Love the Children - HAITI Newsletter August 2013 Dear Friends, I just returned from Haiti and have very good and encouraging news for all of you who have been following our progress. God is doing miracles in the village of Larevwa. The alterations to the church building, that have been made in order to accommodate the school, are nearly complete. The new skylights make the space very light and cheerful. The brand new outhouses are amazing and the movable room dividers and student desks make it look just like a school. The men, women and children of Larevwa who have worked so hard to make this a reality now have a school building of which they are very proud. Six certified teachers have been hired and they have already had their first “in-service” day. We hope to have supplies and books ready very soon. There will be six classroom; two pre-school classes and first, second, third and fourth age level. Teacher’s aids, cooks, and custodians will be parents who volunteer in exchange for their children to go to school. Can you imagine the excitement in the village; more than two hundred children who have never been to school will begin this fall. The idea of a school has created a momentum in the village. Some of you have heard me comment that I have never seen a playground or ball field in the village on which the kids can play. Well I can’t say that any more. In a field across from the church/school building a few young men have created a playground / soccer field. While I was there I observed kids running, playing and making noise every day. The villager who owns the land may someday want it back; but for now, Larevwa has a place for kids to gather and play. Shortly after I arrived in Larevwa by motorcycle, two large church buses, filled with about 60 Methodist women missionaries pulled into the village. I was told that they heard God was doing miracles in Larevwa and they came to pray over the village. They will be there ten days. I had the opportunity to speak to them at their Wednesday worship and encouraged them to help the school by collecting supplies. As I explained in the June newsletter, we have been investigation how the school can be made self-sustainable. Meaning structured in such a way that the people of the village will be able to support the school without outside help. It has become evident that in order to support the school the economy of the village will need to be expanded. There are no “jobs” in Larevwa and little opportunity to make a living other than by growing a few crops and animals that can be sold or traded. Obviously, the easiest and quickest way to expand the economy of the village is to increase the efficiency of their relatively primitive agricultural systems. To this end, Love the Children is currently working with other agencies here in Florida whose mission is to develop methods of increasing agricultural efficiency and train citizens of third world counties to use these methods and thereby increase their productivity. We are hoping to provide scholarships for two leaders from Larevwa to receive the training as early as over the winter so that they can then train the rest of the villagers. Currently, the largest obstacle to increasing agricultural production and expanding the economy is the lack of water. The closest source of water is the Bainet River which is a forty-five minute walk down a steep mountain path. Without a new method of getting water to the village, expanding the agricultural economy is unlikely. A wind powered water pump (windmill) is the best method of getting water from the river to the village. We have located a windmill that is manufactured in the United States that can do the job. The cost of the windmill, the tower, the pumps, pipes and valves is budgeted at $14,000.00, delivered to be installed by the villagers. One very generous donor has already pledged $4,000.00, so we are now looking for $10,000.00 to change the lives of every villager on the mountain ridge. This past week, I had the opportunity to meet with community leaders including the government official that oversees the area in which Larevwa is located. We are currently creating a “board” of village leaders that will make necessary decisions and will supervise the operation of the school and other Love the Children initiatives, on a local basis. Please pray for the leaders as they go forward performing God’s work. I will keep you informed of our progress. Tell your friends about us. Maybe they will help us love the children. Yours, Bob Allison Lichy Ibinson
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 19:34:22 +0000