Haiti Share
from Dependency to Leadership
by the Grace of God
ABOUT
Meet Our Board of Directors
Cheri Huerta
Board Chair, Executive Director
Cheri is a financial advisor for business operations at Zebra Technologies supporting its Americas distribution centers. She has more than 30 years of experience in supply chain finance including working nine years in Mexico. She has two master’s degrees, one in international management, and one in economic development and entrepreneurship and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in international development. She holds leadership roles in her church and Boy Scouts of America. She is fluent in Spanish and is learning Haitian Creole.
Mark Harmsen
Vice Chairman
Mark is the Associate Deputy Chancellor of Facilities and Construction at Central Texas College. He has over 26 years of experience in health care administration and higher education and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in health care administration. He has served on several boards and is very involved in his community and church, where he was recently part of a mission team that traveled to East Asia.
Debbie Jennings
Secretary
Debbie is a writer and editor based in northern California with 30 years of experience reporting, writing, and editing. She has worked for newspapers, magazines, and book publishers, and taught college journalism and creative writing classes. She has both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in journalism as well as an MBA. She volunteered for three months at a Haitian orphanage. She is proficient in French.
Lee Kelley
Treasurer
Lee is the controller for BBB Industries LLC, in Reynosa, Mexico, and has over 33 years of experience in operations finance. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance, international business, and French, and a master’s degree in international management. He served on the capital campaign committee for his church and as the treasurer for his son’s Boy Scout troop. He is fluent in Spanish and speaks French and Swedish.
Meet Our Local Leadership Team
Onel
Finance and Administration Manager
Onel has a degree in accounting and serves as the finance and administration manager for our training center. He is responsible for managing our annual budget and maintaining the facilities and equipment. He also teaches adult window repair classes in the Haiti Share technical school.
Lemite
Pastor for Spiritual Development
Pastor Lemite leads our Spiritual Development programs which include Bible study, prayer meetings and marriage and family counseling. He is the founder and director of the Haiti Share Bible School that trains local pastors. He also helps out wherever needed with the youth and children’s programs.
Wilner
Pastor for Missions & Community Outreach
Pastor Wilner leads our missions and community outreach program, which includes our benevolence fund, prison and widow ministries, and volunteer teams to serve needs in the community. He also leads the annual Gospel for Haiti mission trip and emergency relief efforts as needed.
Bertain
Jr. Haiti Share Program Coordinator
Bertain has been involved in Haiti Share since its beginning in 2007. He oversees the Jr. Haiti Share program, including the Bible, English, computer, sewing and music classes; Vacation Bible School; and monthly talent shows. He monitors the children’s progress in school and is the main point of contact for our child sponsorship program. He also monitors the internet/computer lab and teaches a basic computer skills class.
Moreau
Youth Leadership Program Coordinator
Mo graduated in 2021 with a degree in communication. He oversees our youth leadership and entrepreneurship program, monitors the progress of the students we are supporting in high school, college and trade school, and organizes the youth to lead community service projects, including pre-school activities, a chess club, and reading programs in our library. He is the founder and leader of our Haiti Share Humanitarian Team and also the webmaster for our ayitipounoutout.com website, which he created to be a resource for Haitians to learn leadership skills and receive information on opportunities in the community.
Absalon
Adult Education, Job Skills Training, and Entrepreneurship Programs Coordinator
Absalon was one of our scholarship recipients who graduated in January 2022 with a degree in business administration. He oversees our adult programs, which include job skills and career readiness training, English and computer classes, and Haiti Share Creations as well as entreprenuership and small business startup assistance.
Haiti Share–Mission, Methods and History
Mission and Values
The Haiti Share mission is to facilitate the intellectual, spiritual, and character development of Haitians who demonstrate leadership potential and to assist them in becoming self-supporting, responsible, community-minded members of their society. We see a future with a substantial number of spiritually vibrant, mentally focused, and emotionally mature young Haitians, supporting themselves and their families and reaching out in small groups of like-minded Haitians to relieve the life-crushing burdens of their fellow countrymen and empowering the next generation to do the same.
In all our teaching, whether formally or informally we strive to teach and model the “First Principles” of Haiti Share:
– Respect
– Integrity
– Mental Focus
– Clear Communication
We also strive to impart other essential values such as humility, hard work, responsibility, service, courage, endurance, faithfulness and love. Haiti Share is not church-affiliated but the leadership wholeheartedly believes that God is alive and active in this world today. Above all, we believe in the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives.
Methods
We support young adults in local colleges and trade schools and provide them with formal leadership training and funding for team projects. We reach out to the broader community with large-scale conferences, entrepreneurial support, and with classes at our training center. We also sponsor children in local schools and provide a variety of children’s programs.
History
In late June 2007, nine young Haitians volunteered to help Dr. Betty Harmsen teach a one-week vacation Bible school. At the end of the week, they shared with her their hopes, for their own futures and for the future of Haiti. Out of this conversation, a shared vision was born; a vision for an organization that would help young Haitians attain spiritual, intellectual, and emotional maturity, that would help them become self-supporting and would help them relieve the suffering of their fellow Haitians. Betty’s husband gave his wholehearted financial support and on Friday, June 29, 2007, Haiti Share was born, and the nine young volunteers became the first Haiti Share team. Haiti Share was incorporated in 2008.
Location
Our headquarters is in Carrefour, a western suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haiti, with a population of around 11 million, comprises the western third of the island of Hispaniola and is about 90 miles southeast of the southern coast of Cuba. The capital of Haiti is Port-au-Prince.
Current Scholarship Recipients
Berlange – Education
Bruce – Electromechanics
James Andy – Electromechanics
Jeff – Agronomy
Yuvans – Nursing
Wensia – Education
Rebecca – Telecommunications
Modelaire – Business Administration
Edmundo – Nursing
