Haiti Mission Trip

Prior to the trip you will receive a group leader manual, which includes fundraising ideas; online trip handbooks and resources for participants, promotional materials, and unlimited pre-trip consultations with your trip leader.

Once in Haiti you will receive transportation to and from the airport, transportation to and from ministry sites, three meals a day, purified drinking water, sleeping accommodations, group T-shirts, customizable ministry options, an opportunity to attend local church services, evening worship, prayer, and debriefing meetings, a local sightseeing activity and basic recreation.

Transportation to Port Au Prince, passport, vaccinations, spending money, offering at church services, construction and/or ministry materials, personal insurance, suggested $300 donation for relief efforts.

Creole and French are the two official languages. English is spoken sparingly throughout Haiti.

Groups will be serving primarily in or around the capital city of Port Au Prince.

Praying Pelican Missions staff will evaluate the needs in Haiti and provide trips designed to assist in meeting those needs. Right now we are anticipating a heavy emphasis on construction projects and mercy ministries.

We do recognize that the current situation in Haiti is not one to take lightly. We ask that teams are aware that things can happen quickly in Haiti. With that, we take extra precautions and lay down strict ground rules to ensure safety. Our genuine partnership with pastors and other community leaders in Haiti ensures there is always someone looking out for the well being of our teams. If at any time prior to the trip, the trip is deemed to be unsafe, a full refund will be given.

Haiti has its share of creatures; however, the chance of seeing anything dangerous is very slim. In the unlikely event that one of these creatures is encountered our staff is well prepared and equipped to handle such a situation.

Groups will need to fly into the capital city of Port Au Prince where PPM staff will meet them at the airport. Please plan on arriving and departing from Airport no later than 3:00 pm.

All transportation within Haiti is included in the cost of the trip and will be arranged by PPM. Most often teams will be riding in school buses, church buses, or other vehicles provided by the local church.

All food and drink provided by PPM during trips is safe for consumption. Purified drinking water will be provided and even our cooks use this for preparing meals. Tap water in Haiti is not safe to drink. Also, all food that is not provided by staff should be avoided unless approved by staff.

Yes! The Haitian people will take every opportunity to provide you with the most beautiful painting or dangling necklace! With that, bartering is customary in Haiti and should be used on all souvenir purchases that are bought on the street.

Haiti is known as one of the poorest countries in the world. In 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that Haiti is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, just behind Nicaragua. It's estimated that one in five Haitians are living in poverty, and all face serious daily challenges, spanning from religious disputes to the very real fight to simply survive. The country has a history of natural disasters, which continually threaten the culture. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, has critically injured an already struggling society. Leaving thousands dead and thousands more homeless and helpless, the disaster requires a significant response—a response Praying Pelican Missions feels called to.

Haiti's climate is typically tropical. Temperatures range from 70-90 degrees Fahrenheit. The hill country is often 10 degrees cooler on average. Haiti's rainy season runs from May to July. During the rainy season, the country experiences showers in the evenings that last a couple of hours at a time.

Haiti has two official languages: Haitian Creole and French. Haitian Creole is the most widely spoken Creole language in the world and is spoken by about nine million Haitians, nearly the entire population. The use of Creole in the Haitian culture has been slowly increasing since Félix Morisseau-Leroy's efforts led Haiti to make it an official language along with French. Due to Haiti's massive poverty, the tourism economy is not nearly as prevalent as it is in other Caribbean countries. This fact greatly reduces the number of tourism-related crimes such as pick-pocketing. The United States government determined that Haiti's overall safety level improved during 2009. Most Haitian crime is a result of drug-related activity and is committed against other Haitians.

The poverty levels in the country of Haiti create a situation in which many families use subsistence farming (using agriculture to feed only their families) in order to survive. The high level of natural disasters in Haiti causes even more devastation to small-scale farming. Although subsistence farming is prevalent, there is also an organized agriculture industry. Two thirds of Haitians are employed in agriculture, which, along with fishing and forestry, annually accounts for more than a quarter of Haiti's gross domestic product. In addition, mining and manufacturing are small contributors to Haiti's economy.

The banking and financial situation in Haiti can be described as bleak at best. Banks often crumble under the poor economic foundations that plague the country. The currency in Haiti is the French "gourde" The current exchange rate for the gourde is about 40 gourdes to every U.S. dollar. Haiti suffers from a lack of financial and economic independence and heavily relies on U.S. and other foreign support to bring them through their many struggles.

Like those of us in the United States, Haitians love to eat! They rely heavily on starches such as rice and plantains. The most common Haitian dish, called plat complete, consists of rice and beans, fired plantain, and your choice of meat, most often chicken or pork (or whatever else is available). Lambi is a conch fish that is harvested off the coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Tropical fruits are also a fixture in the Haitian diet.

Fun and entertainment in the country of Haiti take a backseat to the struggle to survive. As a result of the country's significant African descent and influence, African music is immersed in the Haitian culture. Artwork is also a regular sight; open air galleries line the roads and villages throughout the country. Futbol (soccer) and cock fighting are also regular avenues of entertainment in Haiti.

Voodoo, despite its negative connotations in the United States, is practiced by Haitians today as a result of their history of slavery as well as their religious background. During the transfer of slaves from west and central Africa to Haiti, slaves brought with them their religions, their labor, and their uniting belief in the spirit world. The Haitians' belief in the spirit world was a means of coping with the ravages of slavery, which became a cornerstone of the concept of Voodoo. The term Voodoo literally means divine spirit and comes from the modern day country of Benin, which is one of the countries that provided Haiti with many of its slaves.

It's estimated that 80 percent of Haitians are Roman Catholic. The religious spectrum in the country also includes Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, and others. Voodooism, as a religion, is oftentimes practiced alongside Christianity even today, an issue that many missionaries and local churches have to contend with.