The Hands and Feet Project
Encyclopedia
The Hands & Feet Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which exists to "raise a generation of orphans who will grow into men and women who will have a relationship with Christ and be leaders in their communities." It began as a Children's Village located near Jacmel
, Haiti
. The Project has acquired land in Grand-Goáve and is in the early stages of building a second village, and is also renting a house in Port-au-Prince
as a potential third location.
in 2004. The name is based on the Audio Adrenaline
song "Hands and Feet" (from the 1999 album Underdog
). The idea for the Project was also inspired by the 2003 Audio Adrenaline
album Worldwide
, in which the band called for their listeners to "go and be" and get their hands "dirty". Frontman Mark Stuart
states: "We came to the point where we want to really step up and not just give a tip of the hat to missions and financially support them. We wanted to really embrace it and put our money where our mouth is. It is important for us to be hands and feet... We started the project to provide a place for orphaned children in Haiti to receive a roof over their heads and plenty of food as well as to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their savior. It's also a place where people from the States can come and see what it is to serve and be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of Haiti."
The Project is based on the Biblical teachings of James 1:27 -- "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress."
, as well as Drex and Jo Stuart (co-founder, Mark Stuart
's parents, who lead the project in Haiti), and students whose lives were inspired and changed upon visiting and serving the Lord in one of the poorest nations in the world. Stuart states: For us, this was an outpouring of just where we are as men of God, as people who want to do something besides just work towards our retirement or fatten up our retirement for ourselves. We go there to get levelheaded, to find out how the rest of the world lives. And to seek a dose of reality and it ends up being the best times of our lives when we’re there. Hopefully the book will encourage people not just to help the Hands & Feet Project, but to get involved and encourage a generation of believers to get involved in missions and really become the heroes of the third world
."
Jacmel
Jacmel, also known by its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.The buildings are...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. The Project has acquired land in Grand-Goáve and is in the early stages of building a second village, and is also renting a house in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
as a potential third location.
Origins
The Hands and Feet Project was started by Christian rock band Audio AdrenalineAudio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline was a Christian rock band that formed in the late 1980s at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. During the band's 17-year existence, they were awarded two Grammy awards, multiple Dove Awards and they released 17 number one singles. They were regular performers at the...
in 2004. The name is based on the Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline was a Christian rock band that formed in the late 1980s at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. During the band's 17-year existence, they were awarded two Grammy awards, multiple Dove Awards and they released 17 number one singles. They were regular performers at the...
song "Hands and Feet" (from the 1999 album Underdog
Underdog (Audio Adrenaline album)
Underdog is the fifth full-length album released by Audio Adrenaline. The album's lyrics are a slight departure from Some Kind of Zombie, as they focus more on missions and the word of God being spread, as shown in "Hands and Feet" and "Jesus Movement"; a theme that would reappear in Worldwide...
). The idea for the Project was also inspired by the 2003 Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline was a Christian rock band that formed in the late 1980s at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. During the band's 17-year existence, they were awarded two Grammy awards, multiple Dove Awards and they released 17 number one singles. They were regular performers at the...
album Worldwide
Worldwide (Audio Adrenaline album)
-Track listing:All songs written by Tyler Burkum, Ben Cissell, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, and Mark Stuart, except where noted.#"Worldwide One" - 3:23#"Church Punks" - 1:45#"Dirty" - 3:00...
, in which the band called for their listeners to "go and be" and get their hands "dirty". Frontman Mark Stuart
Mark Stuart (musician)
Mark Allen Stuart is a Christian rock musician, and is best known for being the vocalist for the now-retired Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline.-Early life:...
states: "We came to the point where we want to really step up and not just give a tip of the hat to missions and financially support them. We wanted to really embrace it and put our money where our mouth is. It is important for us to be hands and feet... We started the project to provide a place for orphaned children in Haiti to receive a roof over their heads and plenty of food as well as to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their savior. It's also a place where people from the States can come and see what it is to serve and be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of Haiti."
The Project is based on the Biblical teachings of James 1:27 -- "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress."
Significant events
- Christela was born on July 8, 2007, to a 15-year-old mother who birthed her in an outhouse behind her school and allowed her to drop 28 feet (8.5 m) into a freshly dug latrine. The Hands and Feet Project -with the help of United Nations troops from Sri Lanka- was brought in to rescue this baby girl. To everyone's amazement, she was uninjured, both by the fall and by the time spent in the summer heat and raw sewage. She was named "Christela Belle" by a police officer who was at the station when the Project was applying for custody. In Haitian Creole, the word "Christela" translates to "Christ was there"; "Belle" (translating to "Beautiful") is in honor of the Audio AdrenalineAudio AdrenalineAudio Adrenaline was a Christian rock band that formed in the late 1980s at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. During the band's 17-year existence, they were awarded two Grammy awards, multiple Dove Awards and they released 17 number one singles. They were regular performers at the...
song "Beautiful" (from their Lift album). - Tropical Storm Noel hit the Cyvadier Project on October 29, 2007, flooding a path of destruction through the property. However, on August 25, 2008, the Project was devastated far worse by the a series of four hurricanes—Gustav, Hanna, Ike, and Josephine—which left the entire property buried in six feet of mountain rock and caused more than $150,000 worth of damage at the site.
- On January 12, 2010, the Project sites in both Jacmel and Grand-Goâve were rocked by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake2010 Haiti earthquakeThe 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
that struck just southwest of the Haitian capital of Port-au-PrincePort-au-PrincePort-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. Though none of the children or staff were injured, all but two of the buildings at the Grand-Goâve site were damaged beyond repair and the city of Jacmel was more than 80% destroyed. The Hands and Feet Project was the first organization -private or public- to arrange for relief to reach the city of JacmelJacmelJacmel, also known by its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.The buildings are...
, making use of private planes whose service(s) were donated by their owners/pilots. Mark StuartMark Stuart (musician)Mark Allen Stuart is a Christian rock musician, and is best known for being the vocalist for the now-retired Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline.-Early life:...
, who was at the Cyvadier Project with his wife when the earthquake struck, had this to say: "I’ve never been in a situation where you feel SO helpless, fearful, and small... I'm left wondering why this nation is so tied to tragedy."
Book
Hands & Feet: Inspiring Stories and Firsthand Accounts of God Changing Lives is a travelogue-style journal released by Regal Books September 2006. The book features entries from members of Audio AdrenalineAudio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline was a Christian rock band that formed in the late 1980s at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. During the band's 17-year existence, they were awarded two Grammy awards, multiple Dove Awards and they released 17 number one singles. They were regular performers at the...
, as well as Drex and Jo Stuart (co-founder, Mark Stuart
Mark Stuart (musician)
Mark Allen Stuart is a Christian rock musician, and is best known for being the vocalist for the now-retired Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline.-Early life:...
's parents, who lead the project in Haiti), and students whose lives were inspired and changed upon visiting and serving the Lord in one of the poorest nations in the world. Stuart states: For us, this was an outpouring of just where we are as men of God, as people who want to do something besides just work towards our retirement or fatten up our retirement for ourselves. We go there to get levelheaded, to find out how the rest of the world lives. And to seek a dose of reality and it ends up being the best times of our lives when we’re there. Hopefully the book will encourage people not just to help the Hands & Feet Project, but to get involved and encourage a generation of believers to get involved in missions and really become the heroes of the third world
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
."