On September 27, 2007 a team of 5 left Vero Beach, Fl. for 5 nights and 6 days with 10 suitcases full of brand new sneakers, bound for Haiti!  On our team was Nancy Hart, Cindy Ward, Chuck Wilson and my husband Frank Voss and myself, Ria Voss.  After collecting shoes since April we were so excited to finally pack them all up and get them on the feet of the Haitain children.  When we arrived in Port au Prince, Haiti, we were met by Bettie Synder and Teresa Prange, both of Glow Ministries in Zeeland, Mi.  Also, Dr. Marty Schnell, from Tennessee and Dr. Barry Staum from Idaho also joined our "Shoes for Haiti's kids" team.

We started our trip in Haiti with a trip to an orphanage of 100 children.  We walked through the orphange hugging, loving, and praying for the children there.  Many were severally handicapped and we thank God for those at the orphange that were called to take care of these precious children.  Then onto see our dear friend, Beverly Plourde also from Vero Beach, who is helping to take care of the children in the "Baby House"  A home where babies are brought there by their mothers because they cannot take care of them.  We all were so touched by all the children, full of smiles and just wanting to be played with and loved. 

We left there with all our suitcases full of shoes and climbed into the back of the pickup truck and sat on benches as our driver took us to Kalico, Haiti.  It was over an hour drive in the back of that  pickup truck on roads full of potholes and with the heat in the 90's.  We arrived at Bettie Snyders house eager to get started and full of anticipation. 

The next day we decided to go to Village 87, a village located about 45 minutes off the main road.  We had to drive on a dirt trail and through (and I do mean through!) a riverbed to get there.  When we arrived at Village 87 they were so happy to see us because Dr. Marty was with us and he supports the village with food every month.  God, bless Dr. Marty for his generosity to these, your people!  On our way to the village we had stopped to buy fresh baked bread and water for the people there.  It was such a blessing to see the smiles on the faces of these precious people and the kids as we began to pass out the bread and the water.  They live in such poverty, I could not believe my eyes as I looked around an saw a metal shed where most of them lived.  Dr. Marty noticed that part of the shed was gone and asked them what happened to the shed and was told that some robbers came and took the metal away.  Now some of them had to sleep outside.  My heart ached for these people.  In order for them to get water, they had to walk that 45 minute drive that we just took to get their water.   I will never forget them. 

On Sunday, we attended church and saw the school that was started by Bettie Snyder and her son Philip, who are founders of Glow Minitries, Zeeland, Mi.  After the service they came into a  room, 6 at a time as Dr. Marty "washed" their feet with oil and prayed over them and we began to fit the shoes on their feet.  Their eyes were filled with excitement as we began to find a pair for each one of them that would fit.  We noticed that some of the kids had their "sunday best" shoes on and many had them "stuffed" with paper so that they would "fit" their feet.   We continued to fit shoes on the kids at the church/school and after hours of being in that room with temperatures at about 100, we started to run out of shoes for the older kids.  My heart was saddened as I saw them standing out in that hot sun, just waiting for their turn.  One young man, maybe around 16 years old, showed me his shoe that was half seperated from the sole, I don't know how he walked in them without tripping.  We promised to bring them some shoes on our next trip and we left with heavy hearts because we were not able to give the teens new shoes.   But still our hearts were full because of what we had just experienced with the children.   

On Monday we headed back to Port au Prince to take shoes to the school there lead by Mistro.  The children were so eager to see us and we walked through the classrooms that were filled with kids wanting to get an education and thankful that they were able to be there.  They all had on uniforms that were made for them and they were so cute!  We began to fit the smaller children with shoes and tried to fit everyone that we could, till we again ran out of shoes.  It just hurts to see the looks on the faces of those who didn't get a pair of shoes, but we promised that we would be back in January.

Since I have been back home, the images I saw of the poverty everywhere I went in Haiti come crashing through my thoughts.  How can we make a difference?  We have so much and they have so very little.  Their greatest need is food.  If you would like to help with that, just e-mail me and I will tell you how you can do that.  God has called me to put shoes on the feet of the children in Haiti but I cannot do it without your help.  The need is so great.  I could see that the shoes they were wearing had been passed down from one person to another to another.  The pair of BRAND NEW SNEAKERS that you donate will be worn by not just the person receiving them but will be passed on to another and another till they are worn out.  We need 1,000 pair of BRAND NEW SNEAKERS (no canvas please-they do not hold up in Haiti) for our next trip that is being planned for the beginning of 2008.

In Haiti we prayed for God to bless all of you who have so generously given to "shoes for Haitis kids" and we want to thank you again.  Without your help, this trip would not have been possible!


God Bless you all! 

Ria Voss

Shoesforhaitiskids.com