Spirit in Action

Orphanages Without Walls - in Haiti

Jean Alix Lusma grew up in a village near Les Cayes, Haiti. Pioneering the practice of keeping orphans in the community, instead of in an institution, Jean is working to heal people and uplift communities in Haiti through an organization, L.O.G.I.C (Let Orphans Grow In their Communities) of Christian Mission South Haiti. Jean studied at the College of the Scriptures in Louisville, Kentucky.

Duration:: 55m
Broadcast on:: 22 Mar 2015
Audio Format:: other

[music] Let us sing this song for the healing of the world That we may hear as one With every voice, with every song We will move this world along And our lives will feel the echo of our healing [music] Welcome to Spirit in Action. My name is Mark Helpes Me. Each week, I'll be bringing you stories of people living lives of fruitful service, of peace, community, compassion, creative action, and progressive efforts. I'll be tracing the spiritual roots that support and nourish them in their service, hoping to inspire and encourage you to sink deep roots and produce sacred food in your own life. Let us sing this song for the dreaming of the world That we may dream as one With every voice, with every song We will move this world along Today's Spirit in Action takes us to the concerns of the poorest country in our hemisphere, Haiti. Specifically, the topic is Orphans, and we'll be visiting with Jean-Louis Luzma and his innovation in Haiti of orphanages without walls, where orphans are placed with families in the community still benefiting from the sport of an organization to plan for the well-being of the orphans and to plan for the Haitian community to become stronger and more functional. Before we speak with Jean, we'll start with the song by Saicon, Motherless Child. Ten long years ago, it seemed so far away Death called my mother home, it seems like yesterday I don't wanna be alone, death take your hands away Please don't take my mother home, death please let her stay for a while Don't wanna be no Motherless Child Take me by the heart and lead me through the pain Through days dried up like grass, through years cut down like rain I don't wanna be alone, death take your hands away Please don't take my mother home, death please let her stay for a while Don't wanna be no Motherless Child Take me by the soul and lead me through my mind Past years grown stone and death, past eyes gone wet and blind I don't wanna be alone, death take your hands away Please don't take my mother home, death please let her stay for a while Don't wanna be no Motherless Child I don't wanna be alone, death take your hands away Please don't take my mother home, death please let her stay for a while Don't wanna be no Motherless Child Motherless Child by Si Kahn, Jean-Louis Luzmann now joins us by phone from Orlando, Florida Jean, I'm really happy you could join me today for spirit in action Hello Mark, hello everyone, I'm Jean, like Mark said, Jean, Jean, Jean, of course, it is my pleasure to be here And so you do speak back in Haiti, you speak French or a variety of French and some English or another language too? Yes, we do speak English, but English is something we learned and what we do speak to languages is French and Creole And as you know, Jean, I speak French, so we could do this in French if we wanted to, but I think for our listeners it'll be easier if we do this in English You are at the moment in Orlando, Florida, how often do you come to Orlando, how often do you come to the United States from Haiti? Well, as I'm working in Haiti as a missionary, I come back to the United States every six months because of my visa status So you're officially a resident of the United States or maybe a citizen? I'm a resident, that's correct And how long ago did you leave Haiti? I've been working in Haiti, correct, and I come here to my experience, I went to a Bible college in 1988, that's why I moved from Haiti to here In 1988, okay, so that's been 26, 27 years now, you've lived in the United States, but how long have you been doing the mission back to Haiti? Oh, that's about 24 years 24 years, tell me a little bit about the school that you went to here, that in the degree you got, I think maybe that was the college of the scriptures That's correct And where is that? That in Louisville, Kentucky Had you always planned to do most of your work in Haiti? For now, I can say yes, and still have a heart for Haiti to work with the people there to help them out and teaching them what I see they need, still need for me You've watched some changes in the government since you've been in the United States, has that made it harder or easier for you to do mission work in Haiti? So, I don't make any remark on that really, because I don't attack on my work, I do it as usual, so it's no different for me The organization, the work that you do, there's an orphanage that you work with in the southern end of Haiti, south Haiti And I believe the word or the name you use for it is logic, L-O-G-I-C, let orphans grow in their communities, youth, boys and girls, is that right? Correct, Mark And you are the founder of this, are there other people who founded it with you, do you have people in Haiti who are part of creating this organization from the beginning? I'm the founder of this, and I do have Haitian people who work with me on it, and I saw some friends, people I know who gave me some support to continue to do it And let me explain a little bit about logic, logic is an orphanage, is an orphanage without orphanage, which means we don't bring all the kids in one big house anymore We let them live where