Solar Power for Missionaries of the Poor, Jamaica
Donation protected
Bringing lights to the most needy souls. The goal is to provide electric power to a remote orphanage run by Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) in the mountains of Jamaica. MOP’s Beatitudes Center is home to 40 discarded and severely disabled boys. It is located high in the mountains and is off-grid with no public utilities. The brothers of MOP provide love, dignity, and nourishment (physical and spiritual) to the boys, but the lack of reliable electrical power makes their mission much more difficult. A three phase plan has been implemented to provide reliable power. We are happy to say Phase 1 has been completed, and the funds for phase 2 have been transferred to MOP, but Phase 3 is desperately needed.
· Phase 1 (completed): Provide a diesel-powered generator to meet the most immediate needs, along with a building to keep it from being stolen. Thank you Knights of Columbus Council 10474 and PA State Deputy Mark Jago.
· Phase 2 (funding is complete): Purchase and install new batteries for storing power from the solar panels for lights and fans in the evenings.
· Phase 3: Purchase and install new solar panels. (The generator will be used during the rainy season and for large electric loads, like laundry).
All of your donation goes directly to the purchase and installation of the batteries and solar panels.
Please help change the lives of those most in need by contributing to this project.
Thank you, and may peace be with you.
Rich Hazenstab
My Back Story:
How could a pulpit announcement at the end of a church service affect so many people, so far away, and change lives forever? How could it connect people who will never meet? When Father Bill Forrey came to Holy Infant Parish in Manchester, PA, he brought along his belief that mission work is good for a parish and its people. Prompted by Father Bill, in the spring of 2019, a pulpit announcement was made to see if there was interest in a mission trip to Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) in Jamaica. Father Bill had started and participated in these mission trips at his previous parish, St Patrick’s in Carlisle, PA. So Holy Infant sent 4 women and 4 men (including Fr. Bill) to team up with seasoned MOP missionaries from St. Patrick’s, for a mission trip that would change a life forever.
We arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, on a Friday afternoon in October of 2019. Our task was to help the Brothers and Sisters from MOP to care for the mentally and physically disabled, ranging from newborns to the elderly. We lived in the ghetto of the city in a small walled area along with several of the MOP brothers. Lodging consisted of separate bunk rooms for men and women. There was no hot water, but it was not missed too much because there was no air conditioning either, so the cool water felt good. Our work was mainly conducted in four MOP centers scattered around the ghetto.
Our first day of work was on a Saturday. In retrospect this was a blessing because Saturdays and Sundays are 1/2 working days for the volunteers, and it helped ease me into the type of work we would do. Two of us were sent to work at Faith Center which housed around 100 mentally and physically disabled men. The van dropped us off inside the protective walls. My spirit had difficulty absorbing all that I saw. I was assigned to clean the men’s dorm and found myself in a world far from the comforts we take for granted. I felt alone in a concrete block room with gates for doors and bars for windows. The beds were disheveled. I prayed for God to give me the strength to survive the next 6 days. I rearranged the beds and tried to avoid contact with the men, but this was difficult because they were curious and kept interfering. My first day was personally rough...
That evening I prayed harder and more sincere than any time in my life. I was scared. I only found comfort after I placed my spirit and fate in God’s hands. We are here for a reason, so trust Him. As the week progressed, I adapted to the daily routine of cleaning and disinfecting the facilities, cleaning and feeding the residents, and praying often.
On Sunday, after a lively Mass, we all climbed in the van and were taken to MOP’s mountain center called the “Beatitudes”, where 40 boys are cared for by the brothers. Brother Loubert runs the center and he showed us around. Here, MOP raises rabbits, chickens, and pigs to help feed the 400+ residents in all of their Jamaican centers. Brother Loubert is a tall man, but he showed great gentleness and love for the boys. He showed me that MOP is not just about cleaning the centers or bathing, clothing and feeding the residents. It is more about caring for their well-being, respecting them, and treating them with dignity. It’s about love.
Brother Loubert discussed the challenges of living in the Jamaican mountains. The hardest part is the lack of electrical service. They have old solar panels and batteries, but this did not provide enough power. Frequently they could not operate simple appliances like a blender, which is needed for food preparation because some of the boys can't chew. All of the laundry is hand washed and air dried. Many times there is not enough power to run the ceiling fans throughout the hot evenings. Reliable power would be a life changer for these residents and their caretakers. We left the Beatitudes Center and returned to the ghetto.
Every day there were events that opened my eyes to the beauty of the residents and the extraordinary care and love provided by the MOP brothers and sisters. God’s love was everywhere.
After our week of service, we returned home in the early hours of Saturday. It was shocking going from living in the third world to the luxuries of the USA. Everywhere we looked we saw the wealth of America. How blessed we are to have been born in this country! The lessons we learned and the opening of our spiritual eyes will remain with me forever, but there was one thing that, more than anything else, that kept consuming my thoughts: the difficulties of life at the Beatitudes Center and how their lives would be changed if they had electricity.
I carried a message to the Knights of Columbus Council at Holy Infant, that these Brothers and the boys under their care, need our help. The amazing, loving and giving men at my council stepped up and bought a generator to cover MOP's immediate needs. That was Phase 1. Now the final two phases need done to make sure the power is sustainable. We are getting very close.
