This is Really Happening!

            I can hardly believe this is happening! 

            For those of you who have been around for a while, you know that this dream of starting a school for special-needs children has been a dream of mine.  For those of you who have just recently joined me on this journey, let me give a quick synopsis:

Ø  I lived in Haiti back in the early 70s when I was a little girl

Ø  I grew up hearing the stories and seeing the slides of our time there, and I always planned on going back.

Ø  I studied French from 7^th grade through college graduation because I knew that French was an official language of Haiti.

Ø  It wasn’t until I was 38 that I FINALLY looked into going back to Haiti.

Ø  I hooked up with the Haiti Mission Project out of Minnesota and went with them on a mission trip in November 2009

Ø  That’s when I first met Gertrude Bien-Aime and met the children of Notre Maison/St. Joe’s.

Ø  Over school vacations, I returned to Haiti many times, and Gertrude and I began to talk about opening a school for special-needs children because we both believed that children with special needs could do and learn so much more than they had the chance to in Haiti.

Ø  In 2013, I took a leave of absence from my teaching job and spent the spring semester in Haiti working with the children of Notre Maison/St. Joe’s.  My goal was to start our school for special-needs children.

Ø  Instead, I started a physical therapy program for the kids at Notre Maison.

Ø  The dream of the school seemed on hold.

Ø  I continued to return to Haiti on vacations (especially over the summer) and created a summer internship program.

Ø  The dream of a school for special-needs children never went away!

Ø  In the spring of 2016 I felt led (called) to move to Haiti.  If I was ever going to make a go of the school or my commitment to the special-needs children of Notre Maison, then I needed to be in Haiti full time.

Ø  I quit my teaching job at Batavia Public Schools in Batavia, IL, in 2016 and took a job teaching/counseling at Morning Start Christian Academy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Ø  In January 2017 Gertrude came to me and shared that we had a place for our school!  Yea!  Go God!

Ø  In February 2017, decided to go to part time at Morning Start Christian Academy so that I could be part time at the new Haiti Center for Inclusive Education.

Ø  On September 4, 2107, the Center for Inclusive Education will open its doors for the first time!

That brings us to today.  I will say it again—I can hardly believe that this is really happening!  I spent quite a bit of time over the summer fundraising for a variety of needs for the Center, and sponsors more than stepped up.  Because of the generosity of so many, financial needs for the first six months have been met.  Not all, but most.  We have a great team that is working on meeting our needs, and I think that we will meet our goal for the academic year.

I spend Tuesdays, Thursdays, and most of Saturdays at the Center getting things ready—organizing donations, creating files for our students, creating class schedules, taking inventory, making lists of things that need to be fixed.  You name it, I’m doing it!  In fact, on Thursday (8/24) I am helping to interview teachers and classroom aides.  In French, no less!

This has been an amazing journey—thanks to everyone who has walked on it with me.  And, thanks to everyone who has recently joined me on this walk.  Without your support and encouragement, none of this would be possible.

I will keep you posted about what is happening. 

God is good.