Visiting Servants of All Ministry

Servants of all Ministry, invites all who are interested in supporting our work to come see for themselves what we are doing in Haiti. From mission teams to visiting pastors, we would love to meet you.

All visits must be approved and arranged through our American office. The cost of visiting SOAM is $400 per week plus airfare. Please note that the cost of airfare can vary and it is up to the visiting group leader to purchase airline tickets to Port au Prince (PAP - Port Au Prince Mais Gate) through American Airlines for his or her own group. We do have recommendations should you wish to save money, however. Also, as a matter of Haitian law you must carry a valid US Passport.

Current passport
Clothes—long pants or dresses for outside of the orphanage, modest swimwear, appropriate shorts, church clothing, hiking type clothes for possible mountain exploration...etc.
Shoes—for outdoors, shower...etc.
Flash light with fresh batteries
Personal hygiene items as needed
Spending money (for souvenirs, offerings, and snacks)
Camera and all related items—especially batteries
Journaling materials are encouraged—Bible and writing materials…etc.
Sun protection—hat, sunglasses, sunscreen
A smile and a great attitude—please be flexible

Haitian law requires U.S. citizens to have a passport to enter Haiti. In the past, officials have sometimes waived this requirement if travelers have a certified copy of their U.S. birth certificate. Due to fraud concerns, however, airlines will not board passengers for return to the United States unless they are in possession of a valid passport. The U.S. Embassy strongly recommends that U.S. citizens obtain passports before travel to Haiti. Once in Haiti, they can experience delays of several weeks for the issuance of a passport, as it is often more difficult to establish identity and citizenship overseas than in the United States.

The Haitian government requires foreign visitors to obtain visas upon arrival in order to enter Haiti while also requiring a fee prior to departure. U.S. citizens are encouraged to contact the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti for further information regarding entry, departure and customs requirements for Haiti.

The Embassy of the Republic of Haiti is located at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008, the telephone number is (202) 332-4090, and the Internet address is http://www.haiti.org. There are likewise Haitian consulates in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and Puerto Rico.

The native Arawak Amerindians—who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492— were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island—Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti 's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'Ouverture and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804.

Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history since then, and it is now one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jea Port au Prince, Haiti

n-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. Aristide won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early in 2001.

After much protesting and revolts, Aristide is now in Africa after his flight into exile on February 29, 2004. A new interim government is now in place, backed by the United States and France. Haiti 's new Prime Minister is Gerard Latortue, who swore in his Cabinet in March 2004. The new government will run the Americas' poorest country, where more than 200 people have been killed in violence since the anti-Aristide rebellion flared on February 5, until elections can he held.

"The role of political parties isn't just to be asking for jobs in government.... But after the goverment has been installed, political parties have to work with the government and all kinds of organizations to determine what direction the government shoud take," Latortue

Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic

Area:
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

Religions: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo

Literacy: total population: 52.9% (definition: age 15 and over can read and write)

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti

Administrative divisions: 9 departments; Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

Constitution: approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994

Legal system: based on Roman civ Grande Goave, Haiti

il law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Economy - overview:
About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001 and an estimated 0.9% in 2002. The contraction will likely intensify unless a political agreement with donors is reached on economic policy. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500 million at the start of 2003.