Instituto de Formación y Educación Cristiana

Partner with us!

The Institute for Christian Formation and Education / Instituto de Formacion y Educacion Cristiana

For $25 a month, you can sponsor children attending our IFEC program.

About the Program

Over the years, the Dominican Republic’s mountain city of Jarabacoa has seen an influx of refugees from their neighboring country of Haiti. With this has come a clash of cultures and uncertainty for the newly placed Haitian community.

To help bridge this gap, IFEC came into existence. It was started six years ago by missionaries Errol and Igraima Zimmerman. Their goal is to demonstrate the love and light of God to some of the poorest children in the area (both Haitian and Dominican) through tutoring, food, help with legal papers, and especially a knowledge of the Bible. IFEC has 80 students who attend their after-school tutoring program.

Why do these children need your help?

The children in IFEC are from subsistence level families. Most are refugees who fled Haiti because of gang related violence. Conditions are so intolerable in Haiti right now that families will uproot themselves and flee into an unknown future in the Dominican Republic.

Their children struggle in school because they know neither Spanish or English. And even now, while living in Jarabacoa, they have seen their parents taken and sent back to Haiti without knowing when they will return. To create stability, IFEC provides a place where these children can come to learn, to have hope, and to be kids.

In addition, a group of 10 young women assist in IFEC’s programs—teaching Spanish and Bible, and giving the students general help with homework. Several of them are undocumented and IFEC is working to legally help them gain the proper papers needed to stay in the country.

How will your sponsorship help?

— Providing a meal each day (the children are always hungry)
— Salaries for the teachers and assistants who help the children learn Spanish, English, and the Bible

— Paper, pens and materials for learning

— Help selected students to acquire legal documentation

Will you receive updates?

Yes! You will receive two updates a year about the program.