INTERNATIONAL CHILD CARE MINISTRIES IN HAITI

40% of ICCM's international investment is in the children of Haiti

International Child Care Ministries, the initiative I’m working with, advocates for the spiritual, educational, physical and social development of children by partnering with friends globally.  Our primary strategies are sponsorships, scholarships, and creative initiatives on behalf of children in partnership with friends around the world.

We currently work with more than 21,000 sponsored children in 29 world areas. $21-a-month sponsorships help with education, food and supportive care that foster hopeful futures for kids.  ICCM's affiliation with Free Methodist church workers at local levels worldwide offers high levels of accountability and spiritual support.  ICCM-sponsored children are connected to a caring community of faith in whatever city, town or village they live in.

In Haiti, in particular, we have over 8,900 children under sponsorship.  These children attend 53 ICCM schools.  In the Port-au-Prince area—the area most affected by the January 12^th earthquake—we have 16 schools and 1,867 sponsored children.  Thus far, we have had sparse specific information about these children.  Like most residents of Port-au-Prince, many will be living on the streets in makeshift shelters.  Some may have perished in the January 12 quake.  More than a few may have become orphans.

ICCM is not a relief organization, though representatives from International Child Care Ministries have been on the ground in Haiti delivering water, food, water filters, and medical supplies.  We respond to crises, but our primary focus is to invest in the future of children through education, nutrition and spiritual care.

We know that many of our schools in Haiti have been damaged by the quake.  A damage assessment team is in Haiti at this time to visit our schools and make recommendations.  Some schools will need repair.  Others will need to be rebuilt.  All will need some equipment replaced.

Our sense is that the sooner education can be reestablished, the sooner this aspect of children’s disrupted lives can be restored and normalized, the better off they will be.  Our primary investment after the earthquake is in these schools and the education and well-being of children in Haiti.

ICCM is responding to the Haiti earthquake through our Special Projects Fund.  While sponsorship funds are directed to education costs, uniforms, and food for students, our Special Projects Fund invests in new schools, school repairs, and initiatives that complement the primary focus of education in these precious lives.  100% of contributions to our Special Projects Fund go to the intended purpose; we do not subtract any processing or support fees from this fund or contributions made to our food funds.

You can donate and explore International Child Care Ministries at www.childcareministries.org.  You can also see how the Free Methodist Church, with which we are affiliated, is responding to the Haiti earthquake at www.helphaitiheal.org.

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