Hope for Kidz

By Michael Roop

For over 30 years, Creekside has enjoyed an abundant relationship with Baraderes Church in Baraderes, Haiti. This relationship is served by Reciprocal Ministries International (RMI), an organization that exists to facilitate church partnerships in Haiti. While our partnership in Haiti has taken on various forms, one of the mainstays has been our engagement in Hope for Kidz, RMI’s child sponsorship program.

Poverty is as complex as it is pervasive. No one solution exists to lift the world’s poor out of their vulnerable state. At the same time, there are some solutions that are more effective than others, and child sponsorship is near the top of that list. Kids in RMI’s Hope for Kidz program receive tuition, a uniform and shoes, school supplies, an annual deworming treatment, and access to an emergency medical fund.

Through the generosity of some private donors, we are also able to offer our children a daily hot lunch. This nutrient-rich meal serves those who wrestle with food scarcity, giving them the physical energy and health needed to excel in school. All of this is operated through Baraderes Church and its satellite churches.

Each spring, our Hope for Kidz Drive is the time we reintroduce the program and invite Creeksiders to become sponsors. Our volunteer team kicks into high gear for several months, making calls, setting up info tables, and organizing all sorts of information to make sure current sponsors stay connected and new sponsors have everything they need.

This year, we wrapped up our drive with 220 kids sponsored. Considering that about that number of adults attend an average church service on a Sunday at Creekside, this represents incredible generosity! We are so thankful to each and every one of the sponsors who stepped to show the love of Jesus to some of the most materially impoverished brothers and sisters in this hemisphere.

I also want to thank the many volunteers who put so much time and effort into making the Hope for Kidz Drive a success. Many of the hours of preparation and logistics happen behind the scenes. Gathering and organizing information across multiple organizations, in different languages, and across hundreds of miles is no small accomplishment. Truly, without our volunteer team, we would not be able to engage this program at this scale.

Finally, and most importantly, we want to thank God for the grace He has shown us through your generosity, through our partnership with RMI and Baraderes Church, and through the small role we’re able to play in the lives of those precious people. May He receive the glory in all that we do!