By Maggie Beamguard
The tranquil setting of Rubicon Farm, the host sight of the annual Haiti Help & Hope Fundraiser, might as well be in a different universe from the mountains of the troubled Caribbean island.
Pastor Dortul Sidor and his wife, Lilian, described their difficult travel from the troubled Caribbean island while sitting at a picnic table at the West End venue. As live bluegrass music played in the background, they likened the challenge of leaving Haiti to escaping from prison.
Travel there is dangerous, and the climate chaotic. The couple, who had to scrap their plans to visit the U.S. last year due to the perils they faced, was uncertain they would be able to make the journey this year.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for Haiti as a result of kidnappings, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest and limited healthcare. The advisory notes that Haiti has been under a State of Emergency since March 2024.
Regular trips to connect with stateside supporters of the ministry Sidor has led since 2011 have been essential to the ministry’s fundraising efforts – especially since partners and donors have been unable to visit Haiti in recent years.
The Sandhills Connection
Those supporters include a contingent of people from the Sandhills of North Carolina.
Seven Lakes resident Sylvia Pusser first met Sidor in 2011, just as his ministry in Haiti was beginning. Moved by his compassion and humility, Pusser returned to Moore County and shared the plight of the people Sidor served with the Women’s Bible Study she hosted at her home.
The women seized the opportunity to give back, establishing Haiti Help & Hope as a partner with Sidor. The nonprofit is supported by numerous churches from different denominations and individual donors.
The group has hosted an annual fundraiser, now under the leadership of Christopher Monroe, featuring bluegrass bands, Boston butt sandwiches, a 50/50 raffle and children’s activities.
All funds raised from the event typically held in August support Sidor’s ministry, which bears the name Lahai-Roi. The name is Hebrew for “the God who sees,” and it is the name Sidor gave to his ministry to communicate hope to a people who often feel invisible. In the Bible, Lahai-Roi is the name Hagar gives to a well that appears to her in the wilderness during a desperate time.
Crossing the Rubicon
The Sidors lived and worked in the U.S. for many years before feeling called to return to their native Haiti in 2011 following the death of Sidor’s brother to continue his brother’s ministry in rural villages.
Haiti had been struck by a 7.0 earthquake the year before — killing between 100,000 and 300,000 people and eroded the already shaky government.
The slide into chaos has been steady. The turmoil in the country forced the ministry to close its school serving 450 students in Paitre in Sept. 2023.
But the same month, they opened another school in the mountainous village of Duclos which now serves 345 students. The ministry includes four churches which provide hope and support to the larger community. Hope is a precious commodity in a place veiled in despair.
Down in Haiti-estown
The Sidors describe gang activity, acts of extreme violence and community trauma including shootings, arson and beheadings. Everyone living in the poorest country in the western hemisphere is impacted by violence and daily life is shrouded with an atmosphere of fear. Gangs and bandits reign free.
Under the shade of majestic magnolias in West End, the Sidors haltingly but vividly hint at the horrors they have seen.
“We cannot explain it, yeah?” said Sidor. “Because it’s too hard to explain it. Because there are things that we don’t, we cannot, we do not even want to see them happen.”
He sanitizes a story about a village being turned out of their homes, massacred and the village set on fire. “How can you explain that? It’s happening everywhere. That is life. People in Haiti are desperate.”
On a beautiful August afternoon under a Carolina blue sky, it’s not a reality easily understood – not by those who live in relative comfort and safety, nor even by Sidor.
“I can’t even comprehend it. We are like the living dead. We cannot comprehend it.”
Towns where people want to work, and learn and play have become “battlefields.” The daily sound of gunfire, the casual loss of life, the hunger, the overriding fear, the pervasive mental illness, the desperate search for hiding places are causes for despair.
Sidor’s answer for why these things are happening is spiritually stark. “It’s evil,” he says, “pure evil. It’s not normal. It’s not human.”
A Place of Sanctuary
The Sidors’ ministry comes at great personal risk. They take refuge in scripture. “We live according to Psalm 91,” said Sidor. “That is the one we keep meditating on.”
Day and night they seek comfort in the Psalm, an assurance of God’s protection which declares “because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.”
Despite the threats, many people come to Sidor seeking sanctuary. His four churches offer Sunday School for over 130 children and nearly 200 adults attend services regularly.
Increasingly, the churches provide pastoral care and therapy to help people cope with the collective and individual trauma they have experienced. And increasingly, Pastor Sidor feels the heavy burden of bringing a message of hope and salvation to people, including himself, living in such uncertainty and despair.
A Light in Deep Darkness
At rest among the music and beauty of Rubicon Farm, the Sidors’ return trip is already on their minds. They anticipate travel challenges equal to those they experienced when leaving.
As travel destinations go, Haiti is unlikely to make anyone’s list. Even the Sidors express a little reluctance to return.
“But I don’t have any other choice,” Sidor said. “I must go. I must go, because the ministry of God called us to be there, to be a lighthouse in the deep darkness. And we see the good results and the impact the ministry makes in the life of children, adults and families.”
He takes courage from his spiritual ancestors, particularly Abraham, to whom God said in Genesis 12:3, “all the nations will be blessed through you.”
Sidor believes “all” means “all.”
“And Haiti is a nation. I do not believe we are cursed,” he said. “I believe we are part of God’s blessing. God is going to make a change.”
Contributions can be sent to Haiti Help & Hope, 151 Howle Road, West End, NC 27376. Haiti Help & Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit organization; all donations are tax deductible.
For more information about Pastor Sidor and the ministry in Haiti, visit mercyforhaiti.com.
Contact Maggie Beamguard at maggie@thepilot.com.