they form, we let them live in the community where they still have their parents, they still have people who know their parents, who know them So we let them live with those people, and from there we keep on them in many ways, and to keep them alive and also to educate them So you allow them to live in the community where they are born instead of putting them in a separate house, an orphanage, a separate building So it's orphans without their orphanage, but you said that their parents are still living in the village, does that mean mother and father, other parts of the family, and if so, why are they orphans? Okay, some of them are not completely orphaned, I mean some of them, they may have orphaned, but then they lost their mom, they lost their dad But the dad become sometime paralyzed, and we have a lot of paralyzed people in Haiti right now, after the earthquake We have a lot of women lose their feet, they lose their arms, they lose eyes, you know, and the country already has no job Then what are people to do, so those people are so poor and they come, and in the name of the Lord they please me to take that child for them, because no way they can give them a piece of bread in the morning No way they can give them something to eat at night, so you may still find some of them have mom or have dad, but if that dad will die, that mom is not alive, she's not alive, even she's alive But no way she can support doing nothing at all, so this is how we have some kids in our possession, but their parents may be still living, so this is how we have those They said that a number of people were paralyzed, they lost an arm, a leg, a foot, or they're blind now, and so they can't support their children Do you have any idea how many people were injured during the earthquake in Haiti? A hundred thousand of people were injured, become paralyzed, and I have a young lady, not only one, but I will take her, she's about 26 years old, and she lost her whole leg Now she cannot stay in Portobranton, she come to our church, and she has no place to live, and she has no walk, she no longer can do anything and no support for her So we have thousand of people at least, and maybe American people don't understand, we have a lot of patients who are living in Portobrant, after the earthquake, they live in Portobranton, and they go back to their village on the Montense place They have no house, they have no place, they become poor, and paralyzed, like I just said, they cannot do what they used to do, and this is a true history You know, and these people need somebody really to have them to come back to life, those paralyzed people need somebody to help them out, so I have those, and I have the kids from those people, and that's the way it is, and that history after the earthquake in Haiti People sometimes just talk about Portobranton, they talk about Jack Mill, or leave it down, that's a closer place, but people were everywhere, when the earthquake happened, I was there, and people, 200,000 people coming to the country, the city where I am, and we cook every day from the church and go save them and help them out And we see people who die before, and I see people, they put them in dumb chalk, and put them in the community grave, and that's why the terrible thing happened to Haiti, and I can tell you nothing done for those who had been injured You know, and lost, I lost leg, I lost E, those people now they are on their own So you have a lot of handicapped or maimed people that you need help with, and of course a number of people who died in the aftermath of the earthquake, what is the population of Haiti overall? Now we talk about 10 million people? 10 million people is a lot of folks, and you're in South Haiti, which if people look at a map, they'll see where Porto Prince is, and you're south and west of there, that whole area And is that a very populated area? Is it mountainous? What's it like? Yes, the city, like guys, it's on the flat ground, the whole area together for the city is about 500,000 people, and it's very popular, you have a lot of people in it, and we have a lot of children still in this area on the street, that's where they live, from the morning to night, night to the morning, they have no other place to go, because of the poverty, and that's the way I start laughing, that's why I was start taking kids out of the street, and we still have those out there And because of the resources, I cannot continue to pick more, because right now I have 86 and take care of, it's a bit hard and heavy on me, and this is where the history comes from South of Haiti, as everyone hates it, specifically for guys And for folks who don't know how to spell French, the first word is "LES", that's plural for "da", and the second word is "C-A-Y-E-S", "Lekai" I'll have a link to that on the NortonSpiritRadio.org website, so let's talk more about your orphanage or your work with orphans, again logic, "L-O-G-I-C" stands for "Let Orphans Grow in Their Community", you have church members, I understand, who take the children in and raise them, so that they're not being raised in some institution, they're being raised by a family and in the area where they were living before the earthquake or before their parents were lost, is that true? Yeah, that's where they formed, that area where they know somebody, where they know, maybe they aren't, they know their cousins, that I really come to my mind, that will help them better to learn from the elderly, to the people who made life before them, and then so the reason I have that too is when we took the children a long time ago and bring them to the big