Greetings, friends! My name is Denise Dent and my husband Tom and I have been missionaries in Haiti with Many Hands for the past two years. We’ve actually been working with the organization since May of 2017 as consultants for the education and agriculture departments, but then made a two-year commitment to stay in Haiti in March of 2021. Well, this March was the end of that covenant and we decided not to renew it and have returned to Iowa to live and work.

It was a difficult decision to make because we loved working in Haiti as the Education and Ag Leads, respectively. As things got more dangerous and unpredictable in Haiti, coupled with the fact that Tom needed to concentrate more on his farming operation in the States, we decided we needed to leave Haiti and return home.

We feel good about our decision to leave because we have left behind competent and capable managers to carry on and implement the ideas and programs that we have started there. We have started some good things that we know they will continue. The School of Light principal, Micul Pierre, and Head Agronomist, Claudin Augustin, are capable of doing the jobs we did and are continuing to lead their staff in a positive direction since our departure. We will miss working with them and we wish them continued success.

Although we have left Haiti, we have not left Many Hands entirely and plan to continue consulting for them, as needed. Tom will be available to advise Claudin on new ag projects and I will help Micul in the school for the rest of the school year. There may even be future projects that we may help with in Abaco, Bahamas.

In the meantime, I have taken on the role of the Child Sponsorship Administrator for Many Hands where I will be handling various aspects of our Child Sponsorship Program. This will allow me to travel to Haiti to gather some of the information we need as well as make contact with the school. I’m just praying the political climate can change soon so that will be possible. Not seeing the students every day will be the hardest part about leaving Haiti for me.

Lastly, we would like to thank Many Hands for the opportunity to have served in Haiti for the time we did. We loved the staff there and their heart for the mission and we will miss serving with them. Also, we want to thank those of you who knew us or met us while on a mission trip to Haiti. Thank you for your prayers and support while we were there. It was a blessing knowing each of you.

Orevwa, Ayiti cheri! (Good-bye, dear Haiti)