I am excited to use this week’s updates to highlight one of my favorite school directors that IOCH has had the privilege of partnering with. Our relationship began two years ago. I was with my family, we were visiting a newly supported school in Acul, not far from IOCH headquarters. We built a swing set there and were preparing to go. Madam Bastien came from the neighborhood to share about her small school. She received some of the poorest children in the area, some from families fleeing the gang violence in Port au Prince. She asked if we could spare just one bag of rice to feed her students who came to school hungry each day.
I was immediately struck by her sincerity. She was excited to learn about the work of IOCH and at her request, she prayed over us. During our first visit I met a beautiful family that was staying with her. They had fled Port au Prince after the gangs killed the husband. The mother and 4 young children were now struggling to survive when Madam Bastien took them in. Madam Bastien also holds a weekly church service in her home/school.
A few months back, Richecard and I were coming back from Limbe and had a spare moment to visit her. I knew Ms. Nicole Bastien was single and came from Port au Prince, loved Jesus and desired to serve those in need, but now I would learn her whole story. In 2010, life was good, she even owned her own car. Madam Bastien was married, with 3 children. January 12, 2010 is a defining date in Haiti just as September 11, 2001 is for Americans. That afternoon a 7.3 Magnitude earthquake struck Port au Prince that changed Haiti forever. Thousands of concrete structures were flattened to the ground all over the city. The death toll is estimated at near 300,000. Madam Bastien lost her husband and her home that day, and life as she knew it, ended.
In the years to come, Nicole and her children struggled terribly to cope with their loss. Upon moving to Cap Haitian, she met Pastor Pascal who encouraged her that God still had a plan for her. God put a burden on Madam Bastien’s heart for the small children in her neighborhood who were hungry and whose families could not afford school for them. She set up her small, rented house as a school. Nicole used whatever materials she could find to make more classrooms, tables and chairs. On our first visit she proudly showed us the swing she made from a piece of rope.
I really have grown to love Madam Bastien. Her heart to serve God and serve His children is so strong. It was a pleasure to join Nicole in her sacrificial work. IOCH built her a real swing set, provided chairs, monthly supports 5 staff members and provides rice to feed hungry students. God now uses Madam Bastien to bring the hope of Jesus Christ and education daily to 50 children. She is truly one of the HEROS OF HAITI!
God bless,
-IOCH Founder David Garman
“UNITING THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO WORK FOR A BETTER HAITI”