Staff Feature: Steeve Derard
If you are familiar with Mission Made Jewelry’s mother organization, Haiti Awake, chances are you know Steeve Derard. Steeve Derard is a pastor and Ground Director in Haiti where he oversees all aspects of Haiti Awake. Today we would like to feature Steeve as he has been a part of the very beginning of Haiti Awake, and now plays an integral role in Mission Made Jewelry’s success.
It all started back in 2012 when Steeve and Executive Director, Becky Graves, quickly developed a strong friendship with each other while Becky was in working in Haiti. Although neither had led a ministry before, they followed God’s lead for them to start a nonprofit Christian ministry that provides community, church, and economic development for people of Haiti.
Becky left, Steeve middle, Hudson (Steeve’s nephew and staff) right
One day in June of 2014, Steeve and Becky sat down together with a pastor and realized that Steeve wanted to become one as well. He had felt God calling him to this position, but he was thirty-three years old and had not graduated high school yet. The next year he graduated high school, and 4 years later he graduated from seminary. He has now been a pastor for 2 years.
From its beginning, Haiti Awake has grown into what it is today. To Steeve, Haiti Awake means life change and impact in the lives of individuals and the community. Similarly, Mission Made Jewelry means “job creation and opportunity that gives people independence,” he says. He explained when one person is given a job in Haiti, it positively affects not just them and their family but the community as well.
The creation of Haiti Awake and Mission Made Jewelry has been a formative force in Steeve’s life. The greatest lesson he has learned since the beginning of this journey is that the world is bigger than he thought it was before Haiti Awake. Steeve says that it has “...opened [his] eyes to see the potential that [he] had, that [he] did not see before.”
Currently, Steeve lives with his wife, 4 kids, and the girls from Kay Timoun beneath the Child Community Center in Haiti where he supports his family by working for Haiti Awake. However, prior to Haiti Awake he used to play a lot of soccer since he has a strong love for the sport. He loves it so much so that he even puts soccer references in his sermons! Now he chooses to spend his time reading books because there is always something to learn.
A common theme in Steeve’s life has been community which coincides with his favorite parts about Haiti. He loves Champs de Mars, a place that he would take the kids where they had festivals and would talk politics. Lastly, he loves “seeing people have communion and relationship together.” This is a major theme for Haiti Awake and Mission Made Jewelry thanks to Steeve and Becky’s love of community. We thank God for Steeve, and look forward to continue growing the business with him in the forefront.