Monday, March 23, 2026

Our Haiti Legacy

It’s been 10 years since a group of us from GPUMC flew to Haiti for a second time. We helped build classrooms at the Harry Brakeman school in the city of Petit-Goave, some 25 miles from the epicenter of a devastating 2010 earthquake.

That return trip provided a huge sense of achievement. The foundation we had built two years earlier was now supporting active classrooms, thanks to follow-up work by visiting crews like ours. We left knowing that the nearly completed rooms we had worked on would soon be ready for use.

Even then, though, we saw signs of a country unraveling. On the Friday before we left, the driver of our van had to dodge chaos in Port-Au-Prince. A runoff election for president was postponed two days before it was scheduled to take place. Citizens, suspecting a rigged vote, took to the streets in protest.

Since then, the country has been the scene of assassination and anarchy. Some 90 percent of the capital is reportedly controlled by gangs.
All of which has left me wondering: Is there anything left to show for our efforts? Not surprisingly, an AI response through Google said the Harry Brakeman school had closed.

Then came a much better report. Dan Hart, our former associate pastor and leader of our trips, checked with an actual human and learned the school is still open.
The news put a flood of memories in a much different light.

That anxious ride through the streets of Port-Au-Prince led us to a Methodist guest house, where we spent our final night in Haiti.

“Does our work do any good?” I asked its director after dinner.
“Yes,” he said, without hesitation. “As bad as things are, they would be much worse without groups like yours.”

Things are now much worse. Yet the Harry Brakeman school still stands, providing education – and hope.

In my mind, that makes our work, the financial support of GPUMC members, and the labor of our fellow Haitian construction workers – Joel, Serge, Maxo, Simon, Edym, Jean-Pierre, Samuel, Emmanuel, and others – more valuable than they were a decade ago.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58

Dave Versical