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Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti's mission includes 4 goals that emphasize a Christ-centered, holistic approach to serving the children in Haiti. In this series, we'll look at how each goal can be seen in the past year at Branch Schools. Goal #1: Provide Lutheran education and nutrition for orphans and other under-served children in Haiti. Since Branch Schools' beginning in 2015, providing an education built on God's Word and support for health and wellbeing have been at the forefront of the schools in Haiti. To find more details on how Branch Schools is combatting these spiritual and physical challenges, see the comparison below. In the 2020-21 school year, many physical blessings came to Branch Schools. Yvette's orphanage and school continued to grow in enrollment, creating a need for an expanded water cistern in the fall. New solar panels were installed in the spring at Yvette's facility to bring reliable light and power. Branch Schools was granted WELS Affiliate status in October 2020, and had incredible donor support throughout a challenging year of social unrest in Haiti and COVID-19. Along with many other joys in this past year, we praise and thank God for these blessings on the work being done in Haiti! 
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Branch Schools has been busy over the last few months! In March, we were blessed with the immense outpouring of support for Yvette's much-needed solar panels. In April, we had a wonderful opportunity to speak at an in-person rally for the first time since 2019. In May, we announced the upcoming opening of our fifth school in Les Palmes for preschool and kindergarten education. What could June bring? Here's a hint: we've been working on a letter coming to your mailbox soon, new names and designs (see below!), and even a new page for the Branch Schools website. We can't share any more information yet, but we are excited to give you all the details soon. Follow Branch Schools on Facebook to catch another preview, and watch your inbox for the official unveiling later in June. What are your guesses for the upcoming news? Let us know via the website or send us a message on Facebook!  To answer that question in a quick sentence: Branch Schools provides money every month to cover the operating costs of four Lutheran schools in Haiti. More specifically, the funding we send goes towards the salaries for 30+ teachers, 4 directors, and a superintendent, nutritious snacks for the students and food for the orphans, school uniforms and supplies for the orphans, special projects, and more. This chart highlights a few of the monthly costs, but these amounts represent so much more than just numbers. For the students attending Branch Schools, when these costs are funded, it means another day of learning in their classes, another day of nutrition, and another day of hearing God's Word. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions about the funding to Haiti!  Branch Schools was invited to attend the Dodge/Washington Lutheran Women's Mission Society rally on April 17th in Slinger, Wisconsin, and delivered a presentation to an audience of 100 people. This presentation shared the history of Haiti and information about the Vodou religion, as well as background on the WELS involvement and founding of Branch Schools, and the current operations and ministry. Branch Schools was represented by Lee and Linda Petersen (Chair of the Board and Special Projects Coordinator), Emily and Caleb Helmen (Development Coordinator and volunteer), and Mike Nichols (board member). Attendees were able to ask questions, visit a table of information, and take home brochures, magnets, business cards, and more. This rally was the first public event for Branch Schools since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are incredibly excited to begin visiting churches, schools, and rallies again to share the wonderful story of Branch Schools! Thank you to the LWMS rally for the invitation and for providing an excellent space to present. The powerful message of God's hand at Branch Schools reached the hearts of those in attendance, and the rally raised over $1,000 for the vital work in Haiti. Praise be to God!  As Branch Schools looks forward to reaching more audiences, we are seeking more presenters! Long-distance travel still presents a challenge to Branch Schools, but there are many groups across the country that haven't heard about this amazing ministry.
To expand our capabilities for presenting, we are developing a program for volunteers who would like to represent Branch Schools in their communities. If you are interested in helping us reach more areas and becoming a volunteer, please let us know and we will make sure to keep you in the loop. Keep an eye out for more information! If you know of a church, group, organization, or event that would be interested in hosting a presentation from Branch Schools, we would love to hear from you! We can currently travel to most of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the surrounding states. Email us or use our contact form online to share your suggestions!
Branch Schools is blessed to have provided funding for the Pilate middle school since 2019, after one of the churches served by Pastor Rona requested help from Branch Schools to begin a middle school in the 2019-2020 school year. There is an amazing opportunity in Pilate to provide further education for students from the 6 elementary schools in the surrounding area, and especially to share God's Word with these children. We are so proud of the students and the hard work they put in every day! 
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Haiti#Secondary_education
On March 17, Branch Schools received a series of heartwarming photos from Director Boursiquot. The pictures show three children from nine years ago as they received a health check-up, and those same children as happy and healthy students today.  Tish Meek, the nurse in the photos, is a volunteer and friend of Branch Schools. She has been to Haiti numerous times to visit the schools and provide much-needed wellness checks and medical care. Thank you, Tish!  We thank God for the immense blessings of health and growth to these precious children in Haiti!
