Mercy for Haiti

Lahai Roi Foundation

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About

Lahai-Roi

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The Haitian Foundation Lahai-Roi is a non-profit organization founded by a teacher and pastor from Haiti named Dortul Sidor (pronounced see-DORE). The mission of Lahai Roi is to bring hope and healing through Gospel-centered church planting, education, community development, and mercy ministry in one of the poorest areas on the planet. Pastor Sidor officially formed the 501 (c)(3) organization in 2011 before moving back to Haiti from the United States; however, its roots can be traced back over 20 years to a simple plea for help from a desperate group of people.

The organization takes its name from the passage in Genesis 16 where Hagar, realizing her utter dependence on God in a desolate and dry land, declares, “You are the God who sees me.” The name of Hagar’s well in the desert “Beer-Lahai-Roi,” translated literally means, “the well of the living God who sees me.” The Lahai-Roi Foundation seeks to be a well to the people of Haiti and a witness that the God of all grace sees and cares for them.

The ministry operates in the central part of Haiti between the small coastal town of Montrious (mon-WEE) and the rural mountain villages of Piatre (pee-AHT) and Duclos (doo-CLO). The ministry has recently planted two additional churches in the mountainous villages of Perrier and Odito. Like most of Haiti, this area has been devastated by wide-spread, generational poverty; however, the people of this region face particularly difficult circumstances due to challenging topography which results in poor transportation and a lack of infrastructure. Lahai-Roi is committed to long-term development strategies focused on achieving lasting change in this community. The organization realizes that poverty is not merely the lack of material things. As stated in the book “When Helping Hurts,” poverty is “rooted in broken relationships with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.” The Lahai-Roi Foundation strives to help the people it serves restore relationships in these four areas, which leads to healing, redemption, and restoration.

Haiti Economic Statistics:

Haiti is officially the poorest country in the western hemisphere and ranks in the top 20 worldwide by almost any measure
More than 6 million out of 10.4 million people (59%) live under the national poverty line of $2.42 per day.
Over 2.5 million (24%) live in extreme poverty which is defined as $1.23 per day.
Only 8% of the total population received any form of noncontributory social assistance from the government (49.2% in U.S.)
2010 earthquake killed almost 230,000 people. Damages and losses were evaluated at around $8 billion or 120% of national GDP.
Average income per year was $810 per person in 2015 compared to $29,979 per person in the U.S. (37 times higher)