41 Years of Impact!

Written by Director Belfort, Lifeline school director
Translated by Raynald M.


Director Belfort with his daughter and wife

I grew up in Cabaret, Haiti. I always loved its beautiful beaches and the vast farm fields which support the local economy. Parents worked hard to send their children to school because they believed in the power of education to help their children get ahead in life.

As a young adult, I learned about Lifeline through my brother, Willio. He was living in western Haiti where he was running a program for vulnerable children to provide them with support of various kinds. In that community, there was a lot of voodoo activity at that time, and so youth and adults were at risk of being drawn into that.

Lifeline Christian Mission became aware of Willio's work and came alongside him. A vision to start a local Lifeline school was born.

I was hired as one of the first employees of the school as a teacher! I appreciated and valued Lifeline’s desire to help vulnerable children have access to education.

In 1981 (41 years ago!) I became the principal of the school. Several generations of students have passed through this school. I am blessed to have worked for God through this wonderful place. 

Bob and Gretchen DeVoe (Lifeline’s founders) were my mentors. They were always supportive of new initiatives that we thought would better serve the students. 

I have now been employed by Lifeline for 4 decades, allowing me to take care of my family and to invest my time in my community. I have gained leadership and mentoring skills, and have learned to be a good servant of God. 

My family is truly a “Lifeline family.” My brother was a teacher at the school, and was thus able to support his family. My wife Julaine has been a teacher at the school for 30 years; with our combined incomes, we are able to support ourselves and have been able to educate our children. We have 7 daughters, most of whom attended the school. In fact, 2 of them (twins Christelle and Christae) now work for the school! 

Because of the impact of Lifeline’s school and church here, many of our students went on to become doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, and more. Without the school, which offers extremely low tuition, a majority of them would not have had the chance to attend school. This is a comfort to parents who otherwise would struggle to educate their children.

God calls on us to be His hands and feet. Over the years of serving Him, He has accompanied me and taught me a lot about Him. His faithfulness gives me the strength to continue working for His glory and kingdom.

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