The Heartline Ministries Women's Program           

Visit the Heartline Ministries Web Site for more information on our work in Haiti.

 

Our dream was to develop a Women’s Program and provide a place for women to learn how to take care of their babies, learn life skills, be listened to, be loved and hear God’s word – our dream became a reality as we developed the Women’s Center. 

 

    We currently are running four different programs: 

•  Pre-Natal Class – This class meets once a week with pregnant women to provide prenatal care.
  
•  Once a woman gives birth, they can enter the Early Childhood Development Class - This class provides education on caring for their newborn babies and other children in the family.  Each woman and her child can stay in this class for one year. 
  
•   Literacy Class – This class meets three times a week to teach Creole reading and writing and lasts for about four months.  It is a pre-requisite to our Sewing Class. 
  
•  Sewing Class – This six month class teaches women how to sew and run a business.  
  

 

Pre-Natal Class 

 

The current pre-natal class has 20 women.  Lab work is done on each of the woman as they enter the program and monitored on a weekly basis.  This lab work is critical to assessing the health status of each pregnancy.  Of the current twenty women, four tested positive for HIV, three tested positive for STDs and all twenty showed that they were anemic.  It is imperative that these situations are treated immediately to improve the health of the woman and the chance for a successful pregnancy.  While we are able to treat most of the problems, we send the HIV positive women to other programs for treatment.  Currently we are looking for a liaison to go with these ladies to this program as they are unaware of the need to take medication, ask questions about their disease and to be consistent with their treatment.  Each week women in our program are given milk, vitamins and medicine to help them have a healthy pregnancy.

 

Early Childhood Development Class 

 

The early childhood development class has approximately 20 women at any time.  This class is invaluable in getting the Haitian women the skill they need to raise a young child.  During this time they interact one-on-one with American women who teach coping skills (malaria prevention, spending money wisely, importance of breastmilk, and child interaction).  In addition to this education, they are given eggs, milk and vitamins for one year.  Depending on when a woman enters the pre-natal class, close to two years are spent with each woman in close relationship.  

 

Literacy Class

 

Our literacy class is taught by a Haitian woman and has been successful in giving each woman the ability to read and write in their own language.  It is very important that these women become literate if they are to provide for their families.  Being literate gives a woman the ability to know truth about prices at the store, contracts they sign for their children to go to school, medicinal dosages as well as the Word of God.  Learning to read and write also enables them to go through our sewing program.  

 

Sewing Class

 

Our first sewing class started on February 18, 2008 with fifteen women and seven graduated.  Five of the women who graduated have started to earn money from their sewing skills.  Even those who did not complete the class have gained skills that are allowing them to earn some money.  Three of the graduates have earned enough money to purchase their own sewing machines.   In fact, one woman has made enough money that she has been able to bring her children back from the village so that they can live with her and have her raise them.   Within a six month time frame she has earned about 6 years worth of wages (half of it going back to her business). None of the women that started the program were able to provide for their families before the class.  Most of them worked as merchants buying and selling products, but unfortunately, most of the merchants end up in debt to those who provide them goods as they are unable to sell enough goods at a high enough price.  This class has been a miracle for these ladies as they can now provide for their families in a positive and healthy way.

 

We are allowing the women who graduate from the sewing class the option to work at our facility several days during the week when our facility is not being used by other programs.  We provide the material, machine and a safe place and then each woman gets to keep 50% of the sales proceeds from each item they make.  We currently have an onsite store to sell the bags and other items made by the women.  As women earn enough money they will buy their own machines and be able to work out of their homes.  

 

For more information, please see the Heartline Ministries Web Site.