> ABOUT CFI
CFI is a cross-cultural, non-denominational community of believers supporting a mission located on a five-acre campus near Ranquitte, Haiti, a village in the north central mountains of that country. CFI now works with a second generation of Haitians being raised up to lead the local programs. It's all about giving our Haitian friends hope and a future...
The
CFI Philosophy
The philosophy of CFI
is to support, equip, and otherwise empower gifted Haitian leaders to teach,
heal, train, and restore their own people and their own land. CFI is not a
white American organization set on achieving white American goals and
requiring a white American presence. Americans and Haitians are partners in
the overall effort.
CFI's History
The Founding Fathers of CFI first visited
Haiti in 1977, after having worked in Peru and Jamaica, and became acquainted
with Ducange and Ivy Salomon in 1980 (Ducange is now deceased). It was then
that they began a cooperative effort with the Salomons in Ranquitte to develop
that community with schools, health services, churches, dental services, and
construction projects.
CFI Today
Our ministry today is
centered around a school system which is providing a quality education
to over 900 students! Each day they also get a meal and a Bible lesson, to
show them that God cares and we care, and to help give them hope and a future.
While our focus is the school, we are also strategically helping develop those
areas which we believe will most benefit the children and their community.
Our additional areas of ministry are:
1. A health clinic which
provides care on a "pay-if-you-can" basis. One Registered Nurse and two Assistants
are employed there.
2. A clean water project
seeking to maintain over a dozen wells in and around the Ranquitte community.
Wells provide the best chance for clean water, which reduces illness and
death.
3. A soil conservation/reforestation project to recover stripped land and help grow food.
4. Vocational training services such as woodworking, crafts, sewing, and welding.
5. A Microloan program to help capable individuals become established in small businesses.
* Items 3 -5 are on hold or at a maintenance level due to current finances. We look forward to restoring these as needed funding becomes available.
Getting There
To get to Ranquitte one
would first take a commercial flight to Port-au-Prince (PAP). Ranquitte is
located about 100 miles northeast of PAP and is 11 miles from Pignon, a town
with a small airport that has a dirt landing strip. Mission Aviation Fellowship
(MAF) makes regular and chartered flights daily from PAP to Pignon. The MAF
planes are single-engine Cessnas and carry six people, including the pilot,
and a maximum load of 1000 pounds. After arrival at Pignon it is necessary
to travel the last 11 miles to Ranquitte by truck, preferably one with four-wheel
drive. The average cost of a
trip for each individual is $1300.
Who & Where
The official mailing
address of CFI is PO Box 827, Richmond, KY 40476.
The Board of Directors includes Executive Committee members Dr. Raymond C. Jackson, President; Dr. Greg McMorrow, Vice-President; John Craft,
Treasurer, and Scott Mandl, Stateside
Coordinator.
At-Large Board Members are Barry Benton, Tom Bledsoe, Ron Coffman, Brenda
Cooper, Lowell Jenks and Al Niedbalski.
Over 400 people of various skills and professions have
traveled to Haiti with/for CFI over the past 20 years. All of these people pay
their own expenses and the only salaried individual in the organization is the
Stateside Coordinator.
Trips to Ranquitte are for one week and are currently made on a monthly basis
for various purposes including, but not limited to, construction and upkeep
of our ministry compound, assistance to all the on-going ministries of the
school, clinic and wells, fellowship with and encouragement to our Haitian
partners, and providing the participants, many who will go only one time,
with a life-changing experience.
Questions, Comments & Ideas...
All general questions should be directed to Scott Mandl at CFI's
Stateside Office, located on the second floor of Harper Square, 2150
Lexington Road, Suite I. You can reach him by email at:
scottmandl@aol.com or by
phone at: 859-623-6402.