Special to the Sydenham Current
On Thursday, January 28, 2016, Greg Brady spoke at the Rotary Club of Wallaceburg about the work he has been doing in Haiti with the ACWAM Outreach Ministries.
ACWAM is “Active Christians with a Mission”, a non-profit charitable organization which reaches out to help those in need by working with other established ministries in their day to day tasks. The group was started in 1995 by Frank and Agnes DeGroot, when a missionary couple working in Haiti sent out a plea asking for help.
Together with several friends they went to Haiti to help.
After this mission they formed a registered charity to continue their work. Greg lives on Vancouver Island, BC.
Elaine Lewis, a local ACWAM member, also helped with the presentation.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. It has suffered from numerous hurricanes and from a devastating earthquake in January 2010, which caused an estimated loss of 200,000 lives.
Many of the buildings and homes were destroyed in the earthquake.
The literacy rate is about 50%; there is little resource development and little tourist activity.
Greg has traveled to Haiti several times and helped build God’s Hope School, an elementary school in the Petion ville suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. While they cannot guarantee a better life, they can help give them a better chance. They also provide funds for students to receive very basic health care, and provide hope for something better.
Greg showed us pictures of how the school started as little more than a tent, and scenes of the school under construction, while he described the problems and difficulties of working in Haiti.
He will be asking the Rotary Clubs in BC, as well as other clubs, to join with them in developing and assisting them with their work in Haiti.
The Wallaceburg club has pledged support and assistance for his work.
The Rotary Club of Wallaceburg has been actively assisting the Wallaceburg and Chatham-Kent branch of ACWAM Outreach Ministries for many years, helping fund local volunteer missions to Haiti.
For several years we have been sponsoring Regine Necessaire, a Haitian student studying to become a doctor in Haiti, helping with her tuition which she could not afford by herself.
Phil Stall thanked Greg for his talk and presented him with a Wallaceburg Rotary banner; and Sussan gave him several extra banners to present to the Rotary Clubs in B.C. when he visits them.
– Submitted photo: Elaine Lewis, Phil Stall, Greg Brady and President Sussan Londry.
