Exciting Update | Haiti Deaf Academy
“Who is my neighbor?”
In Luke 10, a religious man asks Jesus this question. Jesus answers with the familiar parable about the Good Samaritan who showed mercy to the man in need. At the end of the story, Jesus says, Go and do likewise.
Throughout the Bible, we see that vulnerable people are close to God’s heart. And so, at Lifesong, we believe God calls us to care for vulnerable people as well.
In response, we love collaborating with partners in ministry who are doing the work every day of caring for vulnerable people around the world—
Partners like Haiti Deaf Academy and Tim Tebow Foundation.
See a need. Meet a need.
In addition to many of the challenges already facing Haiti, the community of deaf people in rural Haiti faces even more extreme hurdles for survival.
Specifically, deaf children often face extreme discrimination because of cultural beliefs and superstitions about why they don’t hear or speak. As a result, they rarely receive language or education. Some are given away or traded as house help.
They rarely receive sign language classes. There are very few deaf educators and even fewer deaf pastors. Very few resources exist for the needs of the deaf, and jobs are non-existent.
As a result, Haiti Deaf Academy has seen a need and is working to meet the need by providing children with access to Haitian sign language and holistic, Gospel-centered care.
Currently, the students of Haiti Deaf Academy live in a rental house in an urban area that is hard to keep secure. Their crowded, walled-in compound also offers little room for play, dining, or tutoring—and there is no room for growth.
Our part in this story
We believe—along with Haiti Deaf Academy—that each of these children matters deeply to their Creator God.
God calls us to care for the vulnerable and He’s provided our Lifesong campus in Bercy, Haiti, with a great space for Haiti Deaf Academy to minister on our property. So we’re building 4 family-style cottages that will welcome our “neighbors”—48 deaf students and 18 deaf staff.
By relocating their students to our campus, the academy will continue providing critical communication intervention, Life Skills Training, and Gospel-centered education in a permanent, safe environment.
Each student will be welcomed, protected, and loved.
And each child will have the opportunity to live in a Christian family setting.
In partnership with Haiti Deaf Academy and organizations like the Tim Tebow Foundation, we are working to build the homes and look forward to continuing to collaborate with the academy by intentionally including children would often be cast aside.
We invite you …
… to join us in praying for this important, new project. Even more importantly, we encourage you to pray with us for the 48 students who will live in these homes and continue to learn that Jesus loves them and has a plan for their lives.
Would you pray that these students can move in by December 2021? We believe God has amazing things planned for this academy.
As always, thank you for joining us in seeing and meeting the needs of vulnerable kids around the world.