How a chicken coop saved a family from domestic slavery.
How a chicken coop saved a family from domestic slavery.
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Merzenat's Journey

By: Blain Peerson
Four years ago, Merzenat Baronvil and her 5 children were homeless.  Her husband had abandoned them and moved to the Dominican Republic, never to return. A stranger to Boucan Carre, Haiti, and with no other alternatives, she and her children became domestic slaves or "restaveks" to another family in exchange for shelter. KORE's staff member, Anel, heard about Merzenat and her family. The chain of events that followed is how God began to intervene.

Merzenat, like many others in Haiti, was trying to survive and support her family in country where few opportunities for work exist. Wanting to help, KORE built a 400 bird broiler coop on the property of the family she and her children were serving with the understanding that this would be Merzenat's business. As she began to earn and collect her profits, life became more and more difficult within the household. The host family wanted them out. Merzenat was again in a desperate situation.  
Over the next couple of years, she was able to persevere saving approximately $1150 to purchase a small plot of land.  The team at KORE worked to get her back in business on her new property. For the next year she walked a long distance to care for her coop on her land, continuing to save money for a house for herself and her 5 boys.  This past January, she was finally able to afford to build her home and free her family from their lives as domestic slaves.

She built a small porch extension on the end of the house and was ever so kind to invite us to sit and visit, looking over what she now could call her own. She shared that she is now saving money to enroll her boys into a nearby school so they can continue their education. 
While Merzenat's life is improving, she still faces many challenges. Below are pictures of her chicken coop and her home. 
You can see that due to exposure to the elements, this coop needs some updates.  We would like to provide her with a shade cloth and a new set of tarps, costing approximately $400. 
A generous donor has offered to match any gifts that are made toward this upgrade to make Merzenat's business more productive.
Let's help her continue her business so those boys can go to school! 

There are dozens of other KORE farmers with unique stories, that represent incredible victories and overwhelming challenges. Whatever is received above and beyond Merzenat's needs will be put toward business improvement needs for other area farmers!
DONATE HERE

Meet Blain Peerson!

Blain took his first trip to Haiti at the invitation of Edsel Redden.  That trip led to many others and eventually to Blain working full-time with KORE!
With degrees in Animal Science and Dairy Science from the University of Georgia, Blain has spent the last 27 years in the commercial livestock feed industry. After his 2017 retirement from Howland Feed Mill in Live Oak, Florida, Blain wanted to use his past experiences and knowledge to serve God and bring glory to His Name. 
At that time, Blain had become a trusted volunteer advisor, and we were excited to have him join our team in an official role overseeing our organization's business operations in Haiti. His leadership, knowledge, and passion for serving the Lord and the people of Haiti are a tremendous asset to this organization!
We hope you enjoyed this story from his most recent trip!  We are sure there will be more to come!
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