On June 27, one of Grace Emmanuel School’s classrooms filled with proud parents, teachers, and bright young voices as we celebrated a joyful milestone: 18 kindergarteners moving on to first grade.

On her fourth birthday, Ruth Shama lay in a hospital bed, gravely ill and unresponsive. Diagnosed with meningitis, her survival seemed unlikely. “She looked nearly lifeless,” remembered Jamie, a former missionary with JiHM who visited her that day in 2015. “But we continued to pray.”

On July 11, Moïse will stand among the graduating class of Grace Emmanuel School. He’ll be 19 years old. He’ll be smiling. And behind that smile will be a story of pain, survival, and the kind of love that changes everything.

Right now in Haiti, families displaced by gang violence are simply trying to survive from day to day. There’s little room to dream about the future—and no money for education.

Wednesday morning, April 19, 2023, began as close to normal as it could for 7-year-old Shalonia and her mom and dad.

On the last day of January, Grace Emmanuel School’s Class of 2025 took part in Philosophers Day, a special day of fun and learning held for seniors across Haiti every year.