Life & Hope Haiti is a 20-year-old nonprofit organization that supports the Eben Ezer School in Milot, Haiti. Those reading this who live in the Seacoast area will likely recognize the name of this organization. Those reading this from further away may wonder what a school in Milot, Haiti, has to do with the Great Northern Builders community.
Many of us in South Berwick and the larger Seacoast community became involved after learning about the devastation of the 2010 earthquake. Over the years after the earthquake, two 40-foot shipping containers were sent down to the island from the Seacoast. They held everything from solar panels, generators and large carpentry tools to a pick-up truck, which was the school’s only transportation for years. Since the Seacoast first got involved in 2007, the Eben Ezer School has grown from 35 students to over 500 students today.
Today the school seeks sponsors for the teaching staff, many of whom already have their salaries of $1200 each paid by people in the Seacoast. Amy Miller shared this comment about the teacher sponsorships
“During a recent Zoom walk-through of the school, Maya was so moved she wrote in the chat that her family wanted to become our newest teacher sponsor. Teacher sponsorships are crucial to the success of the school because they give the educators a stable income when in the past they sometimes went months with no pay. This year, when everybody is struggling, financially and otherwise, it’s especially meaningful when people reach out to help children far away in Haiti and recognize that the world is interconnected.”
If you would like to learn more about sponsoring a teacher or a student at the Eben Ezer School, visit the Life Hope Haiti website or Facebook page or email newslifeandhope@yahoo.com.