Bermuda-based charity Feed My Lambs Ministry is now an officially recognised charity in Haiti after a two-and-a-half-year struggle.

Its Bermudian founder, Philip Rego, said they have been trying to obtain the official designation since Feed My Lambs Ministry began.

The process was complicated by loss of paperwork in the recent earthquake, and the death of their lawyer.

Mr. Rego, a retired landscaper, started Feed My Lambs to help impoverished people in Haiti obtain shelter, food, clothing and medicine. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Eighty percent of the population live below the poverty line, and more than half the population live in abject poverty.

"It is now known as Feed My Lambs Foundation in Haiti," said Mr. Rego. "We have a board in Haiti and a board in Bermuda. We have just purchased a little piece of property for $20,000 and we want to build an orphanage. Plans for the orphanage include space for up to 80 children, a clinic and school."

Mr. Rego is now fund-raising for $60,000 to build the orphanage. He is also looking for volunteers with building, medical and electrical experience.

"You don't have to go far in Haiti to find someone in need of help," said Mr. Rego. "Well-meaning people come to Haiti and try to find what corner to help in. But there is no need to waste time driving around. When you land in Haiti, wherever your eyes look, measure a quarter of a mile square.

"You will find people who are hungry, people who are sick, and children without parents. You don't have to go anywhere else. A lifetime of helping people is right there in front of you. I sold my business and went to Haiti two years ago, and I haven't turned back."

Mr. Rego's charity currently feeds more than 100 children a day, and finds education opportunities for more than 160 children a year. He rents space for an orphanage, but the lease is up soon. He also runs a medical clinic in Port-Au-Prince complete with a small staff and a laboratory that services 250 people a day.

The need for charity in Haiti increased when an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck in January, killing more than 230,000 people. Many thousands of people are still without homes.

Feed My Lambs Ministry became actively involved in the earthquake relief effort, providing a full surgical team along with all the medical supplies needed to do the job. More than 115 surgeries were performed and over 300 people were serviced in seven days. Each person received a bag of rice and beans.

"With the help of the Bermudian people and several generous donors, we were also able to fly a cargo plane with 33,000 pounds of food, clothes, and other goodies for Haiti," said Mr. Rego. "Our clinic has also been involved with providing medical attention to a tent city in Port au Prince that's populated with nearly 10,000 people.

"The earthquake only compounded the problems in Haiti. Our orphanage was not badly damaged by the earthquake as we are not in Port-Au-Prince."

He said although there were a few cracks in the walls at the rented facility, the main damage was psychological.

"It was a long time before the children would sleep inside again," he said.

Many people there still haven't recovered from a series of hurricanes that struck in 2008, Mr. Rego added. And thousands of these people were still living in tents when the country was struck by severe flooding, not long after the earthquake.

"After the earthquake we had the flood," said Mr. Rego. "Not many people knew about that. Half an hour of rain in the mountains came down and the whole village flooded. We helped with food and clothes and the Red Cross helped with the tents. The bridge where it all happened was less than a two-minute walk from our orphanage.

"The water rose 20 feet. I was thankful we had clothes to distribute to people."

He said that although Bermuda is always home, sometimes coming back to its relative opulence can be a bit of a shock.

"People in Bermuda are worried that the macaroni and cheese doesn't have enough cheese and their chicken isn't cooked right," he said. "Children in Haiti are sucking on rocks and eating mud pies.

"I really believe [in the idea that we should] live simply so someone can simply live. I am not suggesting that Bermudians give up everything they have, but you would be amazed at what a few dollars would do in the right hands."

Bermudians have donated more than $200,000 towards his charity since it was established in 2008.

Mr. Rego said what the charity deals with in Haiti is "deep stuff".

"Sometimes you figure how can you accomplish all this here," he said. "But I just remind myself that it is not about me. God has a plan. He sends the right amount of money for the right time. We don't like to hoard the money, we put it to work. The money sent for hurricane victims was put to work for that."

Feed My Lambs Ministry is also working to raise $15,000 for a 16-passenger van. A donor has already given $20,000 for this project.

Other expenses include $2,400 a month for their clinic.

"We try to put in $1,000 in free medicine into it each month," he said. "Sometimes we can and sometimes we can't. For our orphanage we need about $3,000 a year.

"For our school we need about $250 per child and we educate 160 children. That includes uniforms, socks, shoes school books and more."

He said the charity would like to do more, but money is the deciding factor.

"To me I have broke all barriers in Haiti," he said. "I tell people there that it is not me helping, but Bermuda. Bermuda has a special place in the hearts of the people we help."

For more information visit www.feedmylambsministry.org Phone 535-8935 or 1-970-389-4469.