I have been living in Titayen, which literally translates to “less than nothing”. In this land where explorers saw nothing, God has placed something so beautiful and full of purpose, Mission of Hope.
There is so much to this organization like: the orphanage, schools, clinic, mobile clinics that travel to different villages, the elderly shelter they are building, the village champion strategy they have in place, and somuch more.
But two of my favorite things about MOH are:
1) their vision to empower the local people
2) the favor God has given them
The educational system they are putting into place incorporates both of my favorite things so I will tell you about that!
Education: Here are some statistics, that I am not making up on the spot 😉
- For every 100 children 40 will NEVER go to school
- Of the 60 that do, only 42 will complete PRIMARY school
- Only 20 of those will attend secondary school
- And only 5 will go to school and graduate
That is a 5% graduation rate from the youthof Haiti.
As we were learning about the vision at Mission of Hope what stood out to me was the idea behind the educational program.
It broke my heart to see how inferior Haitian’s felt. Being born in the Dominican Republic and having the opportunity to visit a few times as I was growing up, I got to see a bit of the tension between the DRand Haiti.
It is a lot like America and African Americans in the past or the United States and Mexico or even like Italy and Romania or Costa Rica and Nicaragua. There is discrimination and a sense of one being inferior to the other. Haitians are viewed as the lesser. They are not the lesser but nonetheless, this is what has been communicated to them for so many years. They grow up thinking the are nothing and incapable of doing things because they are “Haitian.” They can’t prosper, because they are Haitian. They can’t be blessed, because they are Haitian. They can’t’ go for a job, because they are Haitian. They can’t go to school, to well in school, graduate because they are Haitian.
That is where Mwen Kapab comes in.
Mwen Kapab is the curriculum MOH is trying to set into place. It means I CAN. It is a Christ centered curriculum that is teaching them not only critical thinking skills, which is really important in this culture, but also that they CAN! They CAN finish school. They CAN get a job. They CAN support their families. They CAN move ahead.
It is a curriculum that empowers Haitian’s to step into what can be rightfully theirs.
What is even cooler and definitely FAVOR from the Lord is that the government wants to adopt the MOH curriculum so that ALL schools implement it.
How WONDERFUL is that?! There will be a Christ centered education that empowers Haitian’s. I am so excited for this country. It is on the rise, and what is happening at and through MOH is a large part of it 🙂
Look them up, I challenge you!
