The dream that Pere Rock dared to dream—of building a modern educational complex in Haiti's third largest city, Les Cayes—took a giant leap forward last fall when the board of EPISCOPAL Relief and Development approved a $350,000 grant for the project.

The Rev. Jn-Baptiste Kenol Rock, rector of St. Sauveur Episcopal Church in Les Cayes, passionately believes that the future of his city, and Haiti, depends on gaining access to modern educational methods and new technologies.

The educational complex in Les Cayes, he believes, will provide the city's residents with sorely needed skills and knowledge, generating economic development, jobs, and hope for the future. In Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, hope is hard to come by.

Currently, St. Saveur sponsors a preschool for children ages 3 to 5. More than 200 children attend the school, housed in three overcrowded, mostly open-air classrooms constructed along a wall of the churchyard.

The new complex creates space for a larger kindergarten with adequately sized rooms, a primary school for grades one to six, and a secondary school that would also provide classes in vocational skills and adult literacy.

Courses for youth and adults would emphasize business management skills, vocational training, and computer technology. The school would also enable the preparation of new and better qualified teachers.

In addition to the grant from EPISCOPAL Relief and Development, several other Episcopal churches have pledged support for the school. The funds will both construct the school and provide money for supplies, equipment and initial operating costs.