city when those kids become 18, 20, sometimes they don't want to stay on the control of their orphanage, and they go to the street, they go on the street, and sometimes they don't already educate, they don't have enough knowledge, they become poor than they were before, and they become people use them to do bad things, so that's the way I think God put in my mind to stop. All those kids to come live in the big city, to become nobody, they don't know them, they don't know anybody there, they just there and anything can happen to them, they don't think they are somebody, because they are not somebody, but when they leave and go in their community, they start getting power, they start getting, you know, nothing. That's, you know, knowledge, if they decide on their own to come to the city, they will come, and they will know why they come, maybe to come to learn the profession, maybe they will come to go to one other school, we cannot provide to them where they are, they may come, maybe to have a job, but not just to come and stand in this street, to come and stealing and do bad stuff. So this is the reason we try to keep the community, and I ask everybody who they send to me, I decide, this is a good project to support, because try to keep people where they are, that doesn't mean we blame them, but that means to develop the area. In fact, if you go to the mountain, you may not find enough people to do something, because all of them are living progress, all in the kind, that's not good for a country, that's not good for the other country. So this is why we have a school as a culture for them, even the small, we start teaching them how to grow food, how to have animals, how to do things, so this is what logic is doing. So Jean, if I understand correctly, these places where you're having the children live with other families, they are smaller villages, they're not in Lake I specifically, or maybe some are in Lake I, some are in the small villages, how is this distributed, and how many children do you have? I have 86 of them, and they are about 50 of those miles from Lake I, they're the little city who grew there to them, it's called Wash Abattu, and for Wash Abattu, you have to work on your feet just for three to four hours to get to Reynolds Day, that's the way the community is, Reynolds Day, and this is the big problem I have right now, and I'm looking to support for it. I have, or the kid, have to walk in the morning, because when they have, when they become on, finish with six grades, no more school for them, they have to work on their feet to go to Wash Abattu to attend another school for seven grades, eight grades, nine grades. So, large at this time, we would like to have school for them, they can have a school which has seven, eight, nine grades at least, so they will not need to work six hours a day to go to school, and this is the same for the medical care, if one of them sits, they have to go to Wash Abattu again. The same scenario, six hours, three hours go, three hours back, or we have to carry them on our back, you know, to go to the hospital down there. So, logic, we ask people if they can have logic, have a clinic just like a school, have a clinic, and when they see they don't need to go all the way down on six hours' journey. Do you understand somebody sick, and you have to walk for six hours? I fully understand that. As a matter of fact, I told you earlier, Jean, that I served in the Peace Corps, and I was in Africa. One of the opportunities I had was to go to Nepal, and one of the conditions they said there was to be a Peace Corps volunteer there, you had to be willing and able to walk long distances. I asked them about that, and they said that very often the posts where you would be are 30 miles from the nearest road, so you have to first walk to the road before you can get a ride anywhere. I assume there are roads in Haiti, including in the villages where you're dealing with these children. Is it just that there is no transportation, or are there no roads? There's no road for your car or a motorcycle? Not yet. So this is a project also. I'm afraid God will give me money to pay a bulldozer or a big tank to go to make a road to get inside there. A bulldozer, yeah? It will not be a good road, but at least they can have something maybe four by four in motorcycle that we can get there. So what distance are we talking about walking? This three hours, two and three hours from what distance are we talking? Two to three miles, distance in the mountains, in the river. Big walk, sometimes when they come back, you see them, you know, they hurt their foot and blow everywhere. They should, you know, their shoes cannot stay for long because it's destroyed easily. So that's all the situation that is killed and the family, people who live in that area. So, and God put in my heart and he wants me to work there. He wants me to bring the change. And I am there for the change. And I want to, you know, recruit anybody, anyone who willing, willing to support to ask for, you know, then, and they can go on my contact number or the contact. You want to say that, Mike? Okay, I will ask you that shortly. Yes, but first I want to be clear. In your answer, you said, well, about what distance is it that they walk? Yeah, it's about two miles and a half to three because I never count it. Okay, but that takes a long time because of what the travel is. Okay, so even though it's only two to three miles, traveling between the village there, the small town, and a place where you do get medical help or do have schools still takes many hours. That's unusual, but I guess