Exciting Changes at Haiti Partners
We wish to express our deepest gratitude to you for your support in helping Haitians change Haiti through education. We write to update you with new developments at Haiti Partners.
It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching ten years since Haiti Partners was formed! Thanks to you and others, thousands of students have finished primary school and college, six schools have been built, more than 200 Haitians have been employed annually, and thousands more have gone through training toward ending child servitude and violence against women and girls. We’ve accomplished a ton together!
As a small organization we continually strive to learn and become more effective in stewarding resources. After much thought and reflection, we (John and Kent) along with our co-workers and Board of Directors, have discerned that we need to hone our focus. While both our Schools and Churches programs are helping Haitians change Haiti through education, they are different activities, both deserving of an organization’s full focus. We have decided that the Schools and Churches programs will each better serve Haiti if they evolve into separate organizations.
What Is Ahead for Haiti Partners
Moving forward, Haiti Partners will focus on our Schools Program: the Children’s Academy and six partner schools. John will serve as Director. In addition to providing quality education to over 1200 students, we’re developing a unique school-based community development model with the Children’s Academy that is increasingly attracting attention. Our vision is for schools to be places of lifelong learning for the entire community, not just for their children. We are already seeing exciting results at the Children’s Academy, where parents have become a vital part of the life of the school by giving four service hours a week working in the school gardens, helping in classrooms, maintaining composting latrines, and helping with the hand papermaking social business. They also participate in village savings and loans groups and ongoing education programs toward strengthening their families and communities and protecting children and women who are vulnerable.
What Is Ahead for the Micah Scholars/Churches Program
The Micah Scholars/Churches Program is moving out from Haiti Partners and will now be part of DAI (Development Associates International). DAI is a Christian organization that has been serving around the world for more than 20 years. DAI has been deeply impressed by our work and team in Haiti. Growing from all that we’ve accomplished with churches and seminary students so far, we can now add their excellent programming in Haiti — like additional grassroots training materials for pastors and a master’s degree in organizational leadership that is being offered in 31 countries.
Also, they want to share what we’re doing in their 31 countries. When we founded Haiti Partners, part of our vision was for “Haiti to inspire the world.” We’re thrilled that this will be happening in exciting ways as the Micah Scholars and Churches Program becomes a “DAI-Haiti Ministry Center.” Haiti Partners will continue to provide support to the DAI/Churches program through June 2020, including scholarships for current Micah Scholars through graduation. To learn more about DAI’s work and what it will do in Haiti, you can visit daintl.org/haiti.
What Is Ahead for Kent
Going forward, Kent has started a new job — as director of humanitarian and disaster leadership at Wheaton College, near Chicago, Illinois. In this role, I’ll lead their new M.A. program within the Humanitarian Disaster Institute and teach courses to master’s degree students. I can’t wait to work with students from around the country and world who work in the humanitarian, development, and disaster fields.
In addition, I will act as a senior consultant with DAI to help this transition of our Micah Scholars/Churches Program over to DAI. I love what is ahead for the program, so I plan to keep working with them in Haiti for years to come and to help share what we’ve learned with countries around the world. I’ll also continue to write and speak. My new book, You Welcomed Me: Loving Refugees and Immigrants Because God First Loved Us comes out in November. I’ve loved sharing stories with you through Haiti Partners, and I hope to stay connected with you.
I’m excited to work with Wheaton College and DAI (in Haiti and other countries) moving forward. And I’m so grateful to colleagues and to you for the chance we’ve had–and will continue to have–to love God and love our neighbors, especially those who are vulnerable and suffering, in our country and around the world. You can keep up with or contact Kent at his website kentannan.com or by emailing him at kentannan@gmail.com.
Gratitude to You – and How You Can Stay Involved
In this work, we’re humbled and honored because you allow us to be a bridge between your generosity, our amazing Haitian colleagues, and the students and communities that we serve. Thank you for this privilege.
We invite you to keep supporting Haiti Partners. We would also like to hear if you wish to learn more about DAI. We have included form below so you can let us know if you’d like more information. Finally, we invite you to peruse our updated website (haitipartners.org) which reflects our focus on the Children’s Academy and our school-based community development model along with our six partner schools. We think the best is yet to come.
With profound gratitude to you,
John Engle & Kent Annan
