Vocational School and Micro Loan Programs

In an effort to help employ some of the ladies of the Light & Peace congregation in Bon Repos, an afternoon sewing school was started to enable several ladies to learn sewing skills which they hope to use someday as a means of support for their families.  Welding classes are also held at times to teach the older boys at the orphanage how to work with metal.  As a project, the teen boys constructed a railing to surround the balcony in the Bon Repos church.  The boys have also learned masonry and construction by building walled areas for trash, recycling and composting along the orphanage wall. Plans are being made to increase the number of courses to provide a broad spectrum of skills for our orphanage teens.

The micro loan program was started to help people who are anxious to own a small business but lack the collateral to get started. The amount of the loans vary from $100 to $1,000, and the businesses include sales of toiletries, clothes, painted metal objects and even making flies for sale to American fishermen.  The recipients are required to attend monthly meetings where they exchange ideas, keep track of their finances, and pray for one another.  This program has had immense success in repayment of the loans.

                                        These ladies are learning tailoring skills.

These  girls are in their sewing class at the orphanage.

The orphanage boys learned some welding skills and then provided the church with a sturdy railing on the balcony.

Masonry skills are always needed in Haiti since most of the construction is done with concrete blocks.  These are boys from My Father's House building areas for trash, compost and recycling.