Energy fills the classroom as the teacher patiently instructs her exuberant young students. The kids are learning, laughing, and growing. They’re acquiring knowledge and skills that will be foundational to their success later in life. A variety of classroom settings around the world would fit this description, but there’s something special about this particular classroom and the school it’s a part of.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The Haitian people have endured a myriad of hardships that have further weakened an already fragile economy, from natural disasters to cholera outbreaks to the rampant gang violence and political instability plaguing the nation today. Yet amid the adversity, there is resilience and hope.
In Haiti and elsewhere, a quality education is typically inaccessible to impoverished children. Nearly half of all Haitian children never get to attend school. But at Cross International partner Divine Shelter Schools (DSS), a network of twelve Christian schools across Haiti, kids are welcomed in, regardless of their family’s income level. Thanks to the generous giving of Cross International friends, fees for tuition, uniforms, and supplies are waived or steeply reduced for families of DSS students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to send their kids to school.
Seven-year-old Christ-Naïda is one of those kids. Like most of her fellow first-graders, she comes from a family stuck in destitute circumstances. Her father is not around, and her mother struggles to provide, to the point where Christ-Naïda was sent to live with her godmother. Christ-Naida still dreams that one day she and her parents will be together as a family. In the meantime, school is a refuge, a place of belonging.
Each day, Christ-Naïda and her classmates receive a hot, nutritious lunch, which in many cases is their only substantial meal of the day. The nutrients are vital to their overall health and also give them the energy they need to focus on their studies.
In the classroom, Christ-Naïda is eager to learn. She wants to be a nurse when she’s older, so she can care for those in her community who are sick. Christ-Naïda has taken to heart Jesus’s instruction to “love your neighbor as yourself,” which she’s heard during regular Bible lessons at school. She finds the account of Jesus’s life “fascinating” and enjoys memorizing Bible verses. Every DSS location is connected to a local church, and along with providing a nationally-accredited education, communicating the message of the Gospel is a primary objective.
While there are no simple solutions to the challenges facing Haiti, progress is being made. Christian education is helping break the cycle of poverty, and opening doors for the next generation of Haitians, for kids like Christ-Naïda. Cross International remains committed to fueling lasting change in Haiti. Will you join us?
