How we got our name

A wise man walked along the beach one morning. He saw a young man picking up and throwing things into the ocean. The wise man approached the young man and asked, "What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."
The curious wise man countered, “Why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?" The young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in they'll die."

Full of frustration, the wise man answered, "But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely, then bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it out past the breaking waves, turned back to the wise man and said, "It made a difference for that one."
--- Paraphrased From: The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley.

About Us

Starfish Kids--Building Haiti's Future--One Life at a Time

Starfish Kids, a child evangelism ministry of One Mission Society in Haiti, desires to evangelize, mentor and lead more than 7,000 students to the Lord before the end of their sixth grade year. SFKs uses education and student sponsorship to help children go to school and hear the Gospel from their teachers and pastors.

Starfish Kids works directly with our OMS-related Emmaus Fellowship of Churches. They minister in more than 50 churches and 40 schools. Each school has kindergarten through sixth grade, and some of our schools are now offereing secondary education as well. OMS Haiti and Starfish Kids are working to equip a new generation of youth for leadership in their families, churches and communities.

“A nation can best be won by its own sons and daughters.”--- Charles Cowman

Starfish Kids Maintains a Balance of Responsibility:

PARENTS

• pay a small fee towards tuition
• donate time and labor to help the school in areas such as construction, yard clean up, meal preparation, teaching assistance,...

CHURCHES

• pastors lead weekly Bible classes and Saturday "Kids Clubs"

TEACHERS

• are trained to be mentors and evangelists in their classrooms
• attend academic training sessions

STUDENTS

• must maintain a good grade average
• attend Sunday school and church to further their spiritual education

STARFISH KIDS

• provides books and tuition for sponsored students
• provides breakfast for all 7,000 students in the program
• maintains a high level of accountability through regular school visits and financial tracking
• holds yearly training sessions to equip teachers
• communicates with donors via a newsletter at least twice/year

SPONSORS

• pray for their student’s education and for their physical and spiritual health
• provide $25/month sponsorships as God provides

Special Projects
Christmas Bags - $10
Project #404930 (click to provide)
Starfish Kids has partnered with a children’s ministry called Christmas Bags for Haiti. They are a group of people that prepare gift bags for needy children. They are able to do mass purchasing and packing which allows the gift of $10 to go a long way. Each bag is packed full of school supplies, creative learning materials, candies, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a substantial toy. These bags will be flown into Haiti in December ready for distribution before the holidays. Shipping costs are already in the $10 cost!

Build a Bench - $80
Project #404470 (click to provide)
Help us build benches for our overcrowded schools. Each sturdy bench is 8-feet long and has a raised desk top with storage underneath. These benches are used 5 days a week for the children in school and for all the church services. Each bench is built in Haiti for only $80.

Haiti-School Food Depots
Project #0407200
FULLY FUNDED! THANK YOU!
One Mission Society has partnered with a Haitian government organization that provides hot meals to school children. Many of our schools are still waiting to get into the program but don’t have the required secure food storage room for the rice, beans and oil. OMS has access to the food, the means of delivery, cooking materials, volunteer cooks and hungry children, but we don’t have storage rooms. It will cost $2,000 USD to build each 10' x 10' x 10' room with a secure door. Any gifts for this important cause can be sent to OMS USA, attention project #0407200 or to OMS Canada, project “Haiti-School Food Depots.”

Donate, Support and Sponsor

Support of Starfish Kids can take place in in several ways:

• You can choose your special student to donate to monthly by contacting Cindy Lenker at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• You can also make a one-time contribution that will provide classroom essentials.
• You can pray for this ministry.

OMS ministers in Haiti through many others ministries as well. Check out: Radio 4VEH – The Evangelical Voice of Haiti website.

Would you or your friends be interested in supporting OMS ministries in Haiti? OMS specializes in forming, equipping and sending short-term teams into Haiti for ministry support.

Your team could:

• Build benches for the Emmaus Church Schools
• Perform maintenance at Bethesda Medical Clinic, Emmaus Bible College, Radio 4VEH or the OMS missionary compound.
• Help build a church sanctuary/school or a Homes for Haiti house.

For more information on short-term trips, visit Men for Missions.

Contact Us

Correspondence addresses:

Donations

Starfish Kids Project 403550
One Mission Society
PO Box 1648
Monument, CO 80132

Phone Numbers

US: 317.888.3333  Fax: 317.888.5275
Canada: 800.784.7077

Statistics

• Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
• 80% of the population lives below the poverty line.
• 90% of adults are unemployed.
• Life expectancy is 51 years.
• 80% of Haitians are functionally illiterate.
• 50% the population openly practicing voodoo.
• 42% of the population is under the age of 15.