For one Scotia Village resident the tragedy in Haiti carries personal sorrow. In 1973 Jack Hanna and his wife, Evelyn, were in the Caribbean on vacation. One day they ventured out to a non-tourist beach. While on this lonely stretch of shore line a young woman in a tattered dress approached them. As the woman got closer she tried to hand her new born infant to Mrs. Hanna explaining that she knew they could care for the baby better than she could. "We realized, at that moment, how desperate people are and how much need for help there is in the world. It was an epiphany for us and we knew that we needed to help," explained Jack.

Ten years later Jack had retired from the business world and turned his attention to finding meaningful work in the mission field. With Evelyn he became involved with a group, The Institute for Cultural Affairs, that focused on integrated development in poverty stricken areas. First the group focused on providing help in the US, but as the Institute grew they wanted to touch at least one community in each of the world’s time zones. They asked if Jack and his wife would be willing to work on economic development in Jamaica. "We were willing to accept the assignment and moved to Jamaica, splitting time between living on a boat and living in huts in the villages we were helping," Jack said. Real progress was made while Jack and Evelyn were in Jamaica, but circumstances dictated that a new challenge be found.

In the late 1980’s, the Hannas were asked by their church to start a comprehensive development project in Haiti. They started the process of looking for an area that would fit the goals of the project, which was full development. "We wanted to bring about real change and a chance for people to have the means to sustain themselves," said Jack. After looking, they decided on the Cormier Watershed area and started to work. The project was named the Comprehensive Development Project (CODEP) and the Haiti Fund, Inc. was formed to finance the operation. Twenty years later the success of CODEP has seen it grow to include three more watershed areas and a coastal community. Jack believes that "people are just people and by God’s grace you and I were born into fortunate situations. The human spirit is amazing and the will to move forward is powerful." Jack is proud of the Haitian people involved in CODEP for how far the development has come. He also has great appreciation for all the supporters who have made this project possible. When asked how he felt about the impact of CODEP he said, "You can’t feel anything but good. Hope realized is always a good thing."

The recent earthquake has devastated much of Haiti and the people are in need of a lot of help. It took two weeks for help to reach some of the CODEP areas. Once the areas were reached it was found that the people already organized to start the recovery...a testament to the program’s success. CODEP is assisting in this recovery and could use your help. If you would like to assist, consider making a donation to the Haiti Fund, Inc. by sending a check to: Haiti Fund, Inc., PO Box 1075 New Bern, NC 28563. You can also call 252-635-5323 or visit www.haitifundinc.org.