“One of the greatest blessings in ministry is seeing God bring together organizations with different strengths to accomplish something none of us could do alone.”
That’s exactly what’s happening in northern Haiti.
After months of prayer, planning, and preparation, Chances for Children is excited to announce a new partnership with Ekipe Haiti and Emmaus House to develop Jaden Lespwa, or “Garden of Hope.”
Located on five acres in Quartier Morin, just outside Cap-Haïtien, Jaden Lespwa is a regenerative production farm that will provide fresh food, create jobs, equip families through agriculture, and support ministries that are already making a tremendous impact in northern Haiti.
Three Organizations. One Shared Vision.
Each organization brings unique strengths to this partnership.
For years, Chances for Children has helped farming families in southeastern Haiti improve food security through agriculture. Ekipe Haiti faithfully serves children and families through education, discipleship, and community development, while Emmaus House prepares orphaned youth for independent living in Haiti.
Together, we’re able to accomplish far more than any one organization could on its own.
More Than Food
At its heart, Jaden Lespwa is a working production farm. Using regenerative farming practices, it will grow a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, livestock, and other crops while restoring the health of the land.
The harvest will do much more than fill baskets.
The farm will:
- Help provide fresh fruits, vegetables, and protein for approximately 225 students through the Ekipe Haiti school feeding program.
- Supplement meals for the children and staff at Emmaus House.
- As the farm matures, a portion of its harvest will also help supplement Chances for Children’s feeding programs, adding fresh fruits and vegetables to meals served to children.
- Provide healthy produce for families in the Quartier Morin community.
- Supply produce for the Jaden Lespwa Market Stand, helping move the farm toward long-term sustainability.
- Create meaningful local jobs in farming, maintenance, food preparation, and program leadership.
- Train Emmaus House youth and local families in practical regenerative farming techniques that strengthen food security and create future income opportunities.
Our hope is that every harvest will nourish not only families, but also opportunities for a stronger future.
A Living Classroom
One of the things that excites me most about Jaden Lespwa is that it won’t just produce food—it will also produce new ideas.
The farm is being designed as a place where farmers, students, pastors, ministry leaders, and community members can learn together. Demonstration gardens will provide opportunities to see regenerative agriculture in practice and take those ideas back to their own farms and communities.
The benefits won’t stop in northern Haiti. As we test new crops, refine growing methods, and continue learning, those lessons will strengthen Chances for Children’s agricultural programs in southeastern Haiti, where hundreds of smallholder farming families are already applying regenerative agriculture through our Seeds to Sustainability initiative.
Jaden Lespwa creates a connection between our work in the north and southeast, allowing ideas, experience, and practical farming techniques to strengthen both regions.
Already Taking Root
During my July trip to Haiti, we reached an exciting milestone by breaking ground and planting the first fruit-bearing trees on the property.
Mango, avocado, banana, plantain, papaya, coconut, pineapple, cacao, pomegranate, soursop, tangelo, jackfruit, starfruit, and breadfruit are now growing as the foundation of what we believe will become a thriving farm.
At the same time, land has been cleared, infrastructure is beginning to take shape, and plans continue moving forward for irrigation, livestock, composting, beekeeping, and expanded agricultural training.
It’s exciting to see what was recently an empty field beginning to become a place of growth, opportunity, and hope.
Looking Ahead
Jaden Lespwa is more than another project for Chances for Children.
It’s an opportunity to strengthen existing ministries, equip families with practical skills, improve food security, and demonstrate how regenerative agriculture can transform both land and lives.
We’re deeply grateful to every donor, volunteer, church, and prayer partner who has helped make this possible. Your faithful support is already bearing fruit, and we’re excited to share the journey with you as Jaden Lespwa continues to grow.
Todd Henderson
Chances for Children (Seeds to Sustainability) Agriculture Manager (2nd from the right in the image below)
Most of these waterborne diseases don’t exist here in the states, because of our sophisticated water systems that filter and chlorinate water – eliminating all disease carrying organisms. But typhoid fever, cholera, giardia and many other diseases run rampant in places like Haiti.
‘Really, am I supposed to love God more than my children, more than my husband, more than my house, my mother, my father, my life’??? Don’t shoot the messenger, I am just telling you what it says in Luke 14:25. Now, I am not advocating that we abandon our families to serve God. But I am advocating for us to get out of our comfort zones. Serving the “least of these” does not mean helping out in homeroom or working at the school carnival. These are all good things to do, but they are not serving the “least of these”.
