A match made in Haiti

Marlene Berthelot’s visit to the Central Jersey Church of Christ was truly inspiring. From the moment she arrived on Thursday evening the planning and discussions regarding the future began. Marlene is a savvy business woman with 20 years of experience owning and operating 3 Florida Nursing Homes. She holds a Bachelor of Science and master’s degree from Boston University. She has known the sweeter side of the American dream and even owned the Florida home of the famous Babe Ruth. She is no stranger to hard work and managing challenging and difficult situations. 36 years ago, she and co-founder Marie Jessie Pierre promised each other they would return to Haiti some day to help. This pact was made over a cup of tea.
Marlene met with volunteers and supporters to discussed her vision for the upcoming April 30th trip to Haiti. Plans include mentoring young men during a community project to construct a new park with recycled materials. There are plans for a daily women’s group to teach and train women about various health issues. Volunteers will have many opportunities to leave their mark in Gressier, Haiti. They will start planting a garden on a portion of a 15acre property donated to the orphanage by the Gressier, Parish. This will be the future site of a 60 plus bed orphanage, presently only a dream! There are other projects and plans too numerous to detail like daily eco-tours, painting of school bus, English instruction and more.
On Sunday morning, after our worship service, we viewed a CNN video briefly covering the work being done in Gressier by Marlene Berthelot with the help of volunteers from HOPE worldwide. Soon after, Marlene was introduced to the church and was presented with a banner that read “This work is supported by Hopeworldwide, Central Jersey Chapter”. It was truly an electric time and more than anyone could have hope for. In that moment it was no longer a handful of people championing this cause but an entire group united for this great and worthwhile cause. The weekend concluded with a meeting of members of our board of directors. During that time Marlene shared her heartfelt story detailing the moment she arrived to the United States 44 years ago all the way up to how the orphanage began along with the help they are seeking. When the meeting was over, it was clear that everyone now shared a passion for seeing this effort succeed. With God…anything is possible.