A Gift of Christian Curriculum

HAFF's Primary School Teacher and Administrator Training Program is coordinated by Justin Mompremier (center of photo at the left). In 1984 the Haitian government instituted a new primary school curriculum. The bulk of Haitian primary schools are small, private and often church sponsored.

A number of rural schools in HAFF's service area could not afford to hire a national instructor to explain the new curriculum. Justin's program works with 41 of those rural schools. He keeps the teachers and administrators current on changes to the national curriculum, introduces them to new strategies and techniques of teaching, and helps them understand how they can impart Christian values in a natural, integrated fashion in all of their courses.

A Haitian organization called the Consortium for the Reinforcement of Christian Education in Haiti (CRECH) has been collaborating with Justin for a number of years. CRECH's vision is “1. to prepare students who fear God and are capable of influencing and transforming their environment according to the light of divine principles; 2. to provide for the country, a foundation of young people who are submitted to the will of God, with a solid sense of justice united with a spirit of love, of mutual respect and a perfect sense of responsibility.

CRECH publishes a series of books integrating the Bible into the national curriculum at each primary school class level. HAFF was able to obtain enough of the books in 2007 for 25 of the 41 schools in Justin's program. Stories and lessons in the books coincide with similar subjects taught that week in Science or Social Studies. The pictures are interesting, the questions provoke discussion appropriate to the students' age, and there is continuity through the Bible from one year to another. The text is written in French on one page and Kreyol on the facing page, which is not found in most school books, but is a tremendous help to the students. The books give the teachers confidence teaching in a relevant and attractive way values they feel are so greatly needed in their country.

In the Spring of 2012, HAFF was blessed to receive a substantial donation so that now all but a few of the schools in Justin's program have received CRECH books for their classes. Justin was also able to schedule time with a local instructor of CRECH materials, Met Ostel (standing in photo at left), to orient the teachers to the new books.