SpRING 2010

Voices from Haiti

By Bob Morikawa, Technical Director

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Bob spent nearly a month

working in Haiti with our local staff and the communities where we
work. Below are some of his reflections from his time there.

Since arriving in Haiti, I have
heard story after story of how
people have survived. The other
night, a mechanic who does some
work for us from time to time was
describing how his wife was at
home, and pretty much trapped,
when a large hole suddenly
opened in the wall in front of her
and she was able to get outside to
safety. Another young man from
Cheridant in our project area was
helping with some repairs on the
local Episcopal church. While he
was working, as he put it, some-
thing told him he should change
what he was doing, so he started
outside. Just at that moment, the
way he described it, the ceiling
fell on the very spot where he had
been. Many have described how
they were thrown from side to
side, and when relating the story
move their bodies to illustrate.
Many describe it as ‘dancing’ and
laugh heartily as they tell of their
experience.
The laughter, although brave, I
think covers for an underlying
trauma which will not be erased
easily by laughter or enthralling
story telling. Our national Haiti di-
rector, Guy Paraison, was visiting
our project in the north of the coun-
try and was away from home when
the quake occurred. His 3- year-old
son, not seeing his father, asked his
mother, “is Papa dead?”
A couple of days later when our
director got home finally, his son
asked him, “Papa are you dead?”
Adults will not speak so frankly,
CONTINUED on next PAGE

Formerly known as Floresta USA

 Testimonies from Three Ways you can Help Haiti:

Voices from Haiti families in Haiti:

“Before the earthquake there
1 Pray
that Plant With Purpose will be able to give an appro-
were 11 people in my house. priate response to the needs of the victims of the earth-
They ate 3 times per day and quake, and for protection against any perils the rainy
we sent 6 of them to school. season may bring.
After, 9 more people joined
the family. I keep trying to 2 Sponsor a Village
give them 2 meals a day be- in Haiti and help transform an entire rural community
cause things are getting diffi- by empowering them to create economic opportunity
cult. There are 2 whose moth- and to protect their greatest asset, the land.
CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE er died in the earthquake.
In that sense, I say to Plant 3 Give to long-term Haiti recovery efforts
but I think the fact that even people whose homes are still intact are clos-
With Purpose thank you be- at www.plantwithpurpose.org.
ing off huge sections of city streets at night so they can sleep in the open
cause they helped me to give Franquer Delva, Lompre, Haiti
is a sign of something.
my family several hot meals.
I ask God to show Plant With
Nevertheless, in my experience, Haitians seem to always find a way to
Purpose a way to have the
get through even the most impossible of circumstances. The most popu-
means to continue to exist.”
lar song on the radio at the moment was written after Jan 12TH, and in-
- Franquer Delva, a Haitian
cludes lyrics like, “I have faith, I have hope, the people of Haiti will be
woman who lives in the re-
victorious,” and “Haiti is on its knees, but not down yet.”
gion of Kafe Lompre, Haiti.

One cannot help but be moved, inspired, and humbled by such sentiments.
Frankel Brevil is a Plant With
Purpose member from the
Haiti Relief and Recovery Project as of 4.3.10 group Saint Louis d’Haiti.
After the quake, two of his
• Organized a work group of 150 people to repair a major road in our children, ages 10 and 22, re-
project area
turned home to Fonds Ver-
• Distributed 250,000 pounds of rice to thousands of rural farmers rettes from Port-au-Prince
where they had been attend-
• Distributed 79,000 pounds of bean seed to thousands of rural farmers ing school. As a part of Plant
Breaking News
With Purpose’s Short-term

Floresta is now Plant With Purpose

• Employed 489 workers to construct more than 35 miles of soil
conservation barriers Employment project, Fran-
kel was paid to construct soil
• Thanks to your generosity, we’ve raised over $500,000 toward our erosion barriers. The bar-
overall goal of $1.3 million
riers conserve soil and pro-
tect farmers’ crops in Fran- As many of you are aware, (and tunities Plant With Purpose is the lives of the rural poor will
kel’s community, giving him can see by the new design of providing us to share our work remain the same. Please don’t
a meaningful way to earn income and support our newsletter) we have been with a wider national audience, hesitate to contact us if you
his family. “The project helps. Any little income in the process of launching and we hope that you will be have any questions about this
helps.” “Plant With Purpose” as the as excited by this new oppor- transition. As always, we wel-
– Frankel Brevil, a Haitian man who lives in the new face of Floresta. We are tunity as we are. Of course, the come your feedback and value
region of Fonds Verrettes, Haiti very encouraged by the oppor- focus of our work to transform your partnership!

