News & Updates

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upcoming events and exciting news from ICDM Haiti and beyond.

ICDM: August Update

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The Background

Elson Sainrilus is the headmaster of ICDM’s Henri Christophe School in Bayonnais, Haiti. He is also an alumnus of the school whose life was transformed by his student days there. 

While attending the school, Elson was orphaned but he was not abandoned. Through the ICDM Sponsorship program, he managed to complete grade school. He then went on to high school. Then the Mills' family from Indiana supported him through college where he studied the Science of Education. He returned to serve his community. He is married and he is the father of two daughters.
Elson at School
Elson with his family
Children have been at the heart of ICDM since the very beginning. In 1989, a couple of people began to teach children under a mango tree. Over the years ICDM’s Bayonnais school has grown from a handful of elementary students to over 800 students K-Baccalaureate on two separate campuses.  We invest in children because we believe they are the future of their communities and the country of Haiti. In spite of the difficulties Haiti is now experiencing, we have not missed a day of school.
 
Our school has been successful because of our exceptional staff and faculty and because of faithful partners like you. Our faculty is committed to providing Christian education at its best. This means that we not only provide high-quality instruction in typical school subjects like math, science, language arts, and history. It also means that we equip students for life with a spiritual and moral foundation based on Jesus Christ and his grace. In addition, we equip all our students with fundamental life skills in farming, finance, and business to ensure their ability to thrive regardless of what is happening in Haiti at the time.

The Vision

We have come a long way in 35 years, but we are not done moving forward. Our vision for the future includes:
  • Providing first-rate vocational training for children who do not see further education as a viable alternative. We want to provide instruction in mechanics, sewing, agriculture, business, and building trades so that non-college-bound children can find a way to support themselves and contribute to their community.
  • Expanding our technology training. We live in a digital world, and we want to ensure our students are equipped to meet the demands of that world.
  • Building a separate high school campus. Frankly, the public education system of Haiti is in disarray. Building and staffing a high school will allow us to provide all students in our area with a high school diploma.

How to Help Make a Difference

The main way we ask our partners to support us in this work is through sponsoring a child. For only $40 a month, you can provide a school uniform, books, school supplies, and instruction for one of our 800 children. You can help change a life and perhaps through that life the future of Haiti. To sponsor a child, go to https://icdm.us/educate/sponsor/ and follow the instructions. With school about to begin again, your gift may help us find the next Elson. You do make a difference.
 
Another option is to make a one-time gift of $40 to provide uniforms for children for the school year.
 
Yet another option is to help feed our students a hot, nutritious lunch each day the school is in session. For some of our students, this is their main meal for the day. We are blessed to be able to provide these meals for 75 cents per student. This means for just $75 you can feed 100 students. For $600 you can feed the whole school for a day. Every bit helps.
 
If you are interested in finding out more about helping to build our new high school campus please contact our Director, Yvan Pierre at yvan@icdm.us