7 Things We Learned from Our Haiti Staff Meeting

Our teams from the United States and Haiti joined together to determine future goals for our Haiti location, including the K-8th grade school, the Katherine Nunnally Academy (KNA). Here are 7 key takeaways that will illuminate our path forward:

1. Our Free School, KNA, Answers a Local Call For Help - With the Katherine Nunnally Academy being the only school in the area that allows children to attend for free, it fills a big need in the local community and we are determining more ways to engage the community. Our staff and the community members expressed how essential it is for the community that the services remain free-of-charge. We are also looking to establish parent-teacher alliances, community Bible study, and local events.

2. Expansion is Promising - The 65-acre location has many commerce opportunities and with new partnerships, increasing the local goods and services that we offer will allow for further growth within our neighboring communities.

3. It's Time to Prepare for Skill Development Partnerships - With so many advancements on the property, alliances to increase the skillset of our staff are needed. It is important for us to focus and continue the wildlife infrastructure development on our property but in the neighboring communities. Our discussions led to an incredible awareness of having this as a major focal point for short- and long-term goals.

4. Wildlife is Precious to Our Community - Many underestimate the richness of the soil and natural landscape of Haiti, especially in our area where vast undisturbed wildlife thrives. Black Gold International implements practices to assist in preserving this and are leaders in the area for developing the area to ensure people and wildlife coexist harmoniously. The community appreciates the ability to coexist and with the right structure, this can become one of the most promising features of our region.

5. We Lead in Accessibility to Technology for the Community - Through our meeting, we realized that our local community has learned the importance of technological advancement through its interaction and role at Black Gold International. From our state-of-the-arts generator to the advanced water filtration, and even in our practices. Together, we harvest the ability propel the entire community forward.

6. Let's Focus on our Kids - Children are our future and we found that it is equally important to empower our kids with the same life-changing skills that we offer the adult staff and community members.

7. Environment for Growth - We have established a critically needed environment in the community to harvest growth, theoretically and physically. We understand that coming together on the property and in our spirits through the focus on Jesus and core principles that continue to guide us in our labor will continue to allow our work to flourish.