June 2021 Ministry Update

June 2021 Ministry Update

May was a tremendous month as Evens returned to Haiti for the first time since the COVID crisis broke out! Let’s just say that it was a heart-touching experience seeing everyone again. While we have a very strong leadership team in Haiti, Evens and Karina do a great job reminding everyone that they’re loved and that God is truly on the move in La Victoire.

Speaking of God being on the move, let’s look at some of the important updates since our last update in April.

Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Isaiah 1:17

Ground Broken on Storehouse Church Hope Academy for Girls

One of our ministry partners, Storehouse Church in Chicago, is on a mission to open a girls' orphanage in La Victoire. With a successful round of initial fundraising, we broke ground on the orphanage, which will be on SAI grounds.

It’s estimated that there are tens of thousands of children living in orphanages in Haiti, a country of just 11 million people. We know from Scripture that God wants us as Christ followers to care for widows and orphans. The Hope Academy for Girls is launched in the spirit of doing just that.

We expect completion of the orphanage by the end of this summer. Once completed, it will house 24-32 orphaned girls, who are susceptible to abuse. Our charge is to care for them and protect them as they grow up.

If you'd like to support this orphanage, click here to visit Storehouse Church's Facebook page for more information

2020-2021 School Year Comes to a Successful Close

This was a school year like no other, not just here in the U.S. but Haiti as well. SAI squeezed in a full school year but had to cut it short by a few weeks because of a recent resurgence in COVID in Haiti.

We educate over 300 children at both elementary and high school levels. Since our schools first opened many years ago, we’ve seen kids transition from elementary to high school graduation! Many of these grads are moving on to post-secondary education with the help of scholarships.

Even though our schools continue to be successful at bringing best-in-class education, we have two major needs to keep our schools that way.

New High School Building ($15,000 Need)

While we’ve been able to house our elementary school on SAI grounds, we’ve had to shift locations to house our high school. In fact, we’ve had to switch locations each year for the last 3 years!

The issue with changing locations is that some students can’t move to a new spot. Even worse, if a new (worse) school takes over an old space of ours, parents unwittingly end up enrolling their kids in the other school thinking it’s SAI.

It is very urgent for us to build our own high school. We have the land and the location ready to go, but need funds for construction. At this point, we’re looking for $15,000 to get this project going. This is only an ESTIMATE because materials and labor costs have gone up a lot in 2021.

The good news is that our very own high school students will donate their labor to help get this built! It’s a testament to the character of our students, who truly have generous hearts. Will you help us with this project?

Looking for Monthly Donors to Support Teaching Staff

Many popular Christian children ministries allow you to “adopt” a child for a fixed monthly donation. You’ll get letters from kids so you can tangibly see who you 're helping.

We’ve tried this before at SAI and have found that this approach is very labor intensive for a ministry of our size. But the need to support our schools and these young children is every bit as needed.

The biggest financial need for our schools is paying our teachers. We’ve been able to meet these needs general ministry donations in the past but often have to delay paying them for a month or two until we have the resources to pay them.

We would hugely appreciate your support as a monthly donor! A monthly donation of $40/month goes a long way towards providing support for our teachers and students. While we don’t have the personnel to send direct correspondence to you from our students, we post about our school’s activities on our Facebook page. Can you become a monthly partner of SAI?

Other Project Updates

Our Medical clinic is nearing completion! We recently shipped a container full of donated medical equipment to Haiti. This includes gurneys, scales, dental chairs, and other necessary medical supplies. As we get close to its official launch, we’ll be sharing more pictures of the clinic’s progress.

The goat farming ministry is a roaring success! We launched this a few months ago in partnership with Covenant World Relief & Development. The initial round of goats that were donated to needy families are now producing new baby goats. This unique ministry helps families gain access to a consistent supply of goat milk.

Going Where God is Going

We are blessed to have a strong leadership team on the ground in Haiti. Despite over a year of COVID lockdowns, with Evens and Karina having to come back to the U.S., God continued to move major projects along for SAI. Everything that's been accomplished in the last year a miracle as only God can do.

We never take your support for granted. Every prayer, every dollar, and every minute of your time in support of SAI is a blessing. Our purpose as a ministry is to deliver real, tangible change to the people of La Victoire. Thank you so much for supporting us in that!

June 2021 Ministry Update

June 2021 Ministry Update

Speaking of God being on the move, let’s look at some of the important updates since our last update in April.

Ground Broken on Storehouse Church Hope Academy for Girls

One of our ministry partners, Storehouse Church in Chicago, is on a mission to open a girls' orphanage in La Victoire. With a successful round of initial fundraising, we broke ground on the orphanage, which will be on SAI grounds.

It’s estimated that there are tens of thousands of children living in orphanages in Haiti, a country of just 11 million people. We know from Scripture that God wants us as Christ followers to care for widows and orphans. The Hope Academy for Girls is launched in the spirit of doing just that.

We expect completion of the orphanage by the end of this summer. Once completed, it will house 24-32 orphaned girls, who are susceptible to abuse. Our charge is to care for them and protect them as they grow up.

If you'd like to support this orphanage, click here to visit Storehouse Church's Facebook page for more information

2020-2021 School Year Comes to a Successful Close

This was a school year like no other, not just here in the U.S. but Haiti as well. SAI squeezed in a full school year but had to cut it short by a few weeks because of a recent resurgence in COVID in Haiti.

We educate over 300 children at both elementary and high school levels. Since our schools first opened many years ago, we’ve seen kids transition from elementary to high school graduation! Many of these grads are moving on to post-secondary education with the help of scholarships.

Even though our schools continue to be successful at bringing best-in-class education, we have two major needs to keep our schools that way.

New High School Building ($15,000 Need)

While we’ve been able to house our elementary school on SAI grounds, we’ve had to shift locations to house our high school. In fact, we’ve had to switch locations each year for the last 3 years!

The issue with changing locations is that some students can’t move to a new spot. Even worse, if a new (worse) school takes over an old space of ours, parents unwittingly end up enrolling their kids in the other school thinking it’s SAI.

It is very urgent for us to build our own high school. We have the land and the location ready to go, but need funds for construction. At this point, we’re looking for $15,000 to get this project going. This is only an ESTIMATE because materials and labor costs have gone up a lot in 2021.

The good news is that our very own high school students will donate their labor to help get this built! It’s a testament to the character of our students, who truly have generous hearts. Will you help us with this project?

Looking for Monthly Donors to Support Teaching Staff

Many popular Christian children ministries allow you to “adopt” a child for a fixed monthly donation. You’ll get letters from kids so you can tangibly see who you 're helping.

We’ve tried this before at SAI and have found that this approach is very labor intensive for a ministry of our size. But the need to support our schools and these young children is every bit as needed.

The biggest financial need for our schools is paying our teachers. We’ve been able to meet these needs general ministry donations in the past but often have to delay paying them for a month or two until we have the resources to pay them.

Other Project Updates

Going Where God is Going

We never take your support for granted. Every prayer, every dollar, and every minute of your time in support of SAI is a blessing. Our purpose as a ministry is to deliver real, tangible change to the people of La Victoire. Thank you so much for supporting us in that!

Related posts

Summer 2024 SAI Ministry Update

Spring 2024 Update: Haiti Political Unrest

Winter 2023-2024 Ministry Update