as the village church. The view was spectacular and profound: poverty in paradise.

The children followed us into the church and started playing music and dancing for us. It was a moment of joy that I’ll think of often and fondly for the rest of my years.

Right now, Haiti imports between $8-10 million of fish each year. OBI and Dr. Abe’s goal is to replenish the lakes, educate the fishermen, and effectively jump start the nation’s fishing industry in order to keep that money circulating in the country to grow the Haitian economy. So far, they are off to an incredible start. I’m incredibly grateful to see Haiti’s most at-risk people smiling with joy, gratitude and hope for a future.

There’s so much more to share! Stay tuned for Day 2 Part 2!

God Bless,

If you would like to learn more about Operation Blessing’s Haiti Relief and Worldwide Efforts, or to donate, please visit www.ob.org