We are encouraged by answered prayer for God’s protection during the pandemic and by the expansions we have made in our scope of care despite limited resources and difficult working conditions. We have a new nurse in our Constanza School and increased multidisciplinary training in each of our programs. Most importantly, we are encouraged by transformed lives: youth graduating from our programs ready to help themselves, their families, and their communities for God’s glory (we anticipate 100 graduates this year).
Thirty-seven children were reunited with their families or integrated into a new family in 2021. Several of these children had lived on the Oasis campus multiple years and though their departures are bittersweet, we are filled with joy that God has provided for these children and families. In 2022 we will expand our services further as we partner with government entities to consider new possibilities for family care.
God continues to provide for Kids Alive Haiti. We recently installed a water filtration system providing clean water for the children and purchased a bus to help students get safely to and from school each day. As the year progresses, we trust God for furniture and equipment for the cafeteria, additional solar panels for reliable power, and financial resources to develop a literacy program for parents.
We were able to support 297 families with food, hygiene items, and spiritual care last year. Hall Mead bustles with children and teachers while demand continues to drive our mission. The school continues to expand as we have added classrooms and buses for transporting the children each day. In the coming weeks we will launch an intervention program for vulnerable children living in the slums of Nairobi.
Our biggest challenge this year is providing expanded services for the Syrian refugee population that continues to grow. We ask God to expand our capacity, providing financial resources for staff so that we can welcome more children into our classrooms, provide important medical care, and create entrepreneurship training opportunities for women in our care.
We have witnessed children restored to their families (12 in 2021) as our team works to help them find healing and a new way forward. We have been blessed to witness 45 families served through our Family Centers catch a vision for their identity in Christ and seek opportunities to bless others in their community in His name!
We have two new programs that focus on children who are overlooked by other institutions. In March we officially launched a program providing early education and care for young children whose mothers are imprisoned. In the coming months we will launch a program to nurture children living on the street, providing them with a chance for emotional support, academic remediation, and relationship with Christ. Our existing program to help girls who are victims of sexual abuse continues to provide short-term housing as they pursue long-lasting healing and we seek permanent placement in healthy families on their behalf.
