We’ve got really great news from Haiti.
A short while ago, we got an e-mail from Fr. Augustine in Jacmel in the south of Haiti.
What he has to say is amazing.
But first we have to tell you about Fr. Augustine. If you’ve ever given to the FFA, you probably supported Fr. Augustine when he was studying at the St. Sergius Seminary in Paris. (The photo here shows Fr. Augustine in Paris.)
A few years ago, he graduated and came back to serve his people in his native Jacmel.
(BTW, not everyone wants to come back to Haiti from beautiful France… And you can’t blame them, because life’s excruciatingly hard in Haiti. So the fact that Fr. Augustine did come back makes us admire him very much. But that’s our personal opinion.)
For various local reasons, Fr. Augustine is not part of the official ROCOR Mission in Haiti. But he is a canonical member of ROCOR in good standing.
And he’s very active and is doing wonderful things in his parish.
Here’s why he wrote.
Fr. Augustine is proposing to solve the problem of educating children in Jacmel and growing the mission ‒ with one simple solution.
You know just how important education is for children everywhere…
It can set a child up for success or failure…
Especially if you live in Haiti.
Education is the key to a much better life.
It’s the difference between living in a tiny house without a door vs. living in a normal house and being able to afford food for your family.
Turns out 90% of Haitian kids are educated by church-run schools. And the members of Fr. Augustine’s parish could probably send their kids to the local Protestant or Catholic schools.
However, that means that the kids will not be Orthodox. It’s almost certain that children will accept the Faith of the school. It’s happened time and again. In fact, it can almost be called a local custom.
So Fr. Augustine is proposing a genius solution…
He wants to open a small Orthodox school in his parish. He already has teachers and staff lined up from among the parishioners.
There’s tremendous interest from the local non-Orthodox community. 16 kids have already signed up, in addition to seven children from Orthodox families. (The school year starts October 4th this year - because of the recent earthquake).
All Fr. Augustine needs to open this school is a little help. Can you help him?
All he needs is $7,500.
That’s it. Can you imagine if we could build and staff Orthodox parish schools for this little money in the West?!
So here’s what we need from you…
Any amount helps!
When you give today, you will be changing families’ lives.
You’ll be ensuring that these kids have a better future than their parents…
You’ll be helping them get a solid education so that they can take care of themselves and their families in the future
AND you’ll be making sure that Orthodoxy in Haiti has a future.
Any amount is greatly needed and appreciated.
Your kindness can create miracles for Fr. Augustine in Haiti. Even a tiny donation will help. All we need is $7,500!
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