October 14, 2005

Update on students from OFCB Ministries Bayonnais, Haiti  

Continuing College Students

The 2004-2005 college year ended late in Port-au-Prince (PAP), since the school year was fractured by many civil disturbances there.  The seven students finished exams in late July.  Samuel, doctor-to-be, finished his 5^th year, and the others their 2^nd year/   They are due back for registration in mid-October.  The other six students’ majors are: medical (2^nd doctor-to-be), agronomy (2), living languages – teaching, civil engineering/mathematics (1), science – teaching (2).  These students will continue living in the same house (owned by a family in Charlotte and graciously loaned to OFCB).

The students at the Christian University of North Haiti near the mountain town of Limbé had a more normal school year and spent the summer in Bayonnais. Jesula had transferred from PAP during the prior year and completed her first year in business administration in 2005.  Amilor, a future pastor for the OFCB church in Bayonnais, started his studies there last year also. Valentin was there for his 2^nd year.  During the school year, Valentin and OFCB jointly agreed not to continue their contract to support him in college, thereby cancelling his pledge to return to employment at OFCB after college.  Jesula and Amilor returned to Limbé in September.

New College Students

Sixteen of the seventeen 13^th graders passed their national exams and graduated.  Ten of them have been selected by OFCB with agreement from the student to be sent to college in Haiti, subject to the money available.  As with the previous graduates sent to college, the college curricula will help prepare the students to fill needs in OFCB to better serve the Bayonnais community.  Two major needs were defined. 

The first is to have professional staffing for the hospital in the next 4-6 years.  Toward this end, two women are starting college mid-October at IPFP  in Cap-Haitien (on the north coast of Haiti), one in nursing and the other training to be a medical technician.  In addition, a young man is starting in a university (UNAP) in PAP and will follow a curriculum to become a dentist.

The second need is for more trained, professional teachers at the school.  Two women are starting a three year education with a specialty in kindergarten at IPFP in Cap-Haitien.  The four new women students are living together in a house that OFCB has rented.  Six other men are entering UNAP in preparation to teach languages, history, biology, chemistry and computer science in the high school.  The seven new students in PAP will live in the college house with the older students.  They start in the third week of October.

Why Send Students To College?

The main goal of the five OFCB founders was simple.  It was to improve their home neighborhood in the mountains of northern Haiti.  Since the surrounding area (Bayonnais) was even poorer than the average in the very poor country of Haiti, there were many needs – little education, no medicine, no communications, no roads, poor water, poor housing, low life expectancy, etc.  The founders decided the best thing they might be able to do would be to start a school in the old neighborhood.  Several years later they added a Christian church.  The overall goal became to become an educational and Christian influence, first in their part of Bayonnais, then expanding around there, then to begin to affect the nation by sending educated Christian young adults out into various occupations in Haiti.  To succeed in this, they continue to improve the quantity and quality of education in Bayonnais.  Sending graduates off to college was the next step in the plan.  The results, starting in two years, will bring not only strengthening of the quality and breadth of education offered at the school, but will otherwise affect the community greatly with: 

• Improved crops

• Application of technology to basic problems in the community

• Tremendous improvements medically and through dentistry

• Large-scale education for the populace in hygiene, pregnancy, childbirth, etc.

• Entrepreneurial opportunities

The plan continues to evolve.  This second wave of ten college students will give another great surge of change, improvement and excitement as they return to Bayonnais in four years.  The planned hospital will become the first medical facility (and include the first doctor and nurse) for 80,000 people.  We cannot imagine life without our huge medical system.  Can you imagine the impact this is going to have over the next several decades in Bayonnais?

Is Everything Perfect?

In such a challenging environment, things will never go 100% as planned.  Consider our much more benign environment, yet look at the challenges faced in education and the economy in the world’s most powerful country.  OFCB will continue to struggle in many ways.  The leaders are human and are learning as they go.  However, they attract good minds with their track record and opportunities for good teachers.  The academic record of the students is very, very good, even compared to school systems in cities like nearby Gonaïves  (the 3^rd largest city in Haiti).  Some would say what they have done is miraculous; others would say it is God inspired.

