Empowerment Breeds Empowerment

In Drouin, the greatest aim and purpose of the school and our sponsorship program is to empower and keep families together. This community of rice farmers was one of the hardest hit by the Cholera epidemic, and by the effect of subsidized U.S. rice flooding the market and driving down their ability to sell their own products. We worked with local leader Jean Alix Paul, and his team in Drouin, to learn how we could best support these families.

Education and access to a healthy diet became the constant themes, and thus the sponsorship program began. Because of your support, families can send their children to school every day knowing that they will be fed a hot-nutritious meal, and they can focus on their work and growing their opportunity.

This empowerment doesn’t just end with the students and their families though, it extends to the teachers and to many others in the community! This is a story of one of those teachers.

Joseph Kesner teaches the 2nd and 5th grades at Spirit of Truth School, Drouin. He grew up in Drouin and worked on the farm with his family. Joseph always had dreams of being a teacher; and though schooling was hard to come by, he worked hard and was able to finish and go on to university in a nearby city.  Upon returning to Drouin, there was no work in schools and his family still needed help on the farm, so he stayed. He got married and had two children, but the work was not enough to care for them well.

Joseph eventually heard about Spirit of Truth church and school and that they were looking for highly qualified teachers, so he went to see what it was all about. He was hired almost immediately and has now taught at the school for over 6 years! Since he started at the school, his family has been thriving. He has been able to buy his own house and piece of land to farm, and his children are healthy and even attending the school now!

All of this is made possible by your sponsorships! Not only do the students at the school and their families benefit, but your support truly does pour into the entire community, empowering hundreds of families and allowing it to flourish and grow!