you are in a mountainous area. And so they go up and down and around and it's not an easy travel. Can little children do it? No, yeah, they do. When they have to do it, they have to do. If they're too small, we carry them on our back. Is this an area that you were from that you lived before? Is that how you knew about this area? How do you know to ask that? That exactly happened. That exactly. That's where I born. Okay. So I want to know, Gene, if people want to get a hold of you, I will on my website, put a link to your Facebook page so people can find you that way. Are there other ways people should contact you about the logic youth, the let orphans grow in their communities youth group help for orphans? Yes, they are how the way they can go. First of all, my phone number here in Orlando right now is 407-285-8712. Let me repeat that, 407-385-8712. Does that function when you're in Haiti or is that only when you're in Orlando? No, it will keep function. It may not be here to answer. This is why I will give my email. People can get it too. My email is cmshmission@yahoo.com. So again, that is cmshmission@yahoo.com. I'll have that phone number. I'll have that email and I'll have his Facebook page for Gene Alex Luzma. For those of you who speak French, you can find that at northernspiritradio.org. I do want to remind you, you are listening to Spirit in Action, which is a Northern Spirit radio production. NorthernSpiritradio.org is our website where you'll find almost 10 years of our programs. For free listening and download, you'll find links to our guest, so this information about Gene Alex Luzma. You'll find there as well. You'll also find a place to leave comments, click and comment and let us know what you're thinking, what you're feeling. On that site, there's also a place to click for support. We do support Northern Spirit radio by your donations, so please help us out. Even more than that, I want to encourage you to support your local community radio station. They provide a slice of news and music that you get just nowhere else on the American airwaves. So please start by supporting your local community radio stations. We're speaking with Gene Alex Luzma or Jean, or that's the French word for John, J-E-A-N, Alex Luzma, Alex is with an I, not an E, except his son. You do have a son, Gene, who's Gene Alex with an E in the name, right? Yes. That's very confusing. You have 86 children that you're currently dealing with orphans who are helping stay in the village or to be in the big city in Le Chi, if that's what works better. If they are staying in the village, does that mean that their most likely work is going to be agricultural? Yeah, that would be agricultural, but also I'm looking at how we can bring to them something they can make money more easily, something in the soil, and things they make, they can sell it, because in that area, no way of money. That's why no trees stay in their mountains. They quote all the trees because they have no other way to make money. They have to call them to make charcoal and come into the big city and sell the charcoal. So we have a big responsibility. We have a big job there to do. So anyone who has experiments who can direct with me to help those people, not only the children, I take care of what else, so the family, hundreds, family who leave out there, so they can benefit from that, and we can help them, because don't stay in the big city only. Don't stay where everything is easy. Don't stay where the world is good, but we must go. We must go on the top, we must go on the top of the mountain. We must go to the valley where no car, no motorcyclists can get. But we've got help. We can make work and develop that area, but for the glory of God. Also, Mark, let me say this too. If some people may need that, I have an address in the PO box. If anybody wants to make a donation, maybe donation to logic, slash kitchen missions are hardy. Logic/Christian Mission South Haiti. And this is a 501c3 organization. Correct. And so the address is the PO box, because where I am in the apartment, I don't know sometimes when you change, you are prepared to provide you what you cannot. You can still change, but if it's money, you can go. There is no problem. It's the PO box 680726. 680-726. Orlando, Florida, 42-868. 32868 is the zip code. So that again, that addresses PO box 680726 Orlando, Florida. And that zip code is 32868, 32868. Let's talk again about the difference this makes for these orphans and for the families that are hosting them. Are the families being subsidized? If there's a donation made, where does that money go? We have people who walk with the family and with the children. So in the plan, we plan to have a social family. And so to teach them how to go food. We teach them how for them to replace us when we are not there. We want to provide them the feed to the parents when they are trying to do that. We have in the plan to help them repair the house or help them build on the house, those houses, small houses. So these are the plan for the people who host those kids because we want them to live in the place that, you know, it's like our kids, you know, as is anybody kid. And those people are poor, but they want to do that. So that this is the plan we have for them. We don't have a plan to pay them with money. People we pay are people who walk to keep things in the discipline. Make sure everybody know what to do, you know, keep the coordination of all the kids where they are with the parents where they live with us. And come to the meeting and come to the Bible study. And we look for them to become any religion, but