Finances are always critical, with the continuing expansion of the school, and now with the expanding college population.  Here is how the operations numbers looked for fiscal years (FY) 2003, 2004 and 2005, with a preliminary estimate for 2006.

* College expenses are overstated in FY2004 as some FY2005 expenses were paid early.

** Other includes administration, vehicle costs and other items which are almost wholly expended to support school operations.

Note that this financial presentation excludes capital items such as the solar and bridge projects, a new truck and US cost of buying and shipping two buses.  Also excluded are contributions in late 2004 for flood relief in Gonaïves and Bayonnais.  It is possible that the confluence of the separate responses for these major needs depressed operating fund donations in FY2005.

Operating expenses for the fiscal (school) year just ended were about $152,000, about the same as the prior year.  The amount of money OFCB spends has to be closely related to the amount of donations plus operating income.  Last year, the school population rose from 1,011 to 1,186, with the greatest increase (44%) in grades 7-13.  A large increase in operating income mostly offset a decrease in donations.  The operating income increase came from substantial improvement of school fee collection (mostly from grades 7-13, totaling $33,000), and from bus earnings ($12,000 ).  Donations for operating expenses were down 28%, about $38,000. 

Current School Registration

This is the year of large K-6 growth!  After growing about 6%/year for three years, elementary student count grew from 783 last year to 942 this fall, up 159 students or 20%.  This has a big impact on the morning (K-6) session from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Having 159 more students requiring teaching and feeding a meal is a strain, but also provides more opportunity to serve the community.  Each child enrolled increases knowledge and health for that child, and an improvement and hope for the future for that child and parents.  OFCB management feels that the large increase in elementary attendance is caused by the steady feeding of students for the past 18 months.

High school, grades 7-13, meets from 12:45 p.m. until 5:45 p.m.  Classes for 10^th – 13^th grades are also held on Saturday.  The current count is 375 compared with 403 last year.  They also are fed one meal.  Mediocre results on the 6^th grade national exams prevented about half of last year’s 6^th graders from moving to 7^th grade, which accounts for the smaller 7^th grade this fall.

What Is Needed – Right Now

Increased Steady Support:

• for the school

• for the college students

The steady flow of  $30/month to sponsor a K-13 student at the Bayonnais school is the lifeblood of school operations.  There is a need to increase the number of sponsors and to remain faithful to pledges of sponsoring.  This can be done with a regular bank draft through SMPC.

Funding for college students is needed to support the $2-4,000 college cost per student.  These students are the foundation for great things in the future in Bayonnais and Haiti. 

What Is Needed – for the Future

• Expansion of school classrooms and other school space on compound

• Reduction of power usage by substituting laptops for the 10 year old desktop computers

• Planning for off-compound expansion of the elementary school

• Building and equipping a hospital including a dental facility

Who Should Help?

People who have the heart to share.  The United States has a great economy.  Although the economic benefits of that economy are not equally spread, many have the ability to help the amazing twelve year old OFCB school and church in Bayonnais.  Help as you are led, whether a little or a lot.  It is a blessing to know how much can be done there for reasonable amounts. 

Haiti is a poor country, and has been a poorly run country.  Please pray for their national elections, hopefully taking place by December.  They desperately need a President and a government dedicated to turning Haiti around, pointing it toward a better future.

Please support what OFCB is doing.  They are clearly an example to be followed in other parts of Haiti as part of the hope for the future.

If you want to give, or increase or change your giving, please contact:

South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church (SMPC)
Attn: Mary-Katheryne Zagora, Financial Administrator
8601 Bryant Farms Road
Charlotte NC 28277
704 544-0404  extension 210
mkzagora@bellsouth.net

Mary-Katheryne, an SMPC member, is also on the SMPC missions committee.

David Nichols, Missions Committee, SMPC  704 847-3059  david5cents@aol.com  or other members:  Tony Bentley, Kay Dano, Mrna Dibble, Gwen Ferguson, Bob Foote, Melinda Harmon, Helen & Ernest Hunter, Lindalee Macauley, Judy Nichols, Carol & Tom Palmgren, Leigh Yeoman, Michael Zagora