Our Values
1. We are Christ-focused.
2. We are committed to the poor.
3. We believe everything begins with relationships.
4. We act as good stewards.
5. We recognize partnerships are critical to accomplishing our mission.
6. We work with local leaders and indigenous churches.
7. Our goal is to create sustainable solutions for poverty alleviation.
8. We strive for excellence in all we do.
Our Mission
Espwa exists to develop projects that empower the people of Haiti, alleviate poverty, build relationships, and ultimately encourage hope through Christ’s love.
Our Mission Expanded and Explained
“develop projects”
We operate on a project-by-project basis. The process starts when a local Haitian team member alerts us to a need. We consider the type of intervention required (relief, rehabilitation, or development), and then create project-specific goals to meet the identified needs. Each project has defined beginning and completion criteria, as well as indigenous staff to monitor progress. Our chosen operating model allows us to stay flexible, take on projects in diverse areas, and fund raise for specific causes at specific times.
“empower the people of Haiti”
We choose projects that foster independence and sustainability among the Haitians we aim to help. Paternalism has no place in our projects – if someone is capable of doing a task, we will not do it for him or her. For relief-based projects, we simply seek to give Haitians a fighting chance.
“alleviate poverty”
We believe that poverty is more than simply a lack of material things. Poverty affects the whole person, and we know that economic poverty is usually accompanied by significant levels of physical, social, and spiritual poverty. Poverty tells people that they will never amount to anything, are worthless in the eyes of society and even God, and that there is no hope for ever breaking the cycle. We counter these messages through the truth of God’s Word – that every person has infinite value and that there is always a reason for hope.
“build relationships”
We love Haiti and its people. And when you love people, you care about their current situations and their futures. Whereas poverty tells people they are worthless as members of the community, we acknowledge that everyone has unique gifts and talents that can be used to impact those around them. As such, we strive to empower those we serve by constantly connecting them to other individuals, leaders, and organizations serving in Haiti. We want each person to reach his or her full potential, and building positive, meaningful relationships is key to this process.
“encourage hope through Christ’s love”
At the end of the day, our common belief in Jesus Christ is both our reason for hope and our reason to serve. We serve not for our own glory or to earn some special status in God’s kingdom, but because Jesus himself came to serve. He changed each of our lives and it is our joy to share his love with others. We place our hope in the one who is more powerful than poverty and all of the broken relationships it causes.