we let them choose on their own, what we do, the Bible study. And they come, you know, visit your season and come in. So this is the work we do and what people happen. Every Saturday, we bring all of them together in one place for the whole day. Cook to feed all of them what that day. We decide them. We teach them many two different things. And Sunday morning, they come back again for the meeting. And we give food. We give food to the parents where they live for them to eat every day. So that's why we have people who know how to do this and who walk with them and how much food to give them. That rice, beans, all things that to make food, all kinds. So this is how we feed them what they are. And so we give clothes, distribute clothes to each of them to go home and leave like a switching gun. Like we said, they are like any kid. They live with family. They just like, okay, with all the kids together. And only two people try to wash over them or two people wash over them. That's sometimes true. It's frustrating. I do have a big building for them. And that building is empty right now when God bought that revelation for logic. So that building I have in mind to do something else in it. For example, we will have a retreat there for them. They can come and spend the camp. And that building also, I hope to do everything in it. But I can't lose it. It is a good thing to do with one of the best idea. So to the kids can be free. We don't want them to be closed in one place and people wash over them. You know, sometimes not enough people to wash over them. I encourage all the orphanage and turn like this. And the kids can be free and feel they are kids like any other kids. I believe I saw on your Facebook, Gene, a picture of the building that you used as the orphanage before. How long did you have children in the orphanage? And so did you have some experience with that? And do you see a difference between having children in the building, the orphanage, as opposed to having your orphanage be the members of your church that are caring for these children? Do you see a difference in what happened with the children? Yes, I do. I will spend the last when all of them were together and they always look like they miss something. And people who walk there sometimes, they don't have the high ones than to be any. Sometimes they even feel from those kids. People in that area give me a lot of trouble feeling. And when I'm not there, they try to teach those kids bad things. So, yes, we have a big difference. After three months, I put them out to the family. Those kids become bigger and they become, maybe, nice, beauty. They become what? They become bell of a family, globally. Beautiful? Beautiful, yes. Because they feel, yeah, they feel. They look good, they feel happy. They don't show any, they don't miss anything. They get off. So, this is a difference. They're more joyful. They're happy. They have more of themselves when they're living in a family instead of living in an institution. Exactly. I did a song of the soul interview with a musician named Danny Ellis, who is an orphan in Ireland where he's from. And he has a book as well as songs about how much it hurt his life to be in that institution. So, I can see where this would make a tremendous difference. What you're doing, Gene, is this a novel idea? Are other people doing this in Haiti or other places that you know of? Or is this something that is really your idea? Until now, that's my idea. Nobody has done it before me in Haiti. Have you seen it work elsewhere? I mean, I think we have, in the United States, what we call foster parents. Is there a reason why these children are not adopted to become full members of the family? Because I have the sense that they're acting more as foster children temporarily. Well, Haiti, we don't have that thing. That technology. We don't use that. There's no adoption. People in Haiti, most of them, but those who are in the big city, which people, people who are more educated, they know about it is there. But the people, they really, they don't really care about what that means to adopt a nation like them. But they can love them just like they do in the public, that's not for sure. But yes, if people living like this, they would have to adopt, they can still do that. They can, they will take them from there and put them to a government place until they work on the paper. So yes, they can, they can have that if they want. It's the 86 children that are currently being helped by the work of logic. How big of a congregation is supporting these children? Is this two or three children per family or is it always one child? How does this work? Well, they are, you know, we have family who have four because they don't, maybe they only have one for themselves. So they have four and they, we could do it and we support. But that's the biggest, that's the biggest. That's the biggest. The only one is two or one. So mostly it's one or two children per family. And do they then get to visit their relatives? They're maybe their mother who's, who's handicapped or cousins or do they still have those kind of family supports? All right. Because they're not, they're not having, if they parent in the area or visit the area, they will see them face to face physically anytime. I just wonder if that's an effort that you actually make to keep them with it. Because my understanding is that children do best when they have that kind of connection still available to them. Yes. That is when they are in one building. When they are in one building, they want to go back home. But now they are, they are in their