Heading to Haiti

ha-map.gifI’ve hinted a couple of times that I’ll be taking a long trip in 2008.

In April this year I’ll be joining a small group of others to fly to Haiti to observe the aid work of Compassion.

Compassion works with the poorest of the poor children in over 25 developing countries around the world in Africa, Asia, Central and South America.

Compassion works in partnership with local churches in developing countries; providing resources, training and expertise to assist in the operation of holistic child development programmes.

Each year in May, 98.5 Sonshine FM runs Compassion Day, a day where we highlight the great need to sponsor children in developing countries to provide a better life for them and their families. My trip will help me to communicate the vast need and the effectiveness of Compassion’s work.

The CIA’s World Factbook tells me that Haiti is a country in desperate poverty.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country’s widespread deforestation.

I’ll spend one day in Miami before about a week and a half in Haiti. Planning is in the early stages at the moment so I’ll tell you more as the journey gets closer.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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7 Comments

  • What a wonderful opportunity to be the hands of Christ to so many that are in need. May God bless it in every way!

    While on our side of the globe you ought to swing by Portland, OR to say hi! 🙂

  • I’ve never been to Haiti but I have heard of the poverty there when I’ve traveled to the Dominican Republic. I know your mission has nothing to do with sightseeing but if you get the chance you should spend a day in Santo Domingo. I love to visit the DR. How sad that two countries share the island but are in many ways worlds apart.

  • I am sooooooooooooo excited for you, Rodney! This will be a great experience, what a wonderful thing to do.

  • Wonderful! Have a safe trip won`t you… yes I wonder if they have cycle hire places out there! lol

    The CIA World fact book is pretty good! I had to use it for my last Open University course. It`s very imformative.

  • Thanks everyone for your comments. This is my first opportunity to reply since getting back from camp.

    I’m sure it’ll be a great experience. I wish I could stay in the US a little longer to catch up with a few bloggers but I don’t have the dollars to do it. I’m not funding the trip myself and I can’t afford the extra it would take for me to extend the visit. Seems a shame to travel that far without making the most of it.

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