So, from a week-long mission trip came the start of a new mission that has connected two groups of people, most of whom will never meet, but are forever connected through God’s plan.
Please help us complete this mission by contributing to this worthy cause.
God bless,
Richard Hazenstab
Learn more about MOP:
Brief video about MOP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LxzKTFByQU
The MOP Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA17nIMLckc
· Phase 1 (completed): Provide a diesel-powered generator to meet the most immediate needs, along with a building to keep it from being stolen. Thank you Knights of Columbus Council 10474 and PA State Deputy Mark Jago.
· Phase 2 (funding is complete): Purchase and install new batteries for storing power from the solar panels for lights and fans in the evenings.
· Phase 3: Purchase and install new solar panels. (The generator will be used during the rainy season and for large electric loads, like laundry).
All of your donation goes directly to the purchase and installation of the batteries and solar panels.
Please help change the lives of those most in need by contributing to this project.
Thank you, and may peace be with you.
Rich Hazenstab
My Back Story:
How could a pulpit announcement at the end of a church service affect so many people, so far away, and change lives forever? How could it connect people who will never meet? When Father Bill Forrey came to Holy Infant Parish in Manchester, PA, he brought along his belief that mission work is good for a parish and its people. Prompted by Father Bill, in the spring of 2019, a pulpit announcement was made to see if there was interest in a mission trip to Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) in Jamaica. Father Bill had started and participated in these mission trips at his previous parish, St Patrick’s in Carlisle, PA. So Holy Infant sent 4 women and 4 men (including Fr. Bill) to team up with seasoned MOP missionaries from St. Patrick’s, for a mission trip that would change a life forever.
We arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, on a Friday afternoon in October of 2019. Our task was to help the Brothers and Sisters from MOP to care for the mentally and physically disabled, ranging from newborns to the elderly. We lived in the ghetto of the city in a small walled area along with several of the MOP brothers. Lodging consisted of separate bunk rooms for men and women. There was no hot water, but it was not missed too much because there was no air conditioning either, so the cool water felt good. Our work was mainly conducted in four MOP centers scattered around the ghetto.
Our first day of work was on a Saturday. In retrospect this was a blessing because Saturdays and Sundays are 1/2 working days for the volunteers, and it helped ease me into the type of work we would do. Two of us were sent to work at Faith Center which housed around 100 mentally and physically disabled men. The van dropped us off inside the protective walls. My spirit had difficulty absorbing all that I saw. I was assigned to clean the men’s dorm and found myself in a world far from the comforts we take for granted. I felt alone in a concrete block room with gates for doors and bars for windows. The beds were disheveled. I prayed for God to give me the strength to survive the next 6 days. I rearranged the beds and tried to avoid contact with the men, but this was difficult because they were curious and kept interfering. My first day was personally rough...
That evening I prayed harder and more sincere than any time in my life. I was scared. I only found comfort after I placed my spirit and fate in God’s hands. We are here for a reason, so trust Him. As the week progressed, I adapted to the daily routine of cleaning and disinfecting the facilities, cleaning and feeding the residents, and praying often.
On Sunday, after a lively Mass, we all climbed in the van and were taken to MOP’s mountain center called the “Beatitudes”, where 40 boys are cared for by the brothers. Brother Loubert runs the center and he showed us around. Here, MOP raises rabbits, chickens, and pigs to help feed the 400+ residents in all of their Jamaican centers. Brother Loubert is a tall man, but he showed great gentleness and love for the boys. He showed me that MOP is not just about cleaning the centers or bathing, clothing and feeding the residents. It is more about caring for their well-being, respecting them, and treating them with dignity. It’s about love.
Brother Loubert discussed the challenges of living in the Jamaican mountains. The hardest part is the lack of electrical service. They have old solar panels and batteries, but this did not provide enough power. Frequently they could not operate simple appliances like a blender, which is needed for food preparation because some of the boys can't chew. All of the laundry is hand washed and air dried. Many times there is not enough power to run the ceiling fans throughout the hot evenings. Reliable power would be a life changer for these residents and their caretakers. We left the Beatitudes Center and returned to the ghetto.
Every day there were events that opened my eyes to the beauty of the residents and the extraordinary care and love provided by the MOP brothers and sisters. God’s love was everywhere.
After our week of service, we returned home in the early hours of Saturday. It was shocking going from living in the third world to the luxuries of the USA. Everywhere we looked we saw the wealth of America. How blessed we are to have been born in this country! The lessons we learned and the opening of our spiritual eyes will remain with me forever, but there was one thing that, more than anything else, that kept consuming my thoughts: the difficulties of life at the Beatitudes Center and how their lives would be changed if they had electricity.
I carried a message to the Knights of Columbus Council at Holy Infant, that these Brothers and the boys under their care, need our help. The amazing, loving and giving men at my council stepped up and bought a generator to cover MOP's immediate needs. That was Phase 1. Now the final two phases need done to make sure the power is sustainable. We are getting very close.
So, from a week-long mission trip came the start of a new mission that has connected two groups of people, most of whom will never meet, but are forever connected through God’s plan.
Please help us complete this mission by contributing to this worthy cause.
God bless,
Richard Hazenstab
Learn more about MOP:
Brief video about MOP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LxzKTFByQU
The MOP Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA17nIMLckc
Organizer
Richard Hazenstab
Organizer
York Haven, PA