They love us so much and everyone is so happy. They love what they have and they work so hard to get nowhere, yet they are all so appreciative. I want to move here and start an orphanage myself.
Britney Gengel · January 12, 2010 · three hours before the quake
Thirty-three days later she came home. Len and Cherylann built Brit’s Home in Grand-Goâve: 19,000 square feet, shaped like a B, engineered to San Francisco seismic standards. Len made 39 trips from Boston over two years, set up a block factory on site, and compression-tested the concrete after every trip. More than $2 million was raised from grassroots donors. Engineering News-Record named it a 2013 Global Best Project.
Today the campus is the largest employer in Grand-Goâve: Brit’s Home houses 86 children, Brit’s Academy educates pre-K through high school, Brit’s Clinic provides medical and dental care, and the foundation has built 159 homes for local families. A U.S. transition program — including the Delray Beach “House of Love” — prepares graduates for college and independent life.
Len and Cherylann told the story in Heartache and Hope in Haiti: The Britney Gengel Story. All profits go to the mission.
Worcester headquarters closed July 2026. The orphanage, academy, clinic, and transition program continue.