Organizations around the globe have always been looking for ways to give back. In the present, many have been inspired by the events of the ongoing pandemic and a commitment to uplifting disenfranchised members of the community. Groups that have had prior experience organizing humanitarian efforts serve as a blueprint for these organizations.
Mission E4 stands out as one such group. Utilizing its commitment to scripture and a firm dedication to the people, members work to positively impact Haitian communities. In 2020, the organization completed work on a temporary school in Baussan, Haiti- and Mission E4 has its sights set on launching additional schools in 2021.
Mission E4’s Goal
As is the case for most organizations that perform mission trips, Mission E4 uses scripture as the primary inspiration of its work. Ephesians 4:11-13 stands out as the passage most central to the organization’s message.
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. “
Mission E4’s leaders share the meaning of the scripture with each of its one-week visitors, maintaining that “God calls all Christians to be missionaries”.
In upholding this message, they realized just how willing team members are to drop denominational boundaries to focus on sharing the Gospel of Jesus and helping individuals currently in need. Assisting the local church in its efforts to equip God’s people for service, instill maturity in believers, and bring unity, continues to serve as the main theme and call of Mission E4. Commitment to these values allow Mission E4’s team to provide the assistance necessary to bring sustainable change.
What Have Mission E4’s Haitian School Programs Accomplished?
Since its founding in 2005, Mission E4 has completed crucial infrastructural work for the people of Haiti through its mission trips. Mission E4 currently has ten elementary schools, a high school, and a trade school located in Haiti, with over 3000 children being served between these facilities. The organization also provides access to employment opportunities for over 200 full-time indigenous workers
Much work has been done to further improve facilities completed by the organization as well. This includes the construction of new bathrooms with improved handwashing stations at five schools, a new generator and trash incinerator at Mission E4’s Leogane campus, and vast improvements to its orphanages in Batso, Fauche, and Leogane, Haiti.
Mission E4 Board Member, Ed Rarick, speaks to the scope of the improvements the organization has made between his first mission trip in October 2010 and his seventh in April of 2020.
Rarick’s first trip was just months after the devastating earthquake that had an estimated death toll of 250,000. Unfortunately, the earthquake effected millions more. He recalls that many people were living in tents due to the destruction of their homes, and that there was a lack of potable water, toilets, and electricity throughout the region that he visited.
Scott Long, Mission E4’s late co-founder, spoke with Rarick about the organization’s goal of bringing sustainable improvements to Haiti- both for its team members and individuals in the communities that they serve.
As of 2020, Long made good on those promises of helping to bring sustainable development to the region. Mission teams now stay at the Mission E4 Administrative Campus, in buildings that contain showers and toilets. A garbage incinerator is scheduled to be operational in a few months, ensuring that Mission E4 can effectively dispose of trash. In addition, the organization has completed development on several schools and facilities since Ed Rarick’s first visit.
Mission E4 recognizes the impact that widespread hunger has on the communities it serves and has worked to improve the public’s access to hot meals as a crucial part of missionary work. Morning and evening meals are served by the staff of Christella’s Restaurant, a woman that grew up in Mission E4’s girls’ orphanage. She manages the restaurant, which provides jobs for as many as 15 community members during its peak times, serving both missionaries and members of the public.
Looking to the Future
Mission E4 continues to embody the philosophy that inspired the organization since the beginning. To this point, the group continues to look to ways that it can make practical improvements to aid the Haitian community.
Currently, Mission E4 is dedicated to several projects that will continue to build upon the foundation it has laid in the time since its founding in 2005.
One such development is the goal of completing a permanent school building in Lafferonay, Haiti. This is a major undertaking by the organization, and its team will collaborate with the mission’s Haitian workers to ensure the project is completed in 2021. Mission E4 is also working towards completing development on four new elementary schools this year, one of which has recently launched.
Perhaps the largest project that Mission E4 currently has in development is the construction of a new church across from its Administrative Center. This church is being paid for and built by members of the community that Mission E4 has continued to serve for 16 years. By buying the land, the materials, and facilitating construction, the community is proudly showing that Scott Long’s vision is still in motion.
The organization acknowledges that there is still much work to do, both in Haiti and at Massachusetts-based ministries that require assistance. Fortunately, a variety of organizations are seeing the importance of assisting communities local and abroad with the wide range of challenges that exist in the present. The organization maintains that with a strong mission, a commitment to goals, and a dedication to the work, groups just getting started can bring positive change.
