A Bit of Background...

Welcome to the inaugral post of "An Auto Mechanic School in Jeremie, Haiti."  We hope you will come along with us for the ride of getting this school up and running.  First of all though, you're probably wondering who are "we," what is this school, and why Jeremie?  The "we" who are maintaining this blog are Megan and Tom, active attendees of Grace Community Church in Arlington, VA, and also members of Grace's Team Haiti group of volunteers.  Wanting to work with our Haitian brothers and sisters to enact positive and impactful change in Haiti, Grace created a partnership with the Eglise de Dieu Vivant (Church of the Living God) in Jeremie, Haiti, and it's pastor, Carl Dimanche.

Why the Auto Mechanic School?  After many discussions between Tom, Pastor Carl, and other members of Eglise de Dieu Vivant, it was decided that the best way Grace could help the community was to help in setting up an automotive training school that would provide students with a two year education culminating in a diploma that would allow them to seek employment as auto mechanics.  Tom owns an automotive repair company so this is his field of expertise.  Unemployment is a BIG program in Haiti and skilled auto mechanics are actually in need in Jeremie.  Our goal is to get the school up and running and then have the students provide low cost auto maintenance to customers, thus giving them pratical training and generating revenue to make the school self sufficient.  At Grace we are all about helping those we serve be able to stand on their own two feet and take pride and ownership in what they create.  Ever read When Helping Hurts?  We recommend it!

So that brings us to the city of Jeremie.  Jeremie is a remote city and the capital of the Haitian department of La Grande Anse.  It is a beautiful and sunny place on the coast with lush vegetation and warm and friendly people.  Often overlooked due to it's remote location it is the ideal spot for the auto mechanic school as there is actually no one there right now who is qualified to fix the cars that break down.  They are currently put on a ship bound for Port-au-Prince to get repaired, but that is gonna change!