2023–2025 Mission Grant #15
Feeding Haitian Children Through Gospel and Meals
Trinity HOPE — $58,082
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About This Mission Grant
In Haiti, 4.4 million people suffer from acute hunger; the cycle of poverty is almost never broken. Haitian children attending school have trouble learning with empty stomachs. Trinity HOPE daily feeds and shares the Gospel with children, teachers, and cooks in Christian schools throughout the country.
This grant will be used to feed approximately 538 children, teachers, and cooks each school day for two academic years at Paul et Isabel Lutheran School in Hinche, Haiti.
Children are taught to pray before they eat and when not hungry, are better prepared to participate in classroom activities. They are fed physically and spiritually every day they are in school and become missionaries to their families, bringing them out of the darkness of voodoo, a national religion, and into the light of Jesus.
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featured May 2024
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Large Print Resources for Grant #15
Updates and Articles
Mission Grant article — Helping in Haiti
The children in this photo are the future of Haiti. These students have just a few years left in their education. The Christian education they receive will serve them well and equip them to make a difference in their country. Some may become teachers, others may become nurses, but the most important title they now have is "Redeemed Child of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit." Trinity HOPE believes the key to long-term change in Haiti is Education and the Good News of the Gospel.
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"Thank you Jesus, for this food You provide." Children in Lutheran, Christian schools throughout Haiti pray every day before they begin eating the food provided by Trinity HOPE. The Feeding Program Directors, Lutheran Pastors, and teachers partner to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the beautiful children of Haiti. Without this meal, many children would be so hungry they would not be able to retain or comprehend the Good News of Jesus Christ they are being taught.
The food is typically cooked over an open fire, in an outdoor "kitchen." Many children come to school without having eaten any breakfast and are forced to go home to cupboards that are bare, with nothing for dinner. Every school day, the children, teachers and cooks that attend a Trinity HOPE school receive a noon meal. This nourishment opens the ears to hear the Good News of the Gospel, and helps them truly understand the mercy of God. They often sing praise to thank Jesus for the food.
Feeding Program Directors visit the schools twice a month. While there, they share a lesson about the Gospel of Christ, and monitor the feeding program. Children are weighed and measured to ensure they are getting enough food. All of our meals consist of rice or corn & beans, topped with a creole sauce of tomato paste, dried herring, oil, spices and water. This "formula" was developed by nutritionists at Vanderbilt, and is meant to meet all nutritional needs for the day.
Before each meal, children have access to running water to wash hands. This simple task helps to decrease the spread of illnesses and is a requirement of the feeding program. As you can see, running water in Haiti is not the same as it is here. The schools use pitchers of water, drink coolers, or any other make-shift device to ensure the water is flowing and clean.
Jesus is the Bread of Life, providing all of our needs. We often think the missionaries working in Haiti are from the United States or Canada. However, the true missionaries are the children that attend Christian schools. As these children learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and experience the mercies of this nutritious noon meal, they share the Good News with Joy. Families often begin attending the Churches, allowing pastors to reach them as well. It starts with a meal and a Gospel message.
Notice the girl with the red and white shirt and hair barrettes. She attends a school with a feeding program. Here, in her neighborhood, she stands in front of a typical Haitian home, next to her friends who do not get to go to school. Notice her overall health compared to theirs. They have rust colored hair, small bodies, distended stomachs, and dry skin. These are signs of malnutrition. The meal provided by Trinity HOPE prevents this and strengthens her to learn and share the Gospel.
