Newspaper Page Text
Page 2— Wednesday, October 25, 2023, The True Citizen
Local couple brings Big Hope to impoverished Haitians
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
John and Donna Bearden
are providing hope to Haitians
in the Dominican Republic
through their nonprofit, Big
Hope Bearden Ministries, Inc.
The Beardens first became
acquainted with the plight of
the Haitians when they trav
eled to the Dominican Re
public in 1999 with members
of the Pitman Park United
Methodist Church in States
boro. The couple assisted
with a medical mission after
Hurricane George affected the
area. Feeling called to make a
difference, Donna and John
continued to travel to the Ca
ribbean Island with teams for
12 more years. The teams as
sisted in areas of construction,
vacation Bible School, medi
cal and surgical procedures
amongst other much needed
services. Eventually Donna
and John gave up their jobs
and lived in the Dominican
Republic full time.
“In 2011, we felt God was
calling us to the held full time
so we went on the held with the
United Methodist Volunteers
in Mission as missionaries
there,” Donna said.
After nearly hve years, the
couple returned to the United
States to resume their careers
and prepare for retirement.
However, they still felt led to
do God’s work in the Domin
cess to government assistance.
Conhict in Haiti has brought a
further influx of refugees.
The Beardens accepted the
challenge of reopening the
much-needed medical clin
ic. In Spring 2022, with the
help of Statesboro physician
Dr. Randy Smith, the couple
achieved their goal. Another
group, Dream Ministries out
of Highpoint, North Carolina,
has joined the project and will
perform their first surgery next
week.
“We work in a really, really
poor area,” Donna pointed out.
“They hve in palm sided huts
with limited resources, limited
electricity. There is no running
water in their homes. They
can’t get treatment in the lo
cal hospitals unless they have
money to pay for it. They are
extremely ill and they need
medical care.”
Donna said some of the huts
consist of families however,
many children are left to raise
younger siblings when a single
parent leaves to find a better
paying job in the capital city
of Santo Domingo.
“The sugar cane industry
owns a majority of these com
munities,” Donna pointed out.
“They are in the middle of
sugar cane valleys.”
The children of Batey 7
generally receive a poor edu
cation until about sixth grade.
However, to attend a secondary
school consists of traveling fur
This photo depicts a common scene in Batey 7.
ion Republic and from time-to-
time continued to travel to the
area with church groups.
“COVID happened and we
were not able to go that year,”
Donna recalled.
The pandemic forced the
closure of a medical clinic the
Beardens assisted in establish
ing in Batey 7.
The Dominican Republic is
a Caribbean nation that shares
the island of Hispaniola with
Haiti to the west. Batey is a
word used to describe a com
munity of people who hve and
work in the sugar cane fields
under harsh conditions, often
for $200 per month or less in
wages. Due to the growth of
ther than most kids can afford.
Donna said the clinic sees a
lot of hypertension, diabetes
and parasitic infections, in
addition to diseases that are
native to the area like Malaria
and Dengue.
Both Dengue and Malaria
are transmitted by mosquitos.
Dengue is an illness that can
evolve to severe dengue, char
acterized by shock, respiratory
distress, severe bleeding and/
or serious organ impairment.
Malaria can also be fatal if left
untreated.
The medical clinic run by
the Beardens provides a clean
drinking water station for resi
dents to fill receptacles.
This photo exemplifies the poverty that exists amongst the
sugar cane field workers and their families.
the sugar industry in the 1930s,
Haitian migrant laborers were
bussed in to work the fields.
It is estimated that more than
200,000 people hve in Batey
communities across the Do
minican Republic. The com
munities generally lack access
to safe drinking water. Most do
not have Dominican Republic
citizenship and do not have ac
Donna is a registered nurse
and John is a wildlife techni
cian who managed DiLane
Plantation for more than 20
years. Their daughter, Hannah,
graduated from Burke County
High School and is employed
as a nurse practitioner at Pied
mont Augusta. Their youngest
daughter Mady works for The
Carter Center, founded by for
mer President Jimmy Carter.
She will soon serve in Ethiopia
on the Guinea Worm Eradica
tion Program.
People wishing to assist the
Big Hope Bearden Ministry,
Inc. can donate money online
at bighopeministries.org or by
Venmo @ BIGHOPE or send
a check or money order to 411
South Liberty Street Waynes
boro, Georgia 30830.
At right, John (front, blue
shirt with sunglasses)
and Donna (dressed in
yellow) have devoted
their lives to bringing
clean water and medical
services to the people of
Batey 7 in the Dominican
Republic including this
family.
OCT
OU2023
EVENT TIME CHANGE:
5-7 PM
• 330 FRONTAL ROAD
SyiVAWIA, GEORGIA 30467
DONNA BEARDEN