Leesburg Native Sinks Her Heart, Mind And Soul Into Haiti School
July 26, 2018 at 8:04 p.m.
Lindsay Anderson had just graduated from Grace College with a degree in business administration and finance when a massive earthquake in Haiti in 2010 grabbed her attention and redirected her entire life.
It was just days after the earthquake devastated the Caribbean country when she realized her brother, Todd Anderson, was making plans to go down to Haiti with a friend and pilot, Tyler Silveus. Spontaneously, she asked if she could go along.
“Within two hours, I had my bags packed and was going to Haiti,” said the former Leesburg area resident.
Anderson, 31, remembers the stench of dead bodies when they arrived in Port-au-Prince. She worked on demolition projects and helped at a mobile pharmacy. Weeks later, she returned to the country and began working in an orphanage.
She said she soon fell in love with the country and its people, and realized they needed investment rather than just emergency relief.
Since then, Anderson has spent much of the past seven years in Haiti, including three years with Intercession Haiti before forming her own 501(c)3 in 2014.
She named the ministry and boarding school HSMS – Heart Soul Mind Strength – which comes from Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
She describes her decision to establish HSMS as a leap of faith in a challenging environment.
Haiti has a long history of corruption that’s resulted in a reputation of being “the black hole of good deeds and charity,” Anderson said.
“I’ve been there long enough to know I don’t want to be that person who just hands out money,” Anderson said.
“I want to offer something that is real and legitimate and sets them up for the future,” she said this week in Warsaw where she’s helping with The Lake Games at Grace College Friday and Saturday
Proceeds from The Lake Games will benefit HSMS.
When Anderson heads back to Haiti next week, she’ll start planning for the next school year with a staff that has now grown from two to four.
The school is in Jeremie, on the far western tip of the country and far from Port-au-Prince, which Anderson describes as intimidating.
Jeremie has about 31,000 residents and sits along a mountain in a green, lush environment on the northern coast.
The school is for children ages kindergarten to the second grade. Students stay at the school during the week and go home on the weekends. A Biblical discipleship is part of the school.
She said the organization was created with a desire to develop a program for kids that offers a high-quality American-style school that teaches English and French.
“I want to make a connection with families and the community and be a serious entity that can do more than just hand out money,” she said.
Anderson’s family has also been involved with projects in Haiti for years. Her mother, Bobbi, and brother, Todd, and two other brothers have provided assistance since HSMS formed.
In fact, all but one of Anderson’s eight siblings have been to Haiti.
“They know that they have much to offer and they wanted to be a part of something bigger than just their own lives here in Warsaw,” Anderson said.
Lindsay Anderson had just graduated from Grace College with a degree in business administration and finance when a massive earthquake in Haiti in 2010 grabbed her attention and redirected her entire life.
It was just days after the earthquake devastated the Caribbean country when she realized her brother, Todd Anderson, was making plans to go down to Haiti with a friend and pilot, Tyler Silveus. Spontaneously, she asked if she could go along.
“Within two hours, I had my bags packed and was going to Haiti,” said the former Leesburg area resident.
Anderson, 31, remembers the stench of dead bodies when they arrived in Port-au-Prince. She worked on demolition projects and helped at a mobile pharmacy. Weeks later, she returned to the country and began working in an orphanage.
She said she soon fell in love with the country and its people, and realized they needed investment rather than just emergency relief.
Since then, Anderson has spent much of the past seven years in Haiti, including three years with Intercession Haiti before forming her own 501(c)3 in 2014.
She named the ministry and boarding school HSMS – Heart Soul Mind Strength – which comes from Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
She describes her decision to establish HSMS as a leap of faith in a challenging environment.
Haiti has a long history of corruption that’s resulted in a reputation of being “the black hole of good deeds and charity,” Anderson said.
“I’ve been there long enough to know I don’t want to be that person who just hands out money,” Anderson said.
“I want to offer something that is real and legitimate and sets them up for the future,” she said this week in Warsaw where she’s helping with The Lake Games at Grace College Friday and Saturday
Proceeds from The Lake Games will benefit HSMS.
When Anderson heads back to Haiti next week, she’ll start planning for the next school year with a staff that has now grown from two to four.
The school is in Jeremie, on the far western tip of the country and far from Port-au-Prince, which Anderson describes as intimidating.
Jeremie has about 31,000 residents and sits along a mountain in a green, lush environment on the northern coast.
The school is for children ages kindergarten to the second grade. Students stay at the school during the week and go home on the weekends. A Biblical discipleship is part of the school.
She said the organization was created with a desire to develop a program for kids that offers a high-quality American-style school that teaches English and French.
“I want to make a connection with families and the community and be a serious entity that can do more than just hand out money,” she said.
Anderson’s family has also been involved with projects in Haiti for years. Her mother, Bobbi, and brother, Todd, and two other brothers have provided assistance since HSMS formed.
In fact, all but one of Anderson’s eight siblings have been to Haiti.
“They know that they have much to offer and they wanted to be a part of something bigger than just their own lives here in Warsaw,” Anderson said.