Haitians Helping Haitians for Christ (HHH) will host its third annual chicken barbecue on Saturday, May 14. The event will take place at Lampeter Church of the Brethren, 1900 Lampeter Road, Willow Street, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Presales must be picked up by 1 p.m. To prepurchase chicken, visit https://bit.ly/HHHChickenBBQ2022. Dinners will include a quarter-chicken, a roll and butter, applesauce, chips, a whoopie pie, and a drink. Individual quarter-chickens will be available for purchase as well. The event will be held rain or shine.

"All the proceeds (from the barbecue) support long-term solutions for Haitians," stated Betty Metzler Estime, who founded HHH with her husband, Elage. "The money all goes directly to providing jobs for Haitians and changing their lives. A dollar goes a certain way here, but in Haiti it goes a long way."

HHH aims to relieve poverty in Haiti while meeting the physical, developmental, and spiritual needs of Haitians through projects, programs and ministries. Elage grew up in the Haitian communities of Montrouis and Charrier. He was raised in a Christian family of nine children, who were still young when their father died. Elage's mother encountered many obstacles while trying to provide for her children. As a result, she was unable to pay schooling fees. Through a sponsorship, Elage attended Mission Possible School, where he became involved with outreach efforts by using his small allowance to purchase bananas and bread for neighborhood children. After attending Youth With A Mission, Elage focused on serving in Haiti. Betty, a Lancaster County native, met Elage in 2010 when she was part of a medical mission team. They married in 2012.

"Although our organization is called 'Haitians Helping Haitians,' I love helping everybody," Elage said.

According to Betty, Elage will never forget where he came from and will continue to give back the same way he received. Elage's ministry has grown and has become multifaceted. Initially, the Estimes self-funded the ministry, but a board of directors was formed to assist them and broaden the support. HHH provides food support for local schools, orphanages, and prisons and runs a feeding program for children. The organization offers English and music classes taught by local teachers. HHH holds yearly seminars for pastors, and, in the past, it helped a local church acquire land and construct a building.

Betty noted that HHH is beginning to plan phase two of building a community center to teach technical skills that may improve job opportunities to local Haitians. During the summers, HHH hosts camps for children. Additionally, the organization brings North American medical teams to conduct clinics.

To donate or learn more about HHH, visit https://haitianshelpinghaitians.org.