Following recent protests, political clashes, kidnappings, and even the presidential assassination attempt in February, it is easy to look at Haiti right now and feel that there is an overwhelming shadow blocking out all light and hope. Basic necessities like food, clean water, and electricity are growing to be luxuries for many. At Branch Schools, these struggles are experienced firsthand by the young students. High food prices and difficult traveling conditions restrict access to the meals, snacks, and cistern water delivery that Branch Schools funds. The rising danger has also forced many parents to keep their children at home for safety. Director Yvette in Smyrne operates the largest school and orphanage of Branch Schools, with 470 students currently able to attend. For four months, she and the children have suffered a lack of electricity resulting from the extreme economic hardship affecting people all across Haiti. Yvette's electricity was provided by a private company that serviced the whole area, but her neighbors became unable to pay for their portion. Eventually, the electric company shut off the power and removed the electrical boxes, leaving the entire neighborhood--including Yvette's orphanage and school--completely without electricity. Once the sun goes down, there is no light on the premises at all. The orphans who reside there are unable to do their work and studies and the school classrooms cannot be lit. Yvette hopes to purchase solar panels at a cost of $2,745 and install them at her school. These desperately-needed panels can eliminate the reliance on electric companies and bring light back into the orphanage and classrooms for the hundreds of children who are struggling in this darkness. Yet, in the midst of the physical darkness across Haiti, Jesus' eternal light shines clearly. The message of salvation proclaimed at Branch Schools includes these comforting words: "Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" (John 8:12) We thank God for His constant presence at Branch Schools and for touching the hearts of so many people who donate to keep the schools open. With your help, Branch Schools can both continue to share the saving light of God's grace and bring back the physical light to fill the darkness once again. Will you please consider donating to Yvette's solar panel fund? If 110 people give just $25, Yvette can bring the new solar panels home today! Please help us share this message with your friends and family! (Any donations that exceed our $2,745 goal will go directly towards the other expenses of the schools.) "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)   Haiti made the news frequently in February, bringing attention to the growing unrest and political clashes. Protests are increasing in both frequency and intensity, reflecting the rising tensions. On February 10th, a large group of protestors took to the streets in Port-au-Prince and faced tear gas from the police. The road for Haiti to get here began five years ago, in February 2016.
According to Haiti's constitution, presidential elections are held in February and a president's term is five years. In February 2016, current president Jovenel Moise narrowly won a run-off but was unable to take office when the election was contested. It took a year for the election to be resolved, and Moise was not sworn in until February 2017. Today, that gap year is making a big difference. Moise and his supporters claim that his term will end in February 2022 because it didn't begin until 2017. His opponents argue that Moise should step down now because he won the election originally in 2016. Calls for Moise to end his term began in early February and quickly turned violent in an assassination attempt on February 7. All of the uncertainty, division, and unrest has brought tensions to a breaking point. There are gangs moving throughout Haiti robbing anyone they can, especially those carrying cash, but they face no consequences. It is not safe to travel, restricting food trucks from making deliveries and sending food prices skyrocketing. Schools were closed for over a week in February out of concern for the safety of children amidst kidnappings. Branch Schools also closed temporarily to protect the students. The three schools in the Port-au-Prince area, where much of the protesting is occurring, remained closed longer than expected--a little over a week. The Pilate middle school was able to reopen sooner due to being in a safer area. The increasing difficulty of buying and receiving food deliveries has also affected Branch Schools, which provides nutritious snacks to students at Carrefour and Smyrne and a full meal to every orphan. We thank God for His protecting hand on Branch Schools and pray that the tensions and danger in all of Haiti will cease soon, and ask for your continued prayers as well. We know that God is watching over Haiti and He has a plan. These difficult times are also an opportunity for us to share the comfort and healing found in God's Word, and we are happy that school has resumed so that the children at Branch Schools continue to receive this spiritual nourishment. Please don't hesitate to contact Branch Schools with any questions! God's blessings, Emily Helmen, Development Coordinator Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti, Inc. “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:3  No, we’re not happy about the water problem (more on that in a minute). We’re overjoyed because of the incredible reason behind this emergency: The school that meets at the Smyrne orphanage has grown from 35 students in 2015 to 489 today, greatly increasing the demand on its resources! Just think. By the small cistern pictured above, hundreds of children are flocking to Jesus where their lives are changed. They are receiving living water and literacy, the Bible and the ability to read it for themselves. To meet the growing demand, Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti added classrooms and increased the campus sanitation facilities. We’re now building more cisterns to triple the water capacity. A truck arrives monthly to fill the cisterns with drinking water. The Branch Schools in Carrefour, Leogane, and Pilate are also rapidly growing. We anticipate a total of more than 1,000 students for the 2020-2021 school year! God has entrusted us with an awesome opportunity in Haiti. He is the one filling the classrooms. He is the one filling the hearts of children with the hope of salvation. We can share the work by filling the cisterns with drinking water.  Please support Branch Schools. We ask for your prayers for the students. Please pray that God will continue to bless the ministry and strengthen the hands of all who support it. Then, please give the best financial gift you can. Your gift will be carefully put to use to provide water, teachers, classroom supplies, nutrition, basic healthcare, and, above all, the living water that Jesus promised long ago at another well: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13,14  Thank you, friends, for your ongoing love, prayers, and support for the children of Haiti!
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.
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AuthorBranch Lutheran Schools of Haiti, Inc. Archives
June 2021
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