Together, we are committed to protecting children, preserving families, promoting economic independence, and proclaiming the gospel. Through each of our programs, we are promoting dignity, independence, and sustainable solutions to empower generations into a life of hope and possibility.
Haitians value education and recognize its importance for the growth and development of their country. Government funding for education in Haiti is massively inadequate. Hope Scholarship program provides an opportunity for families to keep their children in school and to meet together twice monthly to share a meal and encourage one another. Parental participation is encouraged in the choice of school and in covering minimal school-related expenses. The child is required to work hard to take advantage of the scholarship and is subject to review each year if they fail to meet scholarship expectations.
Access to affordable healthcare for the materially poor is broadly unavailable. Hope Medical Clinic operates under a family practice model providing personalized affordable care, focused on education and prevention. Our clinic’s formula program is a tangible way we help keep orphan children within their family system.
HOPE is committed to economic development because it goes to the heart of what it means to support families and communities. Unemployment or more often underemployment is a constant crisis facing families and probably the single biggest contributor to why Haitian children with families are ending up in orphanages.
At the center of Haiti’s economy is agriculture. Local crops and goods are sold in large outdoor markets across Haiti. Over the last fifty years, imports such as American rice have undercut Haiti’s economy creating overwhelming competition for small local farmers. Despite this trend there is a recognition amongst many Haitians that agricultural production remains one of Haiti’s greatest opportunities for economic development—people need to eat, and Haiti has a large population that spends a lot of money on food. HOPE has partnered with FIDA-pCH a Haiti based Canadian organization with many years of experience to help us develop an agricultural cooperative in our community.
Cooperative models meet the needs of aspiring Haitian entrepreneurs for several reasons. In a country with a deeply crippled economy credit is hard to get and interest rates are high. Cooperatives provide an opportunity to pool resources and furthermore, as an officially recognized cooperative organization there are more opportunities for outside investment. Cooperative models have a tried and true organizational structure that employs the democratic model and gives each member a voice. Finally, cooperative provides a structure that utilizes the gifts and knowledge of the individual members both illiterate laborers and the educated.
Cooperative development is often accompanied by literacy training. Haiti’s literacy rate is 60.7%, over 30% lower than the average for the rest of the Caribbean! Literacy education not only empowers individuals to read and write, it also helps develop leaders. There is something incredible about the transformation that comes over adults as they learn how to sign their name for the first time!
HOPE Cooperative is currently working with 33 members who have formed KOPEDAG- a licensed, member owned business which already producing poultry for meat sales! Hope Cooperative is thrilled to help train and support this member owned initiative.
The gospel is about reconciling man with God, himself, this world and others. Hope Chaplaincy Program desires to see the gospel permeate every aspect of our projects and our community. Our chaplaincy program works directly with our clinic through counseling, with our scholarship program through biblical teaching, with our cooperative program through leadership, and with our soccer program through bible study and discipleship.
Soccer is Haiti’s pastime. To fight back against a culture dominated by mistrust and fear, soccer provides an opportunity to teach life skills such as teamwork, discipline, personal responsibility, accountability, and integrity.