The Valley of Hope Evangelical Church School was started three years ago in the village of Bernard, outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti by Pastor Maxeau Antoine. Pastor Maxeau was called to this area in a dream he had while visiting friends in Boston, MA. While being born and raised in the Port-au-Prince area, he had never heard of Bernard. At first he thought Bernard was in the USA, but his friends told him no, it was not. Upon returning to Haiti he was traveling one day, and not knowing where he was, he stopped and asked a man who told him, “You are in Bernard”.
Pastor Maxeau immediately knew God had brought him to the place in his dream. He knew that he was to start a church in this area and in the same day started going door-to-door sharing what the Holy Spirit had birthed in his spirit for these people. This was in October 2007. Since that time, Pastor Maxeau knew that he needed to do more than just meet the spiritual needs of the people. The physical and educational needs of the people were also very important. Water, food, clothing and shelter are things that we take for granted, but for the people of Pastor Maxeau’s church, they depend upon their faith in God to provide daily for their needs. There is a joy among the people when they are worshiping God. They live in the present and have hope for the future, while not focusing on the past and the many difficulties they continue to face.
The first thing to be done as a church was to hand dig a well that would provide clean water. Next, was to construct a building where they could meet as a body. Once the building started going up, Maxeau knew he needed to start a school because there was no school anywhere near Bernard. Without schooling, the children would have little chance of escaping the poverty of the subsistence farming of their community.
This is where Westover can make a difference in the lives of these children and their families. We would like to partner with Pastor Maxeau and Valley of Hope Evangelical Church to provide some basic school essentials that we at times take for granted. Schooling is not free in Haiti; even public school. At Pastor Maxeau’s school there are 170 students, which consists of K – 6th grades. Few, if any, of the children’s parents can afford to send them to the school. As a team, we asked Pastor Maxeau how Westover could help and for a wish list of needs. Below is Pastor Maxeau’s “wish list”.
ITEM | DESCRIPTION | COST PER INDIVIDUAL | COST FOR 170 CHILDREN |
Uniforms | Dresses for Girls, Pants and Shirt for Boys | $20.00 | $3400.00 |
Books | All Major Subjects | $25.00 | $4250.00 |
Backpacks | Storage/Carrying Books | $10.00 | $1700.00 |
Bibles | For Older Children and Women in the Church | $9.00 | $900.00 for 100 Women and Children |
TOTAL | $64.00 | $10,250.00 |
The uniforms would be made by ladies in the community, which empowers and supports, with the church providing the materials. Most of the children have the barest minimum of clothing, so the uniforms would help to clothe them. At present, only the teachers have books, and only for some of the subjects, but not all. Lessons are done using chalkboards, repetition and memory. If the children have books, they need a way of carrying them. The children come from half a mile to several miles one way to attend school. The backpacks become a necessity. Very few of the members of the church have Bibles - many cannot read, but most because they cannot afford one. Can you imagine not having a Bible? All of the items would be purchased in Haiti to help the local economy.
We will be accepting donations through Sunday September 4th. You may donate in one of three ways.
- Donate online at westoverchurch.com : Go to online resources, then online giving and follow the prompts. Please put a note in the designation box for Haiti Team June.
- Donate by mail: Include your check made out to WESTOVER CHURCH with HAITI TEAM JUNE on the memo line to our team treasurer: Amanda Bailess, 1820 Colonial Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27408-4206.
- Donate in person: We will be at the Global Ministries Wall for the next five Sundays. You may drop off your check made out to WESTOVER CHURCH with HAITI TEAM JUNE on the memo line.
Another team will be going back to Valley of Hope Evangelical Church in December to continue ministering with Pastor Maxeau and his congregation. You may follow us on the Haiti Team blog at http://westoverhelpinghaiti.blogspot.com/.
In His Service,
Amanda Bailess, Kristine Guhne, Susie Guhne, Mandy Melniczek & Steve Miller
