Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti Adds Emily Kjeer as Development Coordinator

Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti, Inc., a non-profit that funds elementary and middle school education and nutrition for more than 900 students in Haiti, is pleased to announce the addition of its new Development Coordinator, Emily Kjeer. She will assist with marketing, media outreach, coordinating volunteer activities, and donor relations. The addition of a Development Coordinator was made possible by a grant from the Antioch Foundation.

“The growth of Branch Schools in Haiti has been phenomenal,” says Lee Petersen, Chairman of the non-profit. “When we assumed responsibility for the schools from the WELS in 2015, there were 117 students. Today, there are 911 students enrolled and we recently added a fourth school, a middle school.”

Branch Schools provides funding to employ 32 teachers, three orphanage directors, and a superintendent of schools in Haiti overseen by Pastor Rona Abraham. The non-profit is run by a seven-member working Board of Directors in the U.S. and Canada, all volunteer. 

“We’re so grateful to the Antioch Foundation for funding this position,” Petersen says. “God has truly blessed Branch Schools. They’ve grown despite hurricanes, poverty, political unrest, and, now, Covid-19. The addition of a Development Coordinator helps us keep up with the astonishing growth and our prayer is that the growth continues so even more children can be reached with the gospel and literacy.”

Ms. Kjeer graduated from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN with a Bachelor's degree in English. While at Bethany, she worked as a tutor and as the Assistant Writing Center Coordinator. A trip to Haiti in 2016 awakened her passion to help the Haitian children and support ministry there. "I am incredibly grateful to the Board at Branch Schools for the opportunity to take part in this important work,” Ms. Kjeer says. “I've already been able to see the wonderful impact Branch Schools has on the schoolchildren in Haiti and I pray that God will continue to grow that impact through me." Ms. Kjeer is engaged to Caleb Helmen, a second-year seminary student at Bethany. The two will marry this July.

The Antioch Foundation, now in its 20th year, provides financial support to people and organizations sharing the Gospel of Jesus and serving others in the areas of faith, education, medicine, and humanitarian need. 

For more information on the work of Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti, Inc., please visit www.BranchLutheranSchoolsHaiti.org.
Contact:  Lee Petersen, [email protected] 

Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 incorporated in Minnesota, U.S.A.