I’ve previously written about the Shekinah Orphanage in Haiti that Pastor Miguel Castillo from the Dominican Republic established after the Haitian earthquake in 2010. In the aftermath of that awful catastrophe, he helped some Haitian pastors collect children whose parents were killed, and set up an orphanage for them in a safer location. The Shekinah Orphanage currently has 42 children.

In that article, I wrote about what happened later in 2016 when hurricane Matthew caused extensive flooding in Haiti which destroyed most of the Shekinah Orphanage building. Although it took several months, through some generous donations the money was raised to purchase a little more land and build a new sleeping facility for the orphans. That building was finished and dedicated in the fall of last year. Although a basic structure, it is much sturdier and roomier than their old building was.

Now Pastor Castillo is working to raise money to build a bathroom facility for these orphans. This new building will have toilets, showers, and sinks. Currently the children are exposed when they go to the bathroom outside. These buildings are being built with sturdiness and function in mind, nothing expensive or lavish. Pastor Miguel and the pastors running the Shekinah Orphanage want to provide these children with privacy, safety, and cleanliness.

This is a great opportunity for a person to gather together their own circle of friends to help intervene directly into the lives of those who are alone in this world. Co-workers, students, church groups, worship teams, neighbors, families, clubs, business groups, or civic organizations are just a few examples of those who collectively can make a direct and immediate difference in the daily lives of these children.

Your donations of any size to this project will be a daily, tangible help to these children for many years to come. If you are interested in helping them, go to www.makersandmeans.org and click on the Giving tab. We’ll keep you updated on the progress of this project!

__________

The leaders of Makers and Means International work closely with Pastor Miguel Castillo and are intimately acquainted with his family, his church, his ministries, and his fellow workers. Pastor Miguel lives in Santo Domingo, the capitol of the Dominican Republic. He has been in ministry in the D.R. and in Haiti for over thirty years. The leaders of Makers and Means International visit the Dominican Republic at least once a year, and take short-term mission groups to physically participate in the ministry there.