• Only about 50% of the people can read and write

• Odds are 50/50 yours and your friend’s children won’t reach age 15

• You average earning $2.75 a day

For a bigger picture of life in Haiti, read these disturbing 88 little known facts.

Someone once said “we are each other”, meaning that as you help elevate the lives of others, you elevate yours as well. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, makes the same point when he writes “do not merely look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). Join with us as together we contribute to the lives of precious children that God, in His infinite wisdom, has been pleased to bring before us.

M I S S I O N S P R O F I L E

Pastor Julio and Guermanie Gilles

Pastor Julio Jean-Gilles, born in Haiti on November 27, 1969, raised under his father’s Voodoo influence, attended a Christian school at age 17, and soon became a Christian. Julio met a missionary who funded his education at Oriental Mission Seminary. Upon graduation Julio became a pastor and in 1997 started a church that now has over 400 members.

At age 25 Julio married Guermanie, who later had a vision for a much needed school. In 2003 they started Bethesda School, which has about 225 students—preschool to 6^th grade. Pastor Julio and Guermanie have 5 children, ages 11 to 16.

Pastor Julio oversees the operation of the school, and Guermanie has been teaching preschool for the past 10 years.

To continue the school as is requires $3,000 per month. That meets the very basic needs of paying the teachers and providing the base materials required for teaching. There are many additional unmet needs and desires, some of which are; building repairs, student funding at $250 a year per child, books, and the dream of providing computers and other tools that could greatly enhance the children’s education.