To the right of the courtyard outside the Three Angels orphanage is a new block building standing grey and straight against the Haitian foliage. Next to that is the existing one-room school house. The official Haitian name of the school is called Institution Mixte Chretienne de Petion-Ville, or IMCP. However, we all know it as Three Angel's Christian Academy.

I watch teaching applicants fill out forms in deep concentration, sitting on wooden benches in the hot school house waiting to be called in for an interview with Alix Charles, the headmaster of the Academy. I sit and stare, waiting for them to finish so I can ask Alix for information regarding the school. The Haitian teachers have to fill out a questionnaire with personal information as well as information about their education, religion, family and background. He explains that they also must have an interview with him to make sure that their written and spoken information match up: that they are who they say they are. "The teachers must be able to write and say the same thing."

Alix took some time out of his busy schedule to sit down and talk with me about the school and how it works. We struggle through differences in language: my English, his Creole- and try to meet somewhere in the middle. He speaks much better English than I speak Creole, so he makes the process fairly painless, despite moments of awkward silence and furrowed brows as we realize that we, indeed, cannot not understand each other. He apologizes as his phone rings and people come in and out of his blue door that doesn't quite close. But, he gives me all the time I need, and even offers to translate documents into English so I can read them to get more information. As I leave he politely thanks me over and over again for my time.

Our conversation began with state examinations, since the results of students' state tests come in next week. It seemed to be the first thing that came to his mind. The state tests include Creole, French, English, Math, Science, Geography and History. These are also the subjects that the children are taught in school. The state tests the students in order for them to move up a grade each year. Right now the tests are being processed for the kids to enter 7th grade.

The goal of the school is not only education, but Christian education, and knowledge about God as well as required subjects. The verse on the report cards for the school is Prov. 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

The children have Bible Study every Friday, where they sing Bible songs and different students who have been picked during the week perform songs or recite verses. There's also time set aside for prayer for the school, Three Angles, and Haiti. Alix mentioned "If I forget to pray for the school, or Three Angels, or Haiti, I always remember on Friday. It is very good."

Children begin arriving as early as 6:00am because their parents bring them on their way to work. The children are divided into two groups: morning and afternoon. The first group of 170 students is pre-school through 2nd grade. They leave at 12:30. The second group, 3-6th grade, comes in the afternoon and leaves at 4:30. There are 165 children in this group- 335 students all together. Alix explained that most of students don't pay any tuition. The school provides uniforms, supplies and lends books to students during the year. The school also provides supplies for the teachers and aides, who get paid anywhere from $40 to $200 per month.

Alix laughed a litttle as he told me about the children trying to chew their crayons and erasers. He tells them "if you eat it you will die!" "We are hungry!" they respond, and keep chewing. I couldn't laugh much, though, as he told me that for some students what they eat at school is their only meal of the day. So far all the school is able to provide for them is clean water and bread with peanut butter or "manba." This year the school's goal is to provide the kids with a more substantial meal of rice and beans and possibly some milk. It is difficult to concentrate in the presence of hunger. "We need to feed them more so they can learn better."

The Sponsorship Program is essential to the future of Three Angels Christian Academy. For $27 a month you can send a child to school. Please visit our Sponsorship Page to learn more.