The terrain behind the House of Hope orphanage climbs steeply and becomes a mountainous area where remote communities are scattered. Some of the students who attend the Good Samaritan school, attached to the orphanage, make the three-hour trek each way down from the mountains to attend school. About two years ago, we decided to visit these communities to see what their needs were. What we found was that these families are even poorer, by Haiti standards, that most. They were subsistence farmers, eking out a living with what they could grow, with no hope for a better future for their children. In these types of communities, parents sometimes cannot take care of their children and abandon them or sell them as household workers in Port-au-Prince, where they often face abuse and neglect.

      When we first visited, they were suspicious of our motives, but over time, came to believe that we cared about them, and so did God. With every visit, we brought seeds to plant in their gardens, and Creole Bibles to read. They finally told us that they had been praying for a school in their community to help their children to have a better future. Praise God, today El Shammah Primary School stands in the middle of the community. Sixty children attend school there, and the building is also serving as a church and community center. Recently we completed a water project, in which rain water is collected and stored in a cistern. We also completed bathrooms to be used for the community (facilities which were not available before.) We also have plans to work with the community to help them improve their agriculture and have more protein in their diet, through the donation of fruit trees, tools, and chickens.

You can sponsor a school child in the mountain community for $20 per month. This helps pay for teachers salaries, school supplies, and other school needs.