Pray for Haiti

Under the cover of a rainstorm in the middle of the night, 2,000 French soldiers marched away from the fortress Vertières, defeated by an army of former slaves the day before. Two months later, on January 1, 1804, Haitian rebels founded the first nation in the world to be established by formerly enslaved people. After 150 years of abuse and death, Haitians won their freedom and inspired oppressed people across the Americas to seek their own. However, freedom for Haitians did not last. People were soon driven back to the plantations they had escaped, forced by new leaders to rebuild the economy and repay a massive debt. Despite two centuries of suffering, Haitians have persevered with stubborn resilience.

Since winning independence, Haitians have lived in a nation plagued by an unending cycle of disaster, oppression, and violence. The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti was devastated by the 2010 earthquake, which killed roughly 200,000 people. Since then, efforts to recover have been reversed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, another earthquake, and years of increasing gang violence. Haiti’s people suffer from overpopulation, unemployment, and disease. One-third of the population is illiterate, and sex and labor trafficking are rampant. Some children working for physically and sexually abusive employers run away and find themselves on the streets, vulnerable to sexual exploitation, begging, or crime. Criminal activity is rampant; Haiti is plagued by mass kidnappings and murders. Armed gangs control the majority of the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

Three-quarters of the population are professing Christians, mostly Roman Catholics. However, many of these people also practice Vodou — a form of West African witchcraft and an officially recognized religion in Haiti. Yet through continued Christian missions and evangelism, the power of the Gospel is being made known. Haitian believers are boldly speaking out against Vodou and its demonic practices. Christians are working around illiteracy through radio broadcasts, while missionary workers are establishing schools to educate children and train Christian leaders. Amid great suffering, God continues to work, replacing despair and brokenness with His hope and healing.