Ryan Epps Home for Children

 A LETTER FROM A SPONSOR

SPONSORING A CHILD AT THE RYAN EPPS HOME FOR CHILDREN

Sponsoring a child at the Ryan Epps Home for Children has been one of the most rewarding things Chris and I have ever done. Whenever we’re sent updated photos of Sophonie from a returning mission team, we’re reminded of why God placed her in our lives. You see, Sophonie was a Restavek, a child who “lives with” a family as a modern day slave. Sophonie’s father died, perhaps a result from the 2010 earthquake. Her mother could either not afford to keep her or no longer wanted her, I guess we’ll never know. Sophonie’s life before REHC consisted of below sub-standard living conditions, abuse, no schooling, and most importantly no love shown to her. In fact, as she shared through tears during her church testimony back in April, that while scrubbing a bathroom floor, she prayed to God to deliver her from her present circumstances. God truly did hear Sophonie’s prayers and delivered her into the loving arms of Pastor Yvon and Eunide Pierre of REHC. Chris and I sponsor Sophonie for just $1,500.00 per year, a small price to pay when you consider that she’s fed, clothed, given shelter, kept off the streets, provided schooling and most importantly shown love from the REHC staff and her adopted brothers and sisters. Chris & I share the unique opportunity to actually have physical contact with Sophonie, something most people sponsoring children will never know. I met Sophonie during my very first mission trip back in March and bonded with her immediately. Leaving her to return home was by far one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, but I ensured her (through our interpreter Cladel), that I would return, now in February with Chris who’ll meet her for the first time. While at REHC I had the opportunity to meet a 25 year old young man named Olritch (once sponsored by a friend of Ms. Helen’s), who was a senior in high school, you see in Haiti, school is a privilege not an entitlement and unless your family has the means or you’re sponsored by someone in the states, you either don’t go to school or are delayed as in the case of both Sophonie and Olritch. Chris & I now also sponsor Olritch to attend profession school to learn the trade of becoming an auto mechanic so that some day, with God’s help, he can make a living for he and his two sisters. As Ms. Helen says “we can change Haiti one child at a time.” How can you put a price on saving the life of and educating a Haitian child? When I tell people who ask what it costs to fully sponsor a REHC child, they’re amazed. I think mostly because we take so much for granted in the U.S. Even our poorest Americans, who do have access to government assistance, cannot compare to those of third-world Haiti. I would strongly encourage anyone looking to make a difference in a child’s life to sponsor a REHC child. Chris & I look forward to watching Sophonie grow into a special young woman and as Ms. Helen says “taking her rightful place in Haitian society.”





Mission Statement

Ryan Epps Home for Children is a safe haven for orphaned boys and girls in Haiti.  We believe that children are the future even in such an impoverished place as Haiti.  It is therefore our mission to provide these young ones a place which is nurturing, safe, and welcoming.  Here they can be raised with attention to their physical, intellectual and spiritual growth in an atmosphere of Christian love.