Greetings Brothers and Sisters!
We all know that the future success of Haiti rests largely on the quality of education the children of Haiti receive. Sadly only about half of the children in Haiti get to attend school because many families can not afford the tuition to send their kids to school (there is no free education in Haiti). Throughout Haiti, however, billboards announce that President Martelly is providing free education for nearly one million children. Many of our educated Haitian partners tell us, though, that they have yet to meet a family whose child is receiving a free education. Is it true or not? We don’t know. This sort of misinformation and confusion is not an odd circumstance for Haiti. It happens all the time. It simply affirms that we need to be extra vigilant in supporting all levels of education in Haiti so that all children can go to elementary and secondary schools and eventually university. With our support, Haitians will solve the problems of Haiti. The Haitian children are indeed the future and they are counting on us to help them succeed.
Our morning began with a walk through Jacmel to Lekol San Trinite (Trinity House And School). The children greeted us by singing “This Is the Day” in both Kreole and English. We then visited them in their classrooms to see how they function using the Montessori model of education. We learned that the bakery is not functioning due to a lack of funding. They need $10,000 to become operational again (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).
After our morning at Trinity House, we jumped onto a tap tap (a Haitian taxi that is simply a large truck where we stand in the back and hold on tight) and rode up to Lamontaigne to visit the family of Verbo Jean Julien. We discovered that Verbo has built a school on his family’s property and 64 children between 4 and 6 years old attend. He plans to add a grade every year until the kids go to college. Wow! This is amazing!!!
After returning down to Jacmel, we then walked around town, looking at art and meeting friends. It was a great day indeed.
Please continue to pray for us and our Haitian brothers and sisters.
Peace and hope,
Pastor Doug
