BETHEL, N.C. - A missionary from Haiti visited the East to thank local churches for their support, two years after the devastating earthquake.
“It was terrible, people say about 300,000 people died, but I think there was more,” said Haitian native Yvon Pierre.
He says the Haitian people have come a long way since that tragic earthquake, but they still have a ways to go.
"I would say we need jobs, for people to be working and school is a priority because I know education is key to successful life,” Pierre.
And that's exactly what the people at Bethel Baptist Church are hoping to bring.
The church helped build the Ryan Epps Home for Children in Haiti - permanent housing facility for now 20 orphan children and a church and school for more than 100.
"We put them in a home, feed them, clothing them, put a roof over their head and get them and education,” said Pierre.
"They don't want it to always be an handout for them, they want to provide for themselves,” said Al Carpenter who helps head the Ryan Epps home.
He doing medical mission in Haiti when the earthquake struck.
"All you heard was cries from the village around us and we started seeing dust just rising into the air,” says Carpenter.
He says for months families in Haiti were living in tents, so building housing was a top priority.
And now they're building a community center where the Haitian people can learn job skills.
"We want them to have a skill they can use in the community,” says Carpenter.
"To feed them is good, it’s better to teach people to fish instead of giving a fish everyday, so when you do that these people can rely on themselves in the future,” explained Pierre.
A future, he's very optimistic about.
"For all those who are helping right now I want to take time to thank all of them because through their help maybe in the future time, most Haitian people can be on their own feet or be on their own,” says Pierre.
"We pray that people in America and other countries don't forget about Haiti and don't give up on Haiti, I think the future looks bright down there,” said Carpenter.
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