community, you see? I did an interview with a man who is UCC in United Church of Christ youth pastor who does a number of mission trips. I'm sure now it's over 50 mission trips that he's done to Haiti. And one of the things that he spoke about was having a conversation at one point with a young man. He's talking about his experience back here in Wisconsin in the United States as opposed to what one experiences in Haiti. And the child at one point was amazed. He said, "Wait a minute. Do you mean you get to eat every day?" And he was not believing that it could be possible to live in a land of riches where you could eat every day. Is food shortage such a problem in the area where you're working with the orphans? Very much so, yes. How bad is it? Very bad because, like I was saying, they caught all the trees to make charcoal. So the land cannot put up enough food for them to eat. So sometimes we have obligation to feed not only the orphan, but also other people because they are hungry. And they will die because no food for them. Gene, I've been part of many discussions that talk about solving problems at various levels. And it sounds to me like your work with orphans, which is absolutely necessary, is dealing with families and children who have been hurt by a situation going on there, the earthquake part of it. But that's only one of the things I'm sure that brings orphans your way. But I hear another problem there that I'm wondering how it's being addressed, who is dealing with this problem. I think you have perhaps too many people there that too many people for the land, that you don't have the trees and the crops to support the people who are there. And I'm wondering how we deal with that problem because I think otherwise in five years we'll have many more orphans and five years after that many more orphans. How do we change that? This is exactly what I'm working on right now. I have an agricultural project regarding writing. And that's not only to collect food to eat. And so we'll teach those kids to repress those mountains with trees. And we will encourage the family to be sent and we will open a way for them to can go out easy. Like I would say the truck can come there, the motorcycle can come there. So that we'll help them, encourage them because sometimes they have some little thing, they may have it too much. So you're so well, it's balanced there, but if there is a way for them to go out and sell it, let's go ahead. So this is why again in the name of Jesus, I ask people who listen to me at this time, for they to take notes. Maybe go for in their mind right now to join me. And to say, "Alex, I want to put hand with you to do this thing." Because, you know, we cannot save the whole world one time, but one by one can do good change. And again, if you want to help out Gina Alex-Lusma and the work of Logic, let orphans grow in their community. In Haiti, you can find his email, his phone number, and his mailing address at northernspiritradio.org. I'll say a couple of those very quickly. I also have a link to his Facebook page. His email address, CMS-H-M-I-S-S-I-O-N mission, CMS-H-Mission@yahoo.com. And you can find the PO box in Orlando where you can mail things. This is a 501(c)(3) organization, Logic/Christian Mission South Haiti, that we're speaking to Jean-Alex-Lusma. That's J-E-A-N, that's the French word for John, Jean-Alex-A-L-I-X-Lusma. So the agricultural project that you're doing, are you teaching them new agricultural techniques? Are we talking about conservation techniques for the land? I do know that there is a very serious problem since most of the world uses wood or charcoal to cook their food. And that's the only way they have to cook it. Then you cut down trees and you grab whatever wood you can have. I think that was one of the side effects that happened in Ireland, the far western part of the country, which used to be trees. And then with the population, it was all denuded until there were no trees left. Was this a largely forested area of Haiti before? No, Haiti was covered with trees, Haiti was a green country. But there are some places, you can still see green, you can still see nice area. But there are some places, far away, like mountain areas where nobody is helping those people, nobody is helping them. The government is not in there only when they have election. And after the election, they are beyond their own. So they do whatever they have to do to survive. So that's why they caught all the trees. Because when I was born there, it was a nice place to be. And we have a lot of food we cannot eat all. But now, if they got one quicker to the city, they would die. So full. It sounds like a very hard existence, a very hard situation for people to live in. I'm assuming you have family, maybe mother fathers, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces that still live in the city. Yes, I do have some cool run calls when living in that area. Tell me a little bit about your personal history. I do know that you went to the College of the Scriptures for part of your education. Did you grow up in a church there in Haiti? Yes, I grew up in the Baptist Church when I was little. And I marry in the Baptist Church in the crisis. I was working for care that the organization will be a superhero for them. I learn before I become a ministry. I learn the construction of my contract. I can build anything I want. And I marry and I have five children. And the oldest is 26. And maybe one is 12 years old, so really, and my wife. And she's very supportive of me. And she's working with me clearly. She's pretty much. And I'm working in the