Categories
Mackie Family on Child Sponsorship
" The need is great. Sponsorship is a way to tangibly support the basic needs." - John Mackie
The Mackie family has been a part of PKF Child Sponsorship since its inception, years ago. John Mackie is a First Vice President professional for Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. and sits on our Board of Directors. He's understandably pretty busy! He made time to talk with us about his family's experience as sponsors.
" The need is great. Sponsorship is a way to tangibly support the basic needs." - John Mackie
The Mackie family has been a part of PKF Child Sponsorship since its inception, years ago. John Mackie is a First Vice President professional for Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. and sits on our Board of Directors. He's understandably pretty busy! He made time to talk with us about his family's experience as sponsors. Take a look!
Hi John. First, thanks for being making this interview happen, and for being part of the sponsorship program. How long have you been sponsors?
We've been sponsors since the start of PKF Child Sponsorship. We sponsor Shayna and Jackson. My wife’s name is Shana and Shayna was a baby at Jean Claude and Monica’s, so we felt connected to her.
That's awesome. I love that little personal connection. What has been the most rewarding or exciting aspect of sponsorship?
Knowing that we are helping support the wonderful loving work at the orphanages in Haiti.
You traveled to Haiti with PKF awhile back and got to meet one of your sponsor kids - tell me a little about that.
I got to meet Jackson when I went to Haiti a few years ago. It was an incredible experience to not only meet him personally, but see all the work that is being done to love and serve our Haitian brothers and sisters.
What a great experience! You're family takes an active role in sponsoring Jackson and Shayna - how has that impacted your family as a whole?
Making sponsorship a family activity has allowed us to have great conversations as a family about loving people in a tangible way, about how people have various needs, hopefully helping my kids to have some perspective on the world (outside of their bubble). It creates an opportunity to discuss giving as a family. Many times, it’s hard to understand where a gift is going. A program like PKF Child Sponsorship allows everyone to see and understand where the gifts are going and how they are helping someone. It is very relatable for our kids to see and relate to other kids, even if they are half a world away. This provides a great dose of perspective and the ability to have meaningful conversations.
I love that. You guys have been part of the program since the start. Why do you think it’s important to sponsor a child?
The need is great. Sponsorship is a way to tangibly support the basic needs.
Has traveling to Haiti and sponsoring a child changed how you live here in the U.S.?
I think it is always good to expand your perspective. There is no better way to do that than firsthand experience. Haiti is an incredibly beautiful place. It shattered many of my preconceived notions. However, many things were as I had expected (i.e. lack of infrastructure). When you see and interact with the people, it definitely makes it personal and the compulsion to act moves from the abstract (we should help) to the concrete (we must act).
I think you hit the nail on the head. Haiti is a beautiful country full of incredible people, most of who simply lack the opportunities that we have in America. The PKF Child Sponsorship program is all about empowering students and making sure they have the opportunities to excel. John, thank you and thanks to your family for being part of this with us!
Jackson, age 12
Shayna, age 4
Mackie Family
Haiti Medical Clinic is OPEN!
We can not believe the day has finally come. The Medical Clinic is open for business! There were 300 people there waiting for much-needed care on opening day.
We can not believe the day has finally come. The Medical Clinic is open for business! It was scheduled to open on October 8. But, due to the many hurricanes that we experienced this year, its official opening day was November 12 and there were 300 people there hoping and waiting for much-needed care. We knew there was a need, but we did not expect so many people on day one!
Officially named Community Hospital IDADEE (CHIDA), it is now a beacon of hope for the people there. It is well equipped with four doctors and eight nurses, operating rooms, medications and all the essential medical equipment. To say that this community hospital is life-changing is quite the understatement. It will save lives, ensure jobs, and provide hope for the Haitian community.
Dr. Wislyn Avenard grew up at EBAC Orphanage and earnestly pursued medical training so that he could take care of his community. He and the other medical personnel at the hospital are like-minded in their approach to health and caring for the people that they see every day.
With all of this in mind, we have a few prayer requests: Once you start to meet medical needs, you can’t just stop. These people need to know that their pain is coming to an end and that we aren’t going anywhere. So please, continue to pray for God’s provision. Also, pray that these beautiful Haitian people leave with more than a physical healing. We want them to know His healing power in their lives. We want them to know Jesus.