Hey Everyone,
As we lean into 2026, our year to BUILD, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it actually takes to restore what is broken. We often think of “impact” as a singular event—a lightning bolt of change. But the reality is that impact is almost always a chain. It is a series of quiet, faithful “Yeses” that link together to save a life.
Today, I want to share a story from the Central Plateau of Haiti that perfectly illustrates this chain. This story beautifully embodies our 3…2…1 Impact framework: three points to ponder, two quotes to share, and one story of profound impact.
1 Story of Impact
On November 15, Baby YouElycè took her first breath in a makeshift wooden home in the remote Central Plateau of Me Bel Mer, Haiti.
Her mother, Juslande, was already a familiar face to our team. She had been a faithful participant in our First 1,000 Days program, attending the feedings, health lessons, and checkups throughout her pregnancy. But shortly after birth, the joy of a new life turned to urgent concern. Our nurses discovered a serious medical complication—an intestinal issue that required immediate surgical intervention.
Many Hands stepped in to get them to a hospital and cover the medical expenses, but in Haiti, a hospital stay is a family sacrifice. For an entire month, YouElycè’s grandmother stayed by her side, providing the food and basic care the hospital does not. Even after their initial release, the battle wasn’t over. Sensing something was still wrong, the family walked 45 minutes to our main campus to seek a second evaluation. We didn’t hesitate; we sent them back to the hospital for further care.
Grandmother, Juslande, and baby YouElycè
Today, things are looking good for Baby YouElycè. Her life was saved, not by a single event, but by a chain of interventions that started long before she was born.
This story reminded me that impact happens when we decide to make a problem personal:
- It happened because Deliyon, our Many Hands nurse, refused to look away. He stood in the gap for this baby, advocating and saying, “We need to do something about this.”
- It happened because our First 1,000 Days leadership made a bold commitment last year to reach more pregnant women in rural, hard-to-reach areas.
- And on a personal note, it happened because of a legacy. When my father passed away in 2021, he left a gift for Haiti. After much prayer, my mother and family members used that gift to build the Love in Action Center in Me Bel Mer—the very facility where YouElycè and her mother received their care.
Without a nurse who cared, a team that planned, and a family who gave, this story might have ended differently.
As People for Impact, we are presented with opportunities every day to take a problem personally and make a positive difference. It takes eyes to see the need, a schedule open enough to respond, a heart big enough to love, and the generosity to see it through to the end.
Grandmother, baby YouElycè, and Nurse Deliyon
3 Points to Ponder
- Advocacy is a Choice: Nurse Deliyon didn’t just “do his job;” he took YouElycè’s survival personally. Where in your life is there a “problem” waiting for someone to say, “We need to do something about this.”?
- The Infrastructure of Love: You can’t save a baby in the remote Central Plateau without a center, a system, and a staff. Our BUILD mandate for 2026 isn’t just about bricks and mortar; it’s about building the systems that allow for these life-saving interventions. What “system of love” are you helping to build in your own sphere of influence?
- Your “Today” is Someone’s “Tomorrow”: The gift my father left in 2021 became the life-saving intervention for a baby in 2025. Your generosity today is the relational and physical infrastructure for a miracle that hasn’t happened yet. What seeds are you planting today that will provide shade for someone else tomorrow?
2 Quotes to Share
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” — Mother Teresa
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt
As you look at the world around you these weeks, where can you choose to take a problem “personally” and make a positive difference?
Feel free to reply and share—I read every response.
Live with impact,
Tim
