On September 3rd thousands of Haitian children will go back to school with great anticipation. They know a new school year not only means furthering their education, it also means receiving a nutritious noon meal again each day. This year Trinity HOPE is expanding the feeding programs by adding 6 new schools and expanding the number of meals we serve by 950 each day. That means we will now be serving over 24,000 meals daily to the children, teachers and cooks in over 120+ Christian schools. God is truly good! While at school, the children are not only being fed physically, they are also being fed spiritually through the teaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
However, while the Haitian children have been working in the fields this summer and helping their families around the house, here at Trinity HOPE we’ve been working equally hard wrapping up our previous fiscal year and getting ready to launch the 2018/2019 school year. In addition to finalizing our new budget, holding our annual board meeting and making decisions on new schools, a big portion of our summer is spent on the annual training workshop we hold in Haiti each August with our local Feeding Program Directors. We bring all 16 of them together to train them on new procedures, discuss how to improve the feeding programs and administer their annual performance reviews.
Shared Support
This year a big topic during the workshop was the significant progress they have made with Shared Support…a program where the schools financially contribute to the cost of the feeding program each month, allowing Trinity HOPE to redirect some of our funds to add more children to the feeding programs. For the 2017/2018 school year, those in Haiti paid over $110,000 in Shared Support, allowing an additional 446,825 meals to be served. The idea of Shared Support is very counter-cultural in Haiti, but we believe strongly that we need to help Haiti move closer towards self-sufficiency one small step at a time. Often times a school may push back on having to pay their monthly Shared Support payment, stating how difficult like in Haiti can be. Our Feeding Program Directors hold firm and explain why this program is crucial for the well-being of all the children in Haiti and how it is ultimately good for the country. Shared Support is working and we’re very proud of the difference our guys are making. Each of our feeding program directors are strong Christian leaders that have a passion to serve their Lord and their country. We are blessed to be able to serve God alongside them.
As this new school year begins, please keep the students and all the workers in the U.S. and Haiti in your prayers. We look to Him for wisdom, strength and protection. If you are interested in learning more about the mission ministry of Trinity HOPE, please visit our website at www.trinityhope.org.
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