We measure our impact in many different ways. The most important question to us is, “are we creating lasting Christian communities that contain true followers of Jesus Christ?” When I began working in Haiti nearly 25 years ago, the influence of Voodoo was so prevalent throughout Haiti. At night you could hear the drums and the screams of the Voodoo “Ra-Ra” celebrations. Many children came to the mission wearing wrist-bands placed by their parents as a Voodoo charm to ward off evil spirits. Today those drums are far less heard, and they have been replaced in many locations with the sounds of church choirs practicing for Sunday morning – praising God through Jesus Christ; and those wristbands – they have been replaced with the blue “WWJD?” Our impact is hope.
Since the time of “Papa doc” Duvalier’s rule in Haiti, literacy has been in decline. Today, 60% percent of Haiti is illiterate, and 50% of all children do not go to school. Ninety-percent of all primary schools in Haiti are now “non-government organizations (NGO)”, which means that most children are educated through charitable (mainly Christian) organizations. In the state schools, 60% percent of those in school will drop out by the 6th grade. The reason for such a high drop-out rate can be summed up in the fact that there is so little hope in Haiti. Sixty-six percent of the labor force in Haiti is unemployed and 59% of the population lives on less than $2.00 a day.
We make an impact in Haiti through Christian education and we bring hope and a bright future to the people of Haiti. Our schools have superior grades in routine government testing, and we offer the education and skills that gives hope for Haiti’s future. Our child sponsorship Program allows children to receive an education, even though their parents could never afford to send them to school. A child sponsorship provides a student with books, uniforms, school supplies, a hot school lunch, medical care, and the skills they will need in life to be productive in the work-force.
We make an impact in Haiti through our nutrition programs which are continually being evaluated and upgraded as funding allows. Our schools provide a hot lunch for all students, which for some is their main meal for the day. Malnutrition still remains a problem in Haiti, and 30% of the population has no steady source of food. Infant mortality is 5.5%, another 5.9% will not reach their 1st birthday, and another 8.8% will not reach their 5th birthday; which means that one-in-five children will never see their 5th birthday. New programs are being developed to provide food for the elderly and the chronically ill, as well. Nutrition is the key to preventing these high mortality rates and a future of chronic illness.
We are making an impact through our mobile clinics in Haiti, in places like Ferme Le Blanc which had never seen any type of medical services in the past, and Carrefour, the second poorest slum of Port-au-Prince where other ministries rarely go. We offer free clinics which provides examinations, assessments, free medications, and free care to our students and their families. We plan to expand our medical care by creating hypertension clinics and diabetes clinics at our various church locations.