The Amazing Be Like Brit, “Our Mission in Haiti and the USA”

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Bernie Gengel, Guest MINDSETTER™

It’s Papi Len as I’m known at Brit’s Home, that’s right it’s a home now after 3.5 years open. Since our 66 children call it their home, we thought we should too. No longer will we say “the Be Like Brit Orphanage" it will be “Brit’s Home” for the next generation of Leaders in Haiti, that is our Vision for them! With that being said, I would like to share with you what Cherylann, Bernie, Richie and I along with our Leadership Team in Haiti and the USA have worked on for the past 1.5 years and here is our New Mission Statement…

Our commitment is to continue the compassion of Britney Gengel by serving the children of Haiti and sustaining a safe, nurturing home rooted in the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love!!! While developing a sense of social responsibility, community involvement, and unconditional love!!!

What do you think? Can you imagine that those 2 sentences were 6 years in the making? Let’s break it down for you to understand our thought process. “Our Commitment is to continue the compassion of Britney Gengel”, what does that mean at Brit’s Home in Grand Goave, Haiti? At the Operations Center in Worcester, MA? On the 20+ Britsionary Trips a year to Haiti? At the Be Like Brit Walk, at the Fall Gala and on the anniversary every January 12th ?... Britney was a shining star in a world filled with darkness… By no means was Britney Daddy’s little girl, but she was full of Compassion for those who struggle and Love for those who are the meek in spirit. So when we talk about compassion, we mean how a young lady who came thru Brit’s Wake with rings in her nose, eyelids, and was just really hurting and said to Cherylann and I the following: This was one of the toughest things I have ever had to do, you see I never fit in at High School and these schoolmates I stood in line with tonight, they don’t want me here, but Brit does! She went on to tell us how she was suicidal in High School, because she didn’t fit in and was bullied, laughed at, ect, ect, yet every day when she saw Brit in the hallway going to class, she said Brit would light up when she saw her and just take a second to say hello and smile at her, it saved her life she told us, that 1 simple act of compassion, that’s what we think of when we say “Continue the Compassion of Britney Gengel!!!

“By Serving the children of Haiti and sustaining a safe, nurturing Home rooted in the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love!!!” What does this mean, is there a lot of Wordsmithing going on here? Let’s break it down, By serving the children of Haiti? I heard someone say once, “ it takes great Dignity to serve others” and that is one of our Core Values, to serve others with great dignity! Next “ and sustaining a safe, nurturing home rooted in the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love!!!” What does Sustaining mean to us at Brit’s Home? Well, it could mean to build a 100,000 gallon Cistern so we can water our crops and “Field of Hope” while giving clean water to our neighbors on the mountain, or it could mean to Financially Sustain Brit’s Home? We can’t do that alone, that’s where you come in, yes our Supporters who Sponsor a Child, take a Britsionary Trip and build a home on the mountain for some family living in squalor or maybe it’s going to one of our fundraisers or starting a BLB Club at your school and yes Social Media is important, so please spread the word of the Be Like Brit Foundation!

“a safe, nurturing home rooted in the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love!!!” This is a lot to talk about, Safety is a huge concern in Haiti, desperation makes good people do bad things, so we are constantly improving our security systems and staff with trainings and equipment. Nurturing Home is why we are here in Haiti, yes to create a safe, loving home for our children where their Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Social and Spiritual Health is our focus on raising the whole child!!! Faith is paramount in Haiti, I have never experienced any place in the world with such a love for God. It’s Hope for our children to be the Solution to Haiti’s Future! “Love is Love, is Love, is Love is Love is Love” God is Love and we have a strong Christian Faith at Brit’s Home, we believe in one God, a loving and merciful God who has taught us to especially Love all Children and so we are inclusive of all Faiths that believe in God and the dignity of all human beings!!!

“While developing a sense of Social Responsibility, Community Involvement, and Unconditional Love” We want to raise good citizens, no Great Citizens, where our kids know the difference between a hand out and a hand up. We know we can’t take on Haiti, but we can raise the next generations of Leaders who will take on the momentous task of helping Haiti from the inside out, instead of the outside in! We Love our Neighbors in Grand Goave and employ 100+ on a monthly basis who in turn share with their neighbors as Haiti is a Communal Culture. Our children go to school in the community of Grand Goave because we want them to feel part of the community. We are committed to our Building Program on the Mountain, 55 homes and counting we have built and we continue to give out 500-1000 gallons of clean water each day, so our actions speak for themselves. Unconditional Love is just that, to love without judgment in a culture where everyone is judged. As Pope Francis recently said, “who am I to judge, only God will do that” So if our children dare to by different, we will love them unconditionally, if our children commit sin, we will love them unconditionally, if our staff, volunteers, donors and anyone else involved commits sin, we will Love them Unconditionally!!!

In closing I would like to share with you an excerpt of what Britney wrote to me after her graduation from High School, and I quote:

“You made me Love Church and God, and out of everyone in our family, I believe that we are the most Faithful, and everyone needs that sometimes” Britney Gengel, June, 2008

Thank You for Helping us Help the Children of Haiti!

Keeping the Faith in Haiti and the USA!!!

Papi Len

The Amazing Be Like Brit, “Our Mission in Haiti and the USA”

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