Within our weekly updates, I want to share the stories of a few of the best people I have met in Haiti. Last week, I had the great honor to stand in as Steeves’ father in his wedding ceremony. This is a brief summary of what God has done in and through Steeve. When he was 6 years old, his father died, leaving his mother struggling to care for Steeve. Days without eating and inadequate shelter became the norm. His mother took him to church, where he discovered his love of music. He sang in the choir, standing on a bucket, alternating each week which of the two shirts he would wear to church. Once the river in Bahon flooded, destroying his home, leaving Steeve and his mother in a makeshift shelter.
Steeve felt the calling of God to do great things, but his community only saw a poor, fatherless boy, incapable of significance. He began to lead the choir, play the piano and the drums. Still, life was so difficult he would often consider illegally going to the Dominican Republic in search of life. As he grew Steeve had a dream to care for other children like himself, if ever he had the chance. In 2020, he borrowed some money to start building his own kindergarten program. He couldn’t afford to pay anyone, so he did the work alone. Soon Covid came and all the progress stopped.
Steeve fell in love with Flanese. He told me once that he would dream to marry her someday, but then the reality would hit him that he couldn’t even afford to buy shoes for himself, how could he ever have a wife? Steeve developed painting and construction skills to find some money to restart the school. Flanese would be the director. Some parents refused to sign up their children upon seeing Steeve. To them, he was still a fatherless child, poor and incapable.
I first met Steeve in early 2023. He sat beside me in the van, determined to convince me to help him with his schoolwork. He spoke no English and used a translation app. I challenged him to learn English to better work with IOCH, and he did! During my second visit, we installed a water purification system and built a swing set together under a steady rain. Steeve’s school in Bahon soon became the 2nd school IOCH partnered with. In the two years since, Steeve has used this support to develop this school to serve nearly 200 children, and be one of the best schools in the area.
It was such a joy last summer to celebrate the first graduation of the 3rd year kindergarten. The church was full of community members, who not long ago ridiculed Steeve’s efforts, but now celebrated this achievement together. I had the opportunity to publicly praise Steeve for his work and sacrifice for Bahon. It was a beautiful moment.
I could not be more proud of Steeve, as I see him now as my son. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for Steeve’s future. He is one of the many Haitian people I’ve met who sacrifice daily to better their country. Thank you to so many who pray and support IOCH’s investment in Haiti. I especially want to thank the Livingston family for their support of Steeve and Bahon.
IOCH – “UNITING THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO WORK FOR A BETTER HAITI”
God bless,
-IOCH Founder David Garman
