Mountains of Hope for Haiti

The needs of the world can feel overwhelming and leave us wondering how we could ever make a meaningful impact. What may seem like a simple gesture to us, can make all the difference to someone living in a more difficult part of the world. Recently, the United Methodist Church of New Canaan (UMC) presented a check for $1,750 to Mountains of Hope For Haiti to purchase 140 school backpacks. The backpacks will be made by a Haitian company which employees 30 people, pays fair wages and issues recycled items in some of their products. The backpacks will be given to children in the mountainside village of Furcy, which lies about 30 miles southeast and 5,000 feet above the city of Port au Prince.

The money for the backpacks was sourced from Rotary Club's Lobsterfest ticket sales made by UMC Pastor Eric Fjeldal, a gift from the United Methodist Women’s group at the UMC and from an allocation of the UMC’s mission fund. Earlier this fall, a related mission of the UMC’s Sunday school donated 30 sets of much needed school supplies to school children in Furcy. Mountains of Hope for Haiti is a mission of the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Their mission is encourage, support, and empower rural communities toward greater self-determination and sustainability. For more information, please visit mountainsofhopeforhaiti.org or umcofnewcanaan.org