69-year-old Christian dies on boat during

Renel Noel, 69, recently lost his life when his boat capsized during one of his humanitarian effort trips to Haiti.

Death of Rennel Noel

Miami Herald reported that the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church member bought a 42-foot 1972 Hatteras fishing boat to answer the problem of safe road access in Haiti.

On the night of his death, he was reportedly following the El Shaddai, a cargo ship carrying goods and supplies for House of Hope, a children’s hospital, and a foster care facility.

The helmsman of El Shaddai warned Noel about following the ship as the three-day trip would be too much for the boat.

Anouce Jean, a friend of the deceased who was with him on the night of the accident, said that it was 1:30 a.m. when they noticed smoke coming from the engine of the boat and that it was about to capsize.

As the engine of the boat died, it lost electrical power, leaving the two to fend for themselves in the darkness of the night in the ocean.

Jean said that because of the darkness, the coast guard did not see the two of them. Noel passed while leaning on Jean, who was later rescued by a yacht passing through.

The coast guard recovered and positively identified the body of Noel, 20 miles northeast of Port Saint Lucie.

The news outlet also reported that Noel had close affiliations with the U.S. Coast Guard through partnerships with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.

As mentioned, the deceased was the country’s first Haitian Creole interpreter for the coast guard and a personal friend of Mary Newman, vice commander of Flotilla 6-9 for the Coast Guard’s Seventh District.

Renel Noel

The report said that Noel spent a big part of his life on humanitarian aid. In the 1990s, he went on mission trips in the Caribbean and South America through the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church.

In 2004, the licensed irrigation contractor installed a domestic water system in a medical center.

The Haitian-American businessman had a religious upbringing that saw him become an Episcopalian, a Roman Catholic, Baptist, and eventually, Presbyterian.

In a newspaper coverage of his philanthropic efforts, he said that he does not believe in denominations but rather the Christian message.

Further, he founded the organization Friends of Humanity, which became a bridge between Extreme Response and House of Hope to reach out to more people in Haiti.

Because of his efforts for the House of Hope, he has been called the “Papa of the House of Hope.”

Friends of Humanity

Friends of Humanity is a non-profit charitable organization based in Miami, Florida. The organization is also known as FriendsofHumanity4Haiti.org.

It provides financial and personal assistance to organizations working in northwest Haiti. It also assists institutions such as Beraca Medical Center and House of Hope La Pointe.

The group reportedly subsists through volunteers and donations to ensure that it doesn’t place a burden upon the communities that it seeks to help.

It cites Miami Shores Presbyterian Church and the members of the church, such as the late Renel Noel, as instruments to the foundation of the organization.