This year has been one for the books at IPB, our secondary school. By mid-December, we had 415 students compared to last year's 361. This growth was unanticipated, but we are ready to embrace where God has led us.
Just two years ago, we had only 36 students in each 7th grade class. Now, we have 72 students in each section! This is 100% growth. This huge growth in the student body has obvious ramifications on financial plans to feed every student every day.
Student lunches are a major initiative of our school ministry. They are important for a number of reasons: to provide a basic and profound need for the children on the plains of Haiti, to allow students to have the energy to continue learning for an entire day of school rather than just a half day, and to provide gospel opportunities through showing the love of Christ. Students at IPB graduate at a high rate compared to schools across Haiti and have been finding more and more success in college admittance and higher-paying jobs like translating. A full day versus half day of school makes a huge difference.
So, why add more students? School administrator, Master Phanes, says the additional numbers are due to admitting more children who have traveled across the Savannah from Port-au-Prince. These children and their families have been displaced by the gang violence taking over the southern part of Haiti. These students have nowhere else to go.
Now that IPB is bursting at the seams, we are looking for solutions to the school lunch program. While we make adjustments in Haiti to the class schedule to maximize lunch provisions, we ask if you would prayerfully consider sponsoring a student by giving a gift of $49 either once (feeds one student for one month) or as a recurring gift each month (feeds a student every month). Just go to HAFF.org and give to "School."
Master Phanes has a plan in place to manage the numbers at IPB with more specific school admittance requirements which should allow for allowing some displaced students to attend while not taking the place of local students. We are thankful for this plan that will help manage these burgeoning numbers. Over 700,000 people have been displaced from their homes, and we expect these numbers to rise. HAFF is just one small part of helping these people. We trust God to bring us just who He wants to hear the gospel!
God is good all the time! Even when food is scarce. Even when violence reigns. Even when the future feels insecure. God is the Provider, the Prince of Peace, and sovereign. We trust Him always to provide.
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