“Ladies, once again I want to congratulate you on your courage. I know that things were extremely tough out there in the streets. I am grateful to the Lord for allowing me to still be alive and with you today. I am glad about the way you are honoring your teacher. I do not have a gift for Widelene. I cannot reward her. When the situation in Haiti became harder and harder, I would often call Widelene to tell her, ‘Let’s put the Perfected Sewing class to a halt.’ She usually answered me and said, ‘Madam, let’s keep on trying.’”

This is a part of a talk Marie St Amour, the Director of the Feminine Training Centers (FTC) in Haiti, gave to the Perfected Sewing students. If you know Marie and her story, you know that she has had a long time desire to help ladies in Haiti build their confidence and self-esteem through vocational training and sharing the Gospel. Even though she was close to death from a failing heart, she had confidence that God would somehow spare her life allowing her to continue to minister to women. He did spare her live by miraculously providing a heart transplant.

The ladies in Haiti, especially those in Port-au-Prince, do display a lot of courage and fortitude as they seek the vocational training at the FTC. The ladies will find a way to put together the funds needed to pay for the classes and for the materials they use in the classes. They travel by taptap (small pickup trucks with seats in the bed), motorcycle or by walking to get to class. With the gang issue in Port-au-Prince, travel can be difficult and even dangerous but they have such a desire to learn the ladies will risk coming when the streets are open.

Widelene is Marie’s right hand in Haiti teaching classes and helping with all the administrative work. She always seems to have a smile on her face no matter what is going on around her. Even when her husband had a stroke she would find a way to care for him and invest in the lives of the ladies at the FTC. Widelene also has the same desire as Marie, wanting to encourage the FTC students to keep working hard and succeeding in their classes.

Ladies like Mireille Lucceant have been given the opportunity to succeed and gain some confidence through the training at the FTC. Marie met Mirelle at someone’s house in Port-au-Prince. She is from Jeremie which is in the southern peninsula of Haiti. She was not happy about her situation but she was ready to share with Marie something about her life and her living conditions. Physically she was distressed. She was sleeping in a place that could not be called a room. Marie asked her if she would like come to the FTC to learn and Mirelle eagerly said, “yes!” She was registered in the Cooking and Baking class on a scholarship since she did not have the means to pay. Later, Mirelle registered for the Simple Sewing class. She graduated from both Cooking, Baking and Simple Sewing classes. 

Dialine Alexis is another example of one of the ladies who has been blessed through the FTC. She is a countryside girl. She attended school for free until she completed the equivalent of high school. She could not go to college because her parents did not have the means to support her. She decided to grill peanuts and make grated coconut crackers to sell on the streets. One day, Marie saw Dialine walking in the street with her little basket selling peanuts and grated coconut crackers she had made. Marie had a conversation with her about what she was doing for a living. She answered and said I buy peanuts then grill them and sell them. I also buy coconuts, grate them, and make grated coconut crackers and sell them in the streets. Marie asked her what skill she wanted to learn. She said that she wanted to go to a sewing class.  She was sent to the sewing class at the FTC and now she has just completed her first year.

God has been good and protected the leaders, staff and FTC students during these difficult times in Haiti. We are excited to see how God works during the 2023-2024 school year and to hear more stories of ladies whose lives have been changed through the ministry of the FTC.



Thank you for your continued prayer and financial support.

Serving Together,

Greg and Laura