The good news is that Ecole Agape survived hurricane Matthew and everyone is fine. According to Marie-Michele Darbouze, the school was spared any damage. Both the elementary and preschool students are in school. Our monthly check for food, supplies, and teachers’ salaries arrived in Haiti before the storm, so there was no interruption to the students getting their nourishing meal while at school. Other villages were not so fortunate and have suffered immense devastation.
As Chantal Coutard wrote to one of the Friends’ members, although the school and the students’ and teachers’ homes did not get hit directly, all of Haiti will suffer indirectly from the hurricane with huge price hikes. Families who are unable to afford food won’t be able to pay tuition for their children’s school. She wrote that to help the families is to help the children.
Her request for a long-term strategy to assist those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Matthew is to sponsor a child. You will find information on donating to Ecole Agape on our Donations page. Friends of Ecole Agape sends all support funds through Outreach to Haiti and Dan O’Sullivan, Director of Administration and Programs.
Mr. O’Sullivan will be traveling to Lilavois, Haiti, this month to further assess the humanitarian programs in the area. Anyone who wishes to help with hurricane relief in other parts of Haiti may donate to the efforts of Outreach to Haiti via their website: www.outreachtohaiti.org.
“Helping Haitians Help Haitians,” as it says on Outreach to Haiti’s site, is the best way to equip the people of Haiti to develop skills towards a sustainable future. All of us can continue to pray for Haiti, a nation that has already endured so much.