Eric and Elisabeth Ream are co founders and serve on the board of KOFAEL. The Reams are missionaries in Haiti serving through Heart of God International Ministries and are on the ground advocates and financial accountability for the Haitian organization.

A Note from KOFAEL Co-Founder Elisabeth Ream:

KOFAEL is a better solution! I’m about to tell you a few reasons why. I have been living and working on the ground in Haiti with KOFAEL since 2011. One of the main reasons I chose to work with KOFAEL is because I have personally seen the suffering of children in Haitian institutions and have listened to the plight of countless Haitian mothers as they share their stories with me—stories of deep poverty. Do you know what deep poverty looks like? As a mother of four, it is hard to imagine not being able to provide for my children’s most basic needs. In America there are government welfare programs that would help, but there is no such thing in Haiti. Did you know that there are over 600 known orphanages in the tiny country of Haiti and at least 80% of the children residing in them have living PARENTS who want to care for them, but do not have the means due to POVERTY? I believe and have seen that we can do something to help to prevent this cycle from continuing. I cannot think of a better way than encouraging, educating and empowering mothers with the ability to keep and courageously raise the children they love in spite of difficult circumstances. We believe God’s design is for children to grow up in families. Our ultimate desire is to reach those families with the hope found in Jesus Christ. It’s why we do what we do.

Now I know some would label this a “micro approach to a macro problem” but I disagree. Because when I look into the seventy-five faces of the women in the KOFAEL program, I also see the faces of mothers like me. These mothers and grandmothers have children like mine. I imagine those same children living in an institution or domestic servitude because their family felt they could not provide basic needs. Insert the “macro problem”. I think about the hundreds of thousands of dollars that will often pour into even just one orphanage (which contribute to families being separated and high risk of child abuse) in one year. Even in the best-case scenario, an institution can never replace what a child needs most—a family. Sometimes there are valid reasons why children cannot remain with their birth families. But if at all possible, placing a child in an institution should never be considered as a solution. Several of our KOFAEL members have adopted children and others care for extended family and their friend’s children. This is a much better option than children growing up in institutions. Two of my own children were born in Haiti and spent the majority of their childhoods living in an orphanage prior to adoption. Three of our Haitian KOFAEL directors have years of experience working in orphanages and have seen the damage that can cause to a child and the heartache this often brings to their families. These experiences have been a powerful motivation and are now a passion we share to find better solutions for the things Haiti needs—things like orphan prevention, family preservation, counseling services, healthcare, income generating jobs that also stimulate the local economy and saving for tomorrow—things KOFAEL provides.

When you choose to partner with KOFAEL, you are not simply supporting a woman to receive a small business loan. When you choose to partner with KOFAEL, you are supporting MANY Haitian families for years to come! When I think about how many people and churches and hundreds of thousands of dollars it takes to support the same amount of kids spending their lives in institutions instead of families, I don’t for one second believe that this is “micro-approach”. KOFAEL has proven sustainable with very little outside help. But we want to be able to help more families provide for their children and see the unnecessary relinquishment to institutions cease to exist. We also want to come alongside our Haitian leadership who are standing up and doing hard things in the fight for better solutions for their people. KOFAEL is a better solution!

In all honesty, I never would have guessed that I would spend many years of my life helping to run a micro-loan business program in Haiti. KOFAEL is simply a means that allows us to invest in the dreams of families by creating more options that give them hope. We do this through biblically based education that equips and empowers parents to break the cycle of deep poverty. It isn’t the small loan amount but the restored dignity, education and encouragement they receive along the journey that matters most and changes lives. We pray that we can continue to be one more solution toward that end and are so thankful for all who choose to join us!

Seeking Justice, Loving Mercy, Walking Humbly,

Elisabeth Ream