Founders Windy Gelin, Civil Engineer is the motivation behind our mission and Yvens Gelin, Electrician two brothers, education lover. Their parents from Fonds-Verettes and they born into extreme poverty in Fonds Parisien, Haiti.
They changed the course of their life’s trajectory through education. Working in education field since 2012, by researchers and support through scholarships study for the young because they vowed to create a hopeful future for not only them, but for their nation at large.
Education Is The Key To A Better Future
Windy Born in Haiti, in a modest earthen house with wooden slats, epitomizing rustic authenticity. The three stone firepits in our local kitchen were central to preparing traditional meals, symbolizing a life intertwined with nature and rich cultural traditions, and first exposure to vodou.
In 2010, after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, my parents lost their jobs, and everything collapsed. It was a difficult year for me as a high school student. My siblings and I couldn’t even afford school supplies; we had to write all our lessons in a single notebook. However, God touched the heart of one of my cousins Sadrack Michel, who decided to support me throughout that school year. This support was incredibly significant to me and taught me the value of lending a helping hand in times of hardship. Since then, I’ve felt a deep connection with young people who want to go to school but lack the means to do so.
In 2014, while I was in college, and by God’s grace and wisdom, I started working as a draftsman. This job enabled me to offer scholarships to some of the young people in the scout group I was leading at the time. Later, in 2018, along with four friends, we founded Collège Shamma de Fonds Parisien (COSHAF), a school that serves children from families with limited financial means.
Today, COSHAF serves approximately 200 children and is led by one of the former scholarship recipients. My younger brother Yvens, also a scholarship beneficiary, is now working at MEMBER 1st in Pennsylvania. Many other scholarship recipients are also making significant progress in their lives.
When I reflect on what God has done in my life and the lives of the young people I’ve supported, I see countless reasons to thank Him for this mission. It also reinforces the need to do even more. We ask the Lord for strength and courage to help more children and youth while supporting their parents, many of whom are subsistence farmers. This mission God has placed on our hearts can be summarized as: “GO AND DO THE SAME!”
Windy’s faith
He converted in May 2023 at Eglise Bethel Assemblée Chretienne de Fond Parisien and received the baptism of his savior Jesus Christ on March 2024 at Community Evangelical Free Church of Harrisburg after experiencing Vodou, Haitian Freemasonry and being a lay leader of the Episcopal Church of Haiti. His first book “Journey of the Soul of a Haitian” on these experiences is in preparation.
Windy’s career
His career as a civil engineer who had been interviewed by PennDOT for an intern position, which is established in the Central Office of Highway Administration. The purpose of this position is to prepare for a Civil Engineer position in the Highway Administration Deputate by completing the 12-month Civil Engineer Training program.
Founder and general manager of the online library highlighting their beauty and the hidden wealth of Fond Parisien, his birth district: Bibliyotèk ak Achiv Vityèl Toussaint General Vil | www.bavtoussaintgvil.com/about
Co-founder and CEO of the Société de Génie et architecture - Constructions (SOGA-COS) since 2019, a technical design office specializing in the construction of public and private buildings as well as road drainage.
His service with SOGA-COS with potential clients such as Love a Child, Vorbe et Fils matériaux de construction, farmers John, FBM Pennsylvania and the Maison des Enfants Handicapés testifies to his commitment to projects with a strong social impact.
His responsibility in more than twenty residential house construction projects since 2017 strengthen his determination to provide quality solutions.
In addition, he is co-founder College Shamma de Fond Parisien in 2018 and co-founder of G-WIN Multi-Services at Fonds Parisien in 2014.
He was also the chief manager of sanitation projects in 2013 and 2014, covering respectively 5 km of the national road #8 in Fond Parisien and 1.5 km from the Jimanie-Malpasse border.
On the social front, he has participated in several pleadings on the threats of the Lastic River, the behaviors to adopt before, during and after an earthquake and he has contributed to radio programs, in religious crusades and schools.
It is with determination and passion that he is committed to these various spheres to contribute
positively to our society.
