Sioux Falls Christian School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has an ongoing relationship with Mission Haiti. The school houses an office for Mission Haiti and school superintendent Jay Woudstra serves on its board. Sioux Falls Christian has also raised the funds to build Mission Haiti’s Jean Alexi Kuislin Christian Academy, a school in Haiti.
In addition to visiting the Haitian school twice a year, Sioux Falls Christian has supported it in many ways: donating technology that is cycling out of Sioux Falls Christian, providing curriculum for the school to use and reference, and donating shoes and school supplies. The team of 17 people that visited in March of 2016 set up and organized 14 weddings, bringing wedding supplies and gifts with them in order to provide a beautiful wedding celebration for the couples being married.
High school teacher Dawn Wieking, who has been to Mission Haiti numerous times, said, “It is incredibly rewarding to witness the strides being made by Mission Haiti in regard to the school opening, the quality of teachers, and the building up of community between Mission Haiti and the Ti Rivier village.”
Construction on the Jean Alexi Kuislin Christian Academy, completed in 2015, was funded primarily by Sioux Falls Christian and its supporters. The majority of construction was done by local Haitians, with Sioux Falls Christian assisting with some cosmetic projects such as painting. Initially, teams of staff, students, and administrators visited to see the progress on the construction of the school and to spend time in prayer over it. With construction complete, the visits now allow administrators and faculty to be involved with teacher mentorship and training and students to spend time with the students at the Haitian school.
This school is unique in Haiti because it is distinctly a Christian school, with all subjects taught from a biblical perspective. It’s also an English and French immersion school with one Haitian teacher and one North American teacher in each classroom. Mission Haiti provides the teachers for the school; this summer Kenzie Small, a second grade teacher at Sioux Falls Christian, will spend a month at the school teaching summer school.