INTERNATIONAL PROJECT PROPOSAL PROJECT 0295 School of the Good Sower Give Poor Children a Christian Education and Jesus Love Haiti For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
We are a ministry that serves the poorest of the poor internationally by channeling aid through existing churches or churchbased ministries, cost-effectively helping the poor while advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather than create new institutions to distribute aid, we support existing ministries and churches already serving the poor. In addition to being the most cost-effective way of helping the poor, empowering these ministries allows us to support the Church s spiritual mission and its important position of leadership in poor communities. We consider every gift we receive as a precious resource from God. We direct every donation to its intended project, provide honest and accurate reports to our donors, and keep overhead costs to an industry low. We handle funds with utmost integrity and hold our ministry partners in the field to the same high standards by asking them to document costs and the impact of their outreach. We invite you to join with us as we seek to transform the lives of the poor materially and spiritually ways that please the Father and glorify him in Heaven and on earth.
Project Synopsis Description Through this project, you can help provide teacher salaries, classroom supplies and operational costs for all three campuses of School of the Good Sower. Purpose To give a quality Christian education to orphans and other poor, vulnerable Haitian children. Ministry Partner Gladys Thomas, a Haitian-born, U.S.- trained nurse, is president of The Foundation for the Children of Haiti. She has been ministering to Haiti s vulnerable children since 1981, and has been a Cross International partner since 2005. In her years of ministry, she has run two orphanages, including a home for the handicapped, three primary schools, and a fully-functioning hospital in Port-au-Prince. Location Two school campuses, one located in Haiti s capital city of Port-au-Prince, and the other is located in Haiti s Southern Peninsula in the town of Mussotte. Cost $33,000 will help provide salaries to 27 teachers and staff members, as well as provide for school supplies and day-today operational expenses. Highlights The School of the Good Sower, with two campuses in Port-au-Prince, and one campus in southwest Haiti, has over 534 students enrolled in kindergarten through sixth grade. The schools serve the Haiti Home for Children orphanage as well as needy children from the surrounding neighborhoods. Students receive a quality education rooted in God s Word. Funding is needed to cover the salaries of the hardworking teachers and staff of each school, plus other expenses. These impoverished children need your help to get an education that will lift them out of the ashes of poverty! 1
The Need: Poverty s Stronghold on Generations In Haiti, the dull, hungry eyes of the poor meet you wherever you turn. Material deprivation is as common as the dirt the poor use to bake cookies and build shacks. Jobs are scarce, illness is rampant and voodoo is deeply entrenched in the culture. The more I see, the more my heart cringes, to see the misery they are in, said Gladys. Gladys knows the only way to overcome Haiti s poverty is to educate the young generation. Unfortunately, free education as we know it in the U.S. is nonexistent in Haiti. Most decent schools are privately operated, require tuition and impose dress codes that require parents to purchase uniforms. This makes access virtually impossible for the poorest of the poor. Even the tuition-free public schools require children to come with shoes, uniforms and school supplies goods too expensive for most families to purchase. In Haiti, where 40 percent of the population is illiterate, these hurdles to education can easily create a sense of hopelessness in parents and children. As a result, a seemingly perpetual cycle of poverty continues, generation after generation. Gladys believes the antidote to this vicious cycle is quality Christian education, and requiring families to contribute only what they can afford. True transformation in young lives can occur through academic opportunity and the power of the Gospel. Children who know Jesus in a real and personal way can then become catalysts for a broader spiritual awakening and lasting cultural change. I want these kids to have the dignity to say, Yes, I went to school. I am a human being that God created. I am beautiful. I am knowledgeable. I will help other people. I will work for what I have, and I will work for good things and I will not settle for less, Gladys said. To make this dream come true, Gladys founded School of the Good Sower, now serving children at three separate campuses. She needs your help to fill the classrooms with children in need! 2
Ministry Description: A Place to Grow in God s Grace Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:8 The School of the Good Sower campuses seek to lay a foundation for a bright future for Haiti s children by preparing their hearts and minds for success. Gladys hope is that, just like the seed that fell on good soil in Jesus parable, the seeds sown through this ministry will grow and flourish in the hearts and lives of the young students. With two campuses in Port-au-Prince, and one campus in the small town of Mussotte in southwest Haiti, the School of the Good Sower reaches poor children from all walks of life. Some children come from Gladys orphanage, the Haiti Home for Children, but most children come from the neighborhoods surrounding the schools. Whether children are orphans or from desperately poor families, each one is shown the love and care he or she needs to break the generational cycle of poverty. They need someone to love them, Gladys said. I just want them to know somebody loves them. Gladys and her staff believe that each student has the potential to accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God despite their current circumstances. The Bible says, From the ashes and the dirt He will take the poor and let them sit with the great, Gladys paraphrased from Psalm 113. That s what He promised. I m holding on to that. He never breaks his promises. Students are prepared to rise from the ashes by teachers who strive to help each child reach his or her full academic potential. Children also study the Bible and learn to apply it to their lives. We have to help them reach a level of understanding of the God who created them and the God who they serve, Gladys said. In addition to providing a quality Christian education, the schools serve the students a daily nutritious meal. For children raised in poverty, this may be the only meal they can count on. The hearty lunches give them the energy they need to study while also providing the necessary nutrition for them to grow into healthy adults. School of the Good Sower campuses seek to equip students with the skills they need to succeed in all realms of life: academically and spiritually. But to succeed in raising Haiti s next generation of Christian leaders, Gladys needs your help! Thirteen-year-old Jhon Jean has been attending School of the Good Sower in Port-au-Prince since he moved into Gladys orphanage after his mother passed away. He said, I learn to love God here. I pray he gives me strength, courage and the intelligence to study. You can help Jhon and other orphans and vulnerable children grow in their knowledge and faith! 3
Project Budget Your gift to support School of the Good Sower will be used to help fund the following budget: Salaries and Benefits Amount Funded Two Directors $4,000 27 Teachers $20,000 Benefits $2,000 Subtotal Salaries and Benefits $26,000 School Supplies Books and Materials $3,000 Uniforms $1,000 Subtotal School Supplies $4,000 Cross International Project Management $3,000 Grand Total $33,000 Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Matthew 19:14 4
Help Children Break the Cycle of Poverty! In the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord gave specific instructions to the Israelites to pass His commands down to their children. He said, Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:7-9). Gladys Thomas and her staff are committed to raising children in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord. When poor children are given the opportunity to go to a Christian school, they are exposed to the Gospel daily during their formative years. With this consistent approach, children gain a strong knowledge of the Bible and learn to view life from God s perspective. This Christ-centered perspective is one of the greatest gifts we can give to Haiti s children! You have a special opportunity to educate the minds and hearts of needy children in Haiti. Without financial support from generous Christians, Gladys would not be able to pay the hardworking teachers and staff who have dedicated their lives to educating their students. Will you be Christ s instrument of love to these needy children? Please join in Gladys mission to defeat poverty and impart God s Word in Haiti s next generation! However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the good news of God s grace. Acts 20:24 Our Promise to You! Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred during the current calendar year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry. 5 600 SW 3rd Street Suite 2201 Pompano Beach, Florida 33060 800-391-8545 www.crossinternational.org Copyright Cross International. Cost-effectively written, designed and printed in-house. [cm1605][udv1703]