| e-Mission Lines December 2011 |
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Touching Haiti with the love of Christ |
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Education in the Heart of HCM
by Etienne Prophete
Education has always been at the heart of the mission. When I was getting ordained into the ministry, this was one of the proposals that I set before the committee of elders of Park Plaza Christian Church in Joplin, Missouri. Haiti, with its 85% illiteracy, will go nowhere without the right kind of education. In starting the mission, the first thing Betty and I did was to start teaching older children who had missed the chance to enter school at an early age.
Like wildfire, the HCM educational movement covered Haiti to the point of establishing 53 satellite schools from kindergarten through high school as well as reaching college level studies. How did we arrive at that point when at first we did not even have a building? We started out by renting a two-room house. We made our bedroom in the back and taught school in the front. Eventually, at one time, our school in Port-au-Prince had 4,500 students registered and the school of translation and interpretation had 260 students.
In the middle of October in the year 1974, we spotted a piece of ground that was 50 X 90 feet in the neighborhood and searched to find the owner who was then living at Puerto Rico. In May of the following year, we located the owner and bought the land for $1,000 through a broker who wanted $150 for his commission. Not having the money to pay him, I took a translation job with Foster Parents Plan. I paid him in 1977 on the day when he brought his gun loaded to shoot me if I did not pay him. The Lord provided and I was spared. I learned then that God is wise and no one can put his wisdom to the test. No wonder Paul cried out:
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgment, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!" (Rom. 11:33-36)
 | | HCM schoolchildren praying before school |
The HCM school system has transformed many lives. Many children who otherwise would not have had the chance to go to school have completed high school and even gone on to college or university. Some of them have become medical doctors, nurses, professors, lawyers, translators, and interpreters for other Christian missions, the United Nations, Compassion, World Vision, etc. Recently, one of our former students by the name of Gemima called to inform us that she is in Paris studying on a government scholarship. In talking with Betty she said, and I quote, "I am so happy to have studied in the HCM schools. Now I am a Christian and an educated person."
 | | New books for the HCM schools |
We thank God for the supporters that made it possible for HCM to educate those children. Education assures the future of students in Haiti. The students, staff and board members of Haitian Christian Mission join hands and hearts with my family to say thanks to you and to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year 2012.
 | | Preparing uniforms and books for school distribution |
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| HCM Teaching Seminar
A teaching seminar held at HCM last month was attended by 58 teachers from 18 of our schools. This seminar was for early education teachers, those teaching children ages three through seven. Jonas Dorlus interpreted for guest instructors Stacey Vernon of East Point, Georgia and Lisa Polk from Quality Care Georgia. Topics ranged from classroom management to practical ways to teach reading and writing. The teachers completed 15 hours of instruction and spent one night on campus. Gerald Bosicot, our Education Director, and Stacey presented certificates of completion to each teacher. HCM plans to host two more seminars in the coming year as they work toward raising the standards in each school.
HCM currently has 53 schools meeting in HCM facilities and financially supports 20 of those schools. Many of our schools are still in need of basic furniture such as benches and chalk boards. Benches cost $54 each and chalkboards are $45 each. HCM still needs twelve more chalkboards and forty-two more benches. Will you consider giving toward this cause before the year's end?
 
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Rise 2 Shine Opens
 In 2010 a young man named Jit Vaitha traveled to Haiti with one of HCM's teams. He is the owner/operator of two low-income daycare and afterschool care centers in Atlanta, Georgia. While in Fonds Parisien he caught a vision for setting up a daycare in Haiti. On November 11, 2011 his dream became a reality with the opening of Rise 2 Shine. Currently the center has twenty children, all of them two to four years old. The plan is to expand in the future and open it up to younger children. Neither the families nor HCM pay anything for the center thanks to 100% funding from Rise 2 Shine and a grant they received. All of the children come from single parent homes and attend five days a week.
The Rise 2 Shine center is located just around the corner from the HCM campus in Fonds Parisien. Bruny Dorlus, wife of Jonas Dorlus, is the center's director and all the employees have come from HCM families. HCM selected all the candidates and Jit interviewed and hired each person.
 The center was opened with the help of Lisa Polk, trainer with Quality Care of Georgia, and a group of hardworking friends. All the furniture was built by Boss Charles in HCM's woodshop. The children will be receiving three meals a day along with structured learning and care. Opening Day was attended by HCM staff and other friends from the community. It was complete with ribbon cutting and a reception. Once again we see the hearts of others pouring out to the Haitian community!
Click here to view more photos of the opening of Rise 2 Shine .
Click here to visit the Rise 2 Shine website.
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HCM's New Education Director
This past September Gerald Bossicot joined the HCM staff as the Education Director. He is responsible for overseeing the curriculum, training the teachers and managing the finances for all the mission schools. Our goals are to help the teachers become better trained and raise the level of instruction in our classrooms. In addition to holding three teaching seminars this year, Bossicot will also be helping to implement a new Bible curriculum that will be coming out in 2012. We are thankful to God for the experience he brings and the Christian attitude of a servant with which he works. |
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 Sponsors Needed
It is thanks to all of our child sponsors that our schools are able to operate and hundreds and hundreds of children are able to attend school. Will you please help spread the word about HCM and let the people in your life know about this opportunity to make a huge difference in a Haitian child's life?
Or maybe even you are able to sponsor a child today. |
 | | "Village of Faith"Click on the picture above to see new photos of the HCM houses and the families that have moved into them. |
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Education Tidbits
HCM financially supports 22 schools which are attended by 3417 students
A total of 53 schools meet in HCM facilities
New curriculum was delivered to the schools in October
New Bible curriculum is being developed
The feeding programs in the schools are being supplemented by food from the Meals for Haiti event held in Joplin, MO last spring
A new playground is being built in Fonds Parisien this week compliments of Amy Heaney and her team from Minnesota
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