News from the village

The start of this new school year marked the expansion of the school, when the local School Board elected to add 10 new children.  We are happy to see the school grow and more children receive an education.  Another exciting step forward was the completion of a new multipurpose building that serves as both a new kitchen for the school, pastoral residence for the local church pastor and much needed storage for food and supplies.  The building was constructed entirely by local Haitians and meets several needs in the community.

Another addition is a new enclosure for the generator and latrines.

Finally, we are so thrilled to see the school entering in to their fourth year, they thought it was time for a group picture.  We all share in their joy! 

We believe in a better future for Haiti and it starts with each of these faces.  Education, economic opportunities, and the redemptive power of Christ equals transformation... one village at a time.

May 2012 Trip - Many Lasting Memories Made!

The following are thoughts from Deborah Nixon on her trip to Garot Bayaha, Haiti in May:

When I think back on the Haiti trip 12 of us took a few weeks ago, two changes jump into my mind.  The first was our relationship with the Haitians that live in the village of Garat.  Everyday when we arrived we knew them a little better, they knew us a little better and the relationship grew stronger.  We said “Good Morning” to each other with more enthusiasm and love as the week went on. We watched the relationships grow into friendships by the end of the week.  The other change was with the 12 members of the team.  We all knew we had different gifts, but as the week went on, it became so obvious how each person was shining! The way each person’s gifts played off the gifts of other’s to make the team stronger made the Holy Spirit literally visible!

During the week, we were able to witness two church services with the most amazing singing I have ever heard, adult education classes with 44 villagers learning their letters and how to write their names, and school day classes in session with lunch and recess.  Some of our team members were able to fix a broken well to bring fresh water back to east side of the village, knock down the old latrine at the school, and take care of some electrical work to bring electricity into the building from the generator when it is running.

Some members of the team taught health and hygiene lessons to the villagers every day, and even encouraged a man in the community who was building his own latrine to come talk to the whole village about why more of them should build latrines in their backyard.  He spoke about his wife and daughter suffering from cholera and how that motivated him to make a change for the better when it came to hygiene and his family’s health. 

Spending time in the classrooms each day with the children and the teachers was an inspiration to all of us.  The teachers talked about why they come to the village to teach every day, speaking of the need to spread the gospel as the reason why they want to be teaching in a church school.  Two of the teachers live in village and talked about their desire to give back!  We also met the four leaders who will act as the school board and heard their gratitude for the school expressed.  They would love to see the school grow, adding higher grades and more children, and want to work to make that happen.

While the team was in Haiti, we could physically feel the prayers of friends and family and as we prayed with the people of Garat we could feel the Holy Spirit fill the space with a presence so strong it was beautiful!

Deborah Nixon

A Future Library

Education and literacy are on the rise in the village. Nearly 85 children and 50 adults who were not reading a few short years ago are well on their way towards literacy! Now the challenge is finding things to read! Embrace Haiti hopes to grow a library for children and adults who are dedicated to their education and poised to discover a new world through books. We’d love to see a variety of books stock the shelves of this new library, including Christian story books and Bibles.

Can you help us by donating as little as $10 to buy a book in Haiti and help a child (and adult!) learn to read?

Recently the kiddos in my neighborhood raised $10 with a simple lemonade stand. They loved getting the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves… won’t you join them?

(they may have drank more than they sold!)

Ask your neighbors to get involved. See if your daughter’s girl scout troop is interested. Clean out your change purse or if all else fails do a lemonade stand… I mean who doesn’t LOVE lemonade, libraries and literacy!



Contact Dea for more info on how to donate deascogin@gmail.com/281.788.0999.

Adult Education - New Initiative

The Haitian literacy rate is less than 55% and even lower in the more rural areas like the village in which we are working in Bayaha.  Here there are very real and very large obstacles to education for children, but for adults who may have never had good access to education, it could be nearly impossible to conceive.  As we all know, education is the key to a better future regardless of what corner of the world you may reside.  That is no different for Haitians.  When Plant With Purpose visited Garrot, Bayaha a few months ago, it became even more obvious how important a better educated population is to the prospect of improved economic development and a better standard of living in this community. 

Upon announcing the Adult Education Initiative within the village last month, we very quickly had 50 men and women registered to attend these classes for basic literacy and math.  We believe they would have kept coming, but this is the maximum size for our first class.  It's encouraging to see their desire to learn.  They are responsible for supplying their own pencil and notebooks and we supply the teachers. 

Here is the first class of adults, whom we are so excited to have join our newest program...

A Day of Thanks

The local pastor recently held a celebration in the new building to mark it's completion and thank God for His many blessings.  Pastor Norck reached out to churches in surrounding communities and invited everyone to come celebrate a new beginning in the village and give praise.  It was a remarkable image to see so many Chrisitans come together in a place where once only a thatched roof and four wooden posts had stood. 

A beautiful scene of thanks giving and hope restored...

 

Growing a School

This fall the school grew for the first time in three years.  We now have 65 children enrolled between pre-school and third grade.  This was an exciting step for us and the village, especially considering it coincided with the addition of 22 new children joining the local Haitian National School.  That means altogether 40 new children are learning that weren't able to attend school just a few months ago.  We owe it all to a beautiful group of women who love God and gave generously when they heard the call.  Something about dozens of children watching from a far while others were being fed and educated, just didn't sit right with these ladies and then they realized they could actually do something to change that. 

God is working on the hearts in this village and the hearts of the people right here amongst us.  He's painting a new picture for a community which once lacked all hope.

Thank you, Ladies of The Loft!

Twenty-two children joined the Haitian National School

(the concept of smiling for photos hasn't quite taken hold yet)

The children who joined our school holding their new uniforms

(some perhaps a little camera shy)

Much needed school books and supplies

and uniforms for all!



Pathway to Change

We would like to say "thank you" to Plant With Purpose, http://www.plantwithpurpose.org/, who flew in this past weekend to conduct a two-day workshop at TWUMC for our Embrace Haiti team. During the course of the workshop, representatives from San Jacinto Baptist, Huntersville Presbyterian, and The Woodlands United Methodist Church came together to develop a "Pathway to Change" for Bayaha/Garrot. It was a huge success and the team has a clearer vision of how to partner with Haiti to impact sustainable change in the village, beyond the efforts already in place. For more information or if you would like to help in some way, please contact Dea Scogin at deascogin@gmail.com.