Gap Year - 7 Great Opportunities

Fill in the Gap!

Are you, or someone you know, planning to take a year off between high school and college? College and grad school? School and starting a career? Consider these Gap Year opportunities with Mission of Hope International! You're sure to have an amazing experience, it will look great on your resume next year when you decide to continue your education or begin your career, and it will change you from the inside out.

These are all volunteer positions. The ones in Haiti are full time, with flexible break times, and will require fundraising to support yourself in Haiti. US opportunities can be full time (self supporting or raise funds) or part time (you could work a part-time job to support yourself). All run from October 2017 through June 2018.

MOHI Education Cooperative Director (Haiti) -
We are looking for a high school or college graduate with a love of learning and a heart for children being raised on the mission field in missionary families.
You will assist missionaries in educating their children in a missionary community setting; communicate regularly with MOHI directors, parents, students and advisers; research and choose a curriculum that will best fit the student and family needs; teach a small group of children, 3 days a week; You are not required to have a teaching degree (if you have one, that's great, too). This opportunity is sure to expand your mind beyond what you've imagined. Alicia filled this role this past school year and shares some of her thoughts about it below. If you're at all interested, please be sure to read what she has to say!
Extended Learning Coordinator (Haiti) -
We are looking for a creative soul to work with groups of students in areas of study that interest them, but are not necessarily part of the regular school curriculum.
You will be involved in programs in some or all of these areas (depending on your skills set): creative arts (drama, music, film, creative writing, graphic design, photography and visual arts), ballet and other creative dance forms, martial arts, and sports. This would also encompass the library, computer lab, and English club at the Thozin campus of MOHI.
Vocational Education Coordinator (USA) -
We are looking for an organized and outgoing individual to coordinate a vocational training plan for our high school students.
You will oversee the creation of a vocational curriculum, coordinate with churches, businesses, and individuals that are already involved in vocational training at MOHI, coordinate with MOHI directors, Haitian and US staff, and actively recruit others with transferable skills that would come to Haiti to share them with our students.
Marketing Intern at Sir Isaac (Salem, MA, USA) -
Sir Isaac is a creative marketing firm that has been doing pro-bono work for MOHI for the past 3 years. They are looking for a part-time or full-time Nonprofit Marketing Communications Intern.
You will help manage communications for an awesome nonprofit client (MOHI and others, as well), gaining experience in everything from social media, to advertising, blogs, to events.
Community and Economic Development Coordinator (USA and/or Haiti) -
We are looking for a business and finance minded individual to coordinate business and development opportunities for our communities in Haiti - starting with Grand-Goave.
You will start by analyzing the economic situation in Grand-Goave, talk with business owners, merchants, and consumers to identify areas of consumer need that are not met, followed by developing creative business ideas, and coordinating with MOHI's vocational education department.
Hospitality Coordinator (Haiti) -
We are looking for a caring, outgoing individual who loves to make people feel welcome, has a working knowledge of kitchen affairs, and pays attention to detail.
You will oversee the beachfront, missionary compound in Grand-Goave, Haiti. This involves overseeing local staff, coordinating with MOHI directors and staff in the US and Haiti, menu planning, staff training, preparing shopping lists, continuous inspections of facilities for cleanliness and maintenance issues, coordinating with maintenance staff to resolve any issues quickly.
Maintenance Coordinator (Haiti) -
We are looking for an active, detail oriented individual who strives for excellence in every area of life.
You will oversee maintenance staff, coordinate with the MOHI local management team and mission directors, observe maintenance issues and create action plans to resolve them, you ensure everything is functioning and buildings and equipment are aesthetically pleasing.

By the way, you don't HAVE to be entering a "gap year" in order to get involved. Lex and I had two babies when we felt the Lord was calling us to Haiti. Some of the most wonderful missionaries I've met have been retired couples who chose to invest their golden years into the Haitian people. Many have fallen in love with Haiti and decided to just step outside of the box and do something daring and adventurous...even when, like me, they don't necessarily feel like they are the adventurous type.

You can help us to locate the people to fill these important positions. Please share this information with friends, family, co-works, and classmates. Would you also join us in praying about these positions, as well? Thank you! I am confident the Lord has people ready and eager to join us in investing in the future of Haiti!

We're excited to welcome a team from Bless Back Worldwide this week. They will be holding our annual Women's Health Fair all week long. Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook and follow along this week to see what they are up to. I love the mission of this organization, "You are blessed. Now bless back." YES!!!

Alicia's Time in Haiti as the

MOHI Education Cooperative Director

Hi! My name is Alicia D’Olimpio. I am 25 years old, and have recently returned from a 10 month stint in Grand Goâve, Haiti, with the organization Mission of Hope International (MOHI).

I was the teacher at our MOHI Education Cooperative, a homeschool initiative that was an opportunity for children of different missionary families throughout Grand Goâve to come together in a ‘classroom’ experience. From September 2016 to June 2017, I had six students, and we held school three days a week from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. I taught subjects that included Bible, Science, Language Arts, and Math. Because of the different ages in our classroom, different content was taught to different groups separately, but there was a lot of time for whole group interaction, which allowed the different ages learn and play together.

For those of you who know me, I am a Boston sports girl through and through. So, many times when I speak or write, I use sports analogies. Bear with me as I use one to describe the past ten months of my time in Haiti.

As an experienced preschool teacher of eight years, I went into this experience knowing that it was a whole different ball game. But, I quickly came to ﬁnd out that this different ball game was going to be the best, most life changing ‘nine innings’, if you will, of my entire life.

The ﬁrst difference in this game was the more obvious one. It wasn’t in a ﬁrst world country. I didn’t have the same access to materials, resources, and other easily accessible things as I did in the States. But, this made me think OUTSIDE the typical ‘teacher box’ that I didn’t even know I was in. It made the activities and lessons more original, it gave me a chance to stretch my brain and creativity level as well as the kids’, and it provided for a genuinely fun learning atmosphere. There were room for mistakes; there was room for growth, for both teacher and student.

The second difference was that it wasn’t a typical school/classroom environment. It didn’t have four walls, it didn’t have hallways, it didn’t have a gymnasium. What it DID have was an outdoor structure called a ‘choukoun’, with the beach as our background. We had a playground, generously provided by and built for by the students’ parents, we had science opportunities all around us, and we had the ability to take our ‘classroom activities’ and make them larger than any four walls would ever allow.

The third difference was one I found out more about towards the second month of school. Class and homework time had to be ﬂexible. VERY ﬂexible. There are a lot of different things that can inﬂuence a schedule in Haiti than in the States, so patience on every side (teacher, students, and parents) was key. I feel like in the States there is so much rush to get things done, to reach this and that academic benchmark, to achieve this many assignments in this amount of time; there is almost SO much of that, that I feel like children can be stiﬂed in the process. Teaching in this environment in Haiti allowed me to see what time taken with the process instead of rushing to complete the product positively does for the student.

I would recommend this opportunity to anyone who loves to teach children, but who also loves to teach themselves. Not just about academics, either; about life. I learned so much while I was in Haiti, in and out of the classroom. I learned about my profession of teaching, but I also learned about the impact of surroundings and environments on human beings, mainly children. I also learned what it means to go out into the community you live in, and to be a part of it. Do your job; but go the extra mile and make an impact, both in your profession and around it.

Teaching missionary children in a third world country also allows you to look at the upcoming generation of this world and have hope. The students I had in the classroom are so bright, so loving, so compassionate, and it gave me a whole new outlook on life.