Elkhart church helps to open mission school in Haiti

The congregation raised $64,000 to build the school.

ELKHART, Ind. - A dream that started in 2002 was realized for Faith United Methodist Church with the Sept. 6 opening of Faith Academy of Laferonney, located in Haiti.

The dream was first conceived when a Faith UMC mission team traveled to Haiti and met FanFan, a young man who had spent his life savings to buy a piece of land. This land he hoped, would become the site of Haiti's first public school.

Moved by FanFan's sacrifice, Faith Church became involved by proposing to raise enough money to build four wells in and around the area. The congregation raised $64,000, enough to build the wells and the school and sent work crews to Haiti to aid in the building process.

Teachers from the Haiti school will be working with Ohio State University educators to learn American techniques for teaching. It is hoped the school will become a model for other Haitian schools, departing from memorization as a way to teach. Children will attend classes in the morning, while trade classes will be offered for adults in the afternoon

The Faith congregation also will be supporting the $1,500 salary for one of the school's teachers and helping to make the school's required uniforms. The Haitian school plans to have 10 teachers and 10 teachers' aides.

FanFan, the school's visionary, first conceived of the plan while being raised in an orphanage where he learned English. In a country with an 80 percent unemployment rate and where gasoline costs over $5 a gallon, many Haitians cannot afford the primarily private education system.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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