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The Schools |
Smyrne, Haiti
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About
Lutheran School of Smyrne Director Yvette's elementary school in Smyrne is the largest of the Branch Schools and is located between Boursiquot's school and Jeanot's school. Established as an orphanage after the 2010 earthquake, Yvette's school continues to support orphans today. If you see a picture with students in bright pink uniforms, they are from Smyrne! Recent Projects
Enrollment
January 2024: 720 students | 17 teachers Sewing Institute
In 2020, a sewing institute was opened at the Lutheran School of Smyrne to provide job training for the orphans and students. In the evenings and weekends, treadle sewing machines donated from America are brought into the classrooms and the students learn sewing and tailoring. Branch Schools' Spiritual Advisor, Pastor Terry Schultz, wrote an update in May 2020 when the sewing machines were delivered to Haiti. Read his update below: Lutheran Sewing Institutes to Open in Haiti: Twenty-three Treadle Sewing Machines Arrive! After years of effort on the part of four groups of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutherans, we now have 23 treadle sewing machines in Haiti!! God willing, we will open four Christian Vo-tech style institutes at the sites of our four Branch Schools. The sewing program will be the first program to be offered by the institutes, during after school hours and on weekends. Due to a lack of dependable electricity throughout the entire country, treadle sewing machines are an extremely precious commodity in Haiti. I recall seeing a man in Port-au-Prince sewing with a treadle sewing machine on his porch and me asking how much he would sell the machine for. He told me it was not for sale at any price. That one machine had provided a livelihood for generations of his family! The idea behind our institutes is to use them as gospel outreach tools. Youths from the orphanages and from lower economic neighborhood families will be invited to study with us. The institutes will share Jesus while sharing an education that may provide youths with a way to generate some income. (In Haiti, over half the adult population lives on less than $2.41 a day.) The institute will be open for students to book time on the machines to complete sewing projects. (For example, every Haitian child attending school needs homemade school uniforms!) God willing, the sewing education will provide stimulus for the youths, discipline and focus, as well as that certain dignity that comes from studying hard and completing a job. Without this opportunity, almost none of the orphans and impoverished children at Branch Schools would have the resources to attend a learning institute. I cannot thank enough the four groups that were powered by God to make this project happen; it began with encouragement and initial funding by WELS Christian Aid and Relief. (The group had experience with a very blessed sewing program for women in Nepal.) Latin America Missions of WELS World Missions provided coordination and tremendous support in getting the sewing machines to Haiti. The aviation ministry “Alas Para Los Niño’s,” delivered sewing machines and humanitarian aid along the way. Branch Schools, which already supports the operation of three Lutheran elementary Schools and one middle school in Haiti serving nearly one thousand students, opened its arms to taking on our new country-wide system of Lutheran technical institutes. Finally, a huge word of thanks to twenty-five (and counting) Christian friends from different families (mostly Seniors and Grandparents) who donated their treadle sewing machines to Haiti. We are amazed at what good condition the machines are in. It appears that a few of the machines are as old as the late 1800s, having been passed down for several generations! A couple of Grandmas sent along the instruction manuals and extra belts still in the wooden side drawers! More than a few Grandmas spoke the exact same words to us, “My mother would have loved knowing her sewing machine ended up in Haiti.” May God bless the work of our technical institutes and use them mightily for the advancement of his Kingdom and the saving of eternal souls through Christ Jesus!! In Christ, Terry Schultz WELS Artistic Development Missionary 
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Carrefour, Haiti
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About
Ecole Lutherienne de Carrefour Director Boursiquot's elementary school in Carrefour is located closest to Port-au-Prince (Haiti's capital) and experiences some of the highest unrest from the surrounding area. Established as an orphanage after the 2010 earthquake, Boursiquot's school continues to support orphans today. If you see a picture with students in brown and yellow uniforms, they are from Carrefour! Recent Projects
New classroom - fall 2023 Enrollment
January 2024: 230 students | 12 teachers 
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Leogane, Haiti
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About
Ecole Lutherienne de Leogane Director Jeanot's elementary school in Leogane is located in a rural setting and serves students from the surrounding countryside. Established as an orphanage after the 2010 earthquake, Jeanot's school continues to support orphans today. If you see a picture with students in white and blue uniforms, they are from Leogane! Recent Projects
New classrooms and campus expansion - ongoing. Enrollment
January 2024: 250 students | 12 teachers 
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Pilate, Haiti
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About
Director Jean-Briel's middle school in Pilate is located about 4 hours north of Port-au-Prince by car. Opened in 2019, this school offered 7th grade in 2019-20 and added 8th grade in 2020-21. 9th grade began in fall 2021. In 2022, additional teachers in music and engineering were added. Further Information
Read more about the importance of middle school in Haiti here. Enrollment
January 2024: 88 students | 10 teachers 
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Les Palmes, Haiti
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About
This pre-k/k school in Les Palmes is located in a rural, mountainous setting. In late 2020, a thriving Lutheran congregation in the village, started by Pastor Rona, asked Branch Schools to open a kindergarten and preschool. Further Information
Read more about the launch of this 5th school here. Enrollment
January 2024: 130 | 5 teachers 
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Cap-Haitien, Haiti
About
Branch Schools' newest school opened in fall 2022. Pastor Rona's home congregation in Cap-Haitien invited Branch Schools to open our second pre-k/k school at the church site. Pastor Rona's wife, Manete, is the director.
Enrollment
January 2024: 28 students | 3 teachers