city where I grew up. That's where I grew up. Is internet generally available in Le Chi or at least cyber cafes? Yes, we have summer coffee. And when we have internet too. We don't have any physical device. Is that an understatement? Is there not electricity often? Not electricity often. Oh, well. I do know those kinds of problems. Yes. Well, because I lived in a small village in Africa, I had a different situation. When I just was in the Congo last summer, I got to experience the electricity, maybe on or off, or being in an area with no electricity. Is there electricity in the small villages? I'm imagining not. If you don't have transportation there. No, no, this is not off. And right now, again, I just met a man who does slaw. And all here in Florida, he's going to give me some. So I didn't want him bad, but he will give me some. And I will need help to shoot them. I will need battery to work with them. So because that community has no electricity. And I have to start teach those kids to know about computing. I have to start teaching them because I have kids who about 24 years. So I have to start teaching them and show them what is a computer. So with some solar panels, if you can get a hold of some batteries, get the shipping to transport the solar panels to Haiti. In the village, you can start showing the children a little bit about computers and about connecting to the rest of the world. I want to repeat a fair amount of this information. And again, people can find all of it on nerdinspiritradio.org. We've been speaking with Gene Alex Luzma. And this is a French name that you would call John in English. But J-E-A-N, Alex is spelled A-L-I-X, the last name Luzma. And I have a link to his Facebook page as well as his email, his phone, and a mailing address in Orlando, Florida where you can get contributions and questions for logic. L-O-G-I-C, that is, let orphans grow in their communities. Christian Mission South Haiti. And Gene would be very happy to find a way for you to support and for you to understand the work that goes on with orphans in that area. And much more than just with orphans. I think there's education and other support for development so that these children can grow into healthy self-supporting individuals. Again, you'll find all that information on nerdinspiritradio.org. Gene, I'm very thankful that you've been led to this work by God, that it's supported you through that. I hope you found the full support for your work. I know that it must at times be a very discouraging job, a very uphill battle to try and fight back the poverty and the distress that so many people have gone through. I'm thankful that you've taken it as your part and found it in your heart to this sport for these orphans, for your community, and for Haiti as a nation. Thank you so much for joining me for spirit in action. I'm going to go to thank you for your academic opportunity to talk with people who listen to your registration, and I encourage everybody who listen right now, always to look in for new and good news on this video, because this video happened a lot. It happened all over the world. You are bringing the good news you need to hear. More than Mark is doing a quick job, and thank you so very much for what to do. And we will keep in touch and for you to know more about what is going on. And people who really will come from this interview, which, and glad, want to support us, to support the ministry, to support the, that overnight in the situation where they are. So please not hesitate for Mark and as and how can you help in that area. Thank you so much. Good bless you, Mother. Thank you, Jean. The simple way to get Jean's contact info is via the website christianmissionsouthaty.org. The link's on Nordenspiritradio.org, of course. To close out today's show, we've got a song that I mentioned earlier in the program. It's by Brian Sertio, and it's called "If You Eat Every Day." You'll get the story in the song. Again, Brian Sertio, "If You Eat Every Day." We'll see you next week for "Spirit In Action." ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ You're rich. ♪♪ ♪♪ Somehow that moment felt to me like holy ground. I finished this haircut and when I turned around. There was a whole line of customers who kind of liked the way I cut that one man's hair. So I gave them haircuts, but they gave me so much more. They gave me the perspective of the poorest of the poor. And I know I'll spend the rest of my life trying to somehow respond. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ In a hungry world, if we eat each day, we're rich. ♪♪ Hey, the poorest country in this hemisphere. I grew there now and then to get my vision clear. Sometimes it gets so easy in this land if I consume there for I am. ♪♪ Sometimes it gets so easy in this land if I consume there for I am. ♪♪ Sometimes it gets so easy in this land if I consume there for I am. The theme music for this program is "Turning of the World" performed by Sarah Thompson. This Spirit in Action program is an effort of Northern Spirit Radio. You can listen to our programs and find links and information about us and our guests on our website, northernspiritradio.org. Thank you for listening. I am your host, Mark Helpsmeet, and I welcome your comments and stories of those leading lives of spiritual fruit. May you find deep roots to support you and grow steadily toward the light. This is Spirit in Action. ♪♪ With every voice, with every song, we will move this world along. With every voice, with every song, we will move this world along. And our lives will feel the echo of our healing. (upbeat music)