Dan and Madel Beck; our missionaries and Executive Directors, answered their calling with a resounding, “yes” in 2017. They moved to Haiti in 2018 and successfully built and guided the creation of a Professional Technical School in the Quest department of Haiti. Covid turned the world upside down and as it began to dissipate Dan and Madel realized the necessity of an organization to accomplish their calling. So, in 2020 the framework for Empowering Partners Inc. was created. EPI became incorporated as a NY based tax exempt 501c3 in 2021. Once again they responded, being called into northern Haiti as their faith required. Empowering Partners home base is situated south of Cap Haitien, in the North Department on ½ Kawo; (2+acres) in the village of Thibeau, (Tibo) Haiti. Dan and Madel’s skillsets are well suited to the mission life. Madel began her career as a teacher, and also learned the skills of a seamstress from her mother, while Dan spent his life in construction management and home building.  And soooo the adventure began...

This is a collective story because the lives of EPI’s founding board members as well as some of the newer members lives have been intertwined for a significant length of time. While not all our Board Members have served in Haiti, all do have a servant’s heart that they have expressed in service in other locations and capacities long before the creation of EPI. Each of our team serves and brings ideas, energy, and a variety of professional skills to the table and into the field. As hope for Haiti’s return to a more stable place in time begins to grow, some on our board are discussing plans to be in the field later this year. Our board’s constitution is varied and well positioned to lead EPI’s efforts into the years of growth and success that lie ahead. Within our collective group we have members with skills in healthcare, science and research, seamstress and tailor, education, business, building and mechanical trades, and a variety of other interests and life experiences. Collectively we are in a position of strength to meet and adjust to the needs of Tibo, Haiti.

What is EPI’s greatest need apart from fundraising? I think we would all say volunteers, or as we call volunteers; “empowering partners”! As the political and security situation changes in Haiti, we welcome the energy, enthusiasm, the skillsets, and love that volunteers bring to the field. While our area in the north continues to enjoy relative peace and safety, several distant areas are still insecure, and controlled by gangs. We are optimistic that the arrival of the expanding  “international security mission” and the newly formed transitional government will succeed in leading Haiti into a secure state and allow fair and democratic elections in the months to come. One of the greatest strengths of the Haitian population is the resiliency of its people in response to great adversity. When you come to know the beginnings and the history of Haiti as a sovereign nation... you will see the Haitian people are not unaccustomed to struggle. God bless Haiti and its people!