Frankel Brevil, Fonds Verrettes, Haiti

2 www.plantwithpurpose.org 3
 dIRECTOR’S CORNER
By Scott Sabin, Executive Director
There have been many blessings
in working at Plant With Purpose,
but none greater than the peo-
ple I have been privileged to
work with. One of the most spe-
cial, Doris Adrian, went to be with
the Lord on December 31st. It is
no exaggeration to say that with-
out Doris, Plant With Purpose
would not exist today. Doris and
her husband Don have been in-
volved since the mid-eighties and
for many years it was their energy
and support that kept us going.
4 Formerly known as Floresta USA
Doris was more than an ordinary
volunteer, making dozens of trips
to the Dominican Republic, where
she knew all of the farmers and
their families and served on the
Dominican Assembly. In 1999,
she and Don were publically rec-
ognized by the Dominican gov-
ernment for their contributions to
the country.
By way of tribute to this remark-
able servant of Jesus, I want to
share with you an excerpt from a
poem she wrote in the last weeks
of her life.
A Nice Time
By: Doris Adrian
I’ve seen the blue Kansas sky,
And millions of stars on a clear Kansas night.
I’ve stood on a plain in New Zealand
And gazed at The Southern Cross.
… Milano and Kimo and Matthew and Chloe.
I’ve sat in a little brick Presbyterian church
And learned that Jesus loved me
As he loved the whole world.
And I heard his saying that I can’t forget
As you have done it unto the least of these,
You have done it unto me.
At 18 I had to choose…a secretary, a nurse or a
teacher.
I hated typing, didn’t like blood, so it was a teacher.
At first I didn’t like that much either, but I learned
And even in retirement love teaching English
to non-English speakers.
I’ve learned Spanish and traveled in
the Dominican Republic,
and Mexico and Central America
making friends in places tourists don’t go.
I’ve seen a small impoverished mountain community
change to a “community with opportunities.”
I’ve seen once barren hillsides in the
Dominican Republic
Covered with tall, green trees.
I’ve stood on platform with my husband in the
Palacio deBellas Artes
Doris Adrian
To receive a plaque honoring our support of
forestry in the DR.
I’ve sat in a rocking chair holding my four
grandchildren
Rocking them in their great-great grandfather’s
chair
As I rocked my own babies.
…
I’ve ridden an elephant in Thailand
And horses and burros in the Dominican Republic.
I’ve ridden in a gondola in Venice
And a puffy little train going to Arosa in the Swiss
Alps.
I’ve ridden in a train in the British countryside,
Enjoying fields of yellow rape and lavender.
…
I married a good man
And we built a house in the country
Where mother quails led their young to their nests
And the coyotes howled and the crickets
Kept our 3-year old daughter awake.
Now there’s a house near the sea
I rejoice in its many moods…
Blue with splashy white waves,
Grey and quiet with a ship in the distance,
Dark, roaring, threatening.
A beauty, a blessing this Kansas farm girl
Could never have dreamed of.
I’VE HAD A NICE TIME.
www.plantwithpurpose.org 5
 Breaking News continued
Tending to Eden Debut
It’s here! Plant With Purpose Ex-
ecutive Director Scott Sabin has
recently written a book called
Tending to Eden: Environmental
Stewardship for God’s People,
which helps connect the dots
between poverty and the envi-
ronment, and makes the bibli-
cal case for how as Christians it
is our job to care for the earth.
Tending to Eden also comes
with a creation care Bible study,
so you and your congregation
SAVE THE DATE
Planting Hope Gala
October 9, 2010
San Diego Marriott La Jolla
6 Formerly known as Floresta USA
or Bible study can more deep-
ly explore and apply this con-
cept. You can purchase the book
through our website at www.
plantwithpurpose.org. For every
purchase that is made through
our website, Amazon.com will
donate a portion of the proceeds
to Plant With Purpose, which will
go toward directly benefiting the
rural poor. Thank you for your
support!
The Sower Issue #88
The Sower is published quarterly
by Plant With Purpose.
Editor-In-Chief
Kate McElhinney
kate@plantwithpurpose.org
4903 Morena Blvd. Suite 1215
San Diego, CA 92117
Ph: (800) 633-5319
Fax: (858) 274-3728
Email: info@plantwithpurpose.org
www. plantwithpurpose.org
“Please consider including Plant With
Purpose in your wills and bequests.
Volunteer of the Quarter:
Mark Portrait
Mark has done a phenomenal job of supporting our work in Malindi, Tanzania.
Just this past year, Mark launched friendsofmalindi.org, a website dedicated
to raising funds for Malindi through coffee sales. Mark has also joined our
Board of Directors. Here is a little bit more about Mark:
How did you hear of Plant With short of remarkable. The time we God, which is our spiritual wor-
Purpose and what drew you to spent with the staff gave us a new ship.” This is my favorite aspect
the organization? insight into the mission and heart of volunteering. It is worship. 
of the effort in Tanzania. Actually
I first was introduced to Plant
With Purpose by Doug Satre, Di- having the opportunity to visit Do you have any favorite hobbies
rector of Outreach and Develop- the people, their homes, and the or interesting facts about your-
ment. Doug was serving as the communities where we work was self you would like to share?
Associate Pastor at my church in amazing. But the best part of the I love cooking, amateur pho-
Oregon. When he moved back trip was the effect it had on my life tography, and hiking. I’m a big
to San Diego to join Plant With and how I view my place in the de- Oregon Ducks football fan, and
Purpose, he shared their vision veloping world. my friends know I’m a hopeless
and invited me to get involved. gadget geek. And I just became a
What is your favorite aspect of grandfather, which is the coolest
Briefly describe your visit to Ma- volunteering? thing ever.
lindi and how it impacted you. In Romans 12:1 we are encouraged
to “present our bodies as a living Thank you, Mark, for all your
My visit to Malindi, Tanzania in
February of 2009 was nothing sacrifice, holy and acceptable to support!
www.plantwithpurpose.org 7
 Plant With Purpose
NON PROFIT ORG.
4903 Morena Blvd. Suite 1215 US POSTAGE PAID
San Diego, CA 92117
PERMIT NO. 236
Ph: (800) 633-5319 OCEANSIDE, CA
Fax: (858) 274-3728
Email: info@plantwithpurpose.org
www.plantwithpurpose.org
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Floresta is now Plant With Purpose!
work in Haiti.
See the latest news on Plant With Purpose’s
Haiti Update
environmental stewardship.
Check out Scott’s new book about
Tending to Eden Debut