Impact Report - July 2026
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 17 hours ago
Graduates working on a Burn Pit Project
Full Circle. 100%. A Title in Hand.
The recent earthquake in Colombia is a sobering reminder of why Extollo exists. As devastating as that disaster has been, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed more than 230,000 people and left over a million injured — roughly 100 times the current death toll in Colombia. Haiti's vulnerability wasn't just geological. It was structural. Buildings that should have stood, didn't. And the gap between those two outcomes comes down, in large part, to who built them and how well they were trained.
That's the long game Extollo is playing. And July was a month that showed just how much progress is being made on it.
There's a moment that happens in good organizations — not often, but unmistakably — when you realize the thing you've been building is starting to build itself. Harry, a graduate of Extollo partner, Holistic Haitian Alliance, and of Extollo's own trade school, stood in front of a classroom this month and taught masonry to students from his own community. His class passed at 100%. Graduates Théophile, Junior, and Herns built a burn pit for that same community — applying skills from Extollo's classroom to a structure their neighbors will use every day. And Vanessa stepped into her role as Lead Electrical Trainer, ready for this moment because someone invested in her.
That's not a strategic plan. That's fruit. And it's exactly what Extollo has been working toward.
Harry Comes Home to Teach
When Career Day drew an unexpectedly strong wave of enthusiasm for masonry, the trade school didn't put students on a waitlist and move on. They launched an unscheduled summer class — and they handed the lead instructor role to Harry.
Harry is an HHA graduate. He's an Extollo graduate. He earned a perfect practical score in Concrete Level 1 back in April. And in July, he came back to teach peers from the community that shaped him, supported by three-time Extollo graduate Miala as Assistant Trainer.
The result? A 100% pass rate.
That number matters. But what matters more is what it represents — a graduate who didn't just absorb what Extollo taught him; he gave it back. Teamwork and respect, lived out in a classroom in Cap-Haïtien.
Vanessa Steps Up
The summer Electrical class has a new Lead Trainer: Vanessa. This moment has been in the making since Dan Schulze first began intentionally mentoring her earlier this year, building her confidence and deepening her technical knowledge session by session. July was the payoff.
Joining her as Assistant Trainer is Jocely — a University graduate with prior electrical and plumbing experience who impressed everyone during the May Electrical class with both his skills and his natural instinct for teaching. The curriculum was modified to meet secondary students where they are, with plenty of hands-on challenge built in. The class wraps in August.
This is what a training organization looks like when it's doing it right: not importing expertise indefinitely, but developing it locally and then stepping back. Initiative that multiplies itself.
Graduates Build Something That Lasts
The HHA Burn Pit practicum was one of the month's most meaningful projects — and one of the most satisfying to report on.
Extollo graduates Théophile, Junior, and Herns took on the build as a live practicum, guided by Vladimyr and Yves. They constructed a CMU block and concrete structure designed for maximum structural integrity. They learned what it takes to do it right — not just for a grade, but for a community that will use what they built. The project launched and completed within the designated timeframe.
And in a story that keeps getting better, Alumni Association member Mackendy — who has been working toward completing a custom bunk bed project with tools and PPE provided through donor support — joined the team on site to fabricate the burn pit's metal gate. He's not just building his business. He's showing up for his community.
Champin: The Title is Here
After months of surveys, follow-ups, bureaucratic patience, and more follow-ups — the legal ownership title for the Champin property has been sent to the Northern region for local registration. It is expected to be in Extollo's hands any day.
This is a milestone that has been years in the making. Champin becoming a fully titled, operational campus changes the scale of what Extollo can build in northern Haiti — literally and figuratively. The fence sections are fabricated. The infrastructure is being designed. Underground work is next. The steel building containers from China are clearing customs. The property is coming alive.
The Fabrication Team Keeps Delivering
While the big milestones grab headlines, the fabrication team had a quietly remarkable month. All ten-foot fence sections for the Champin fence project are complete — next up: the posts. Cafeteria table sets for both adults and children were finished as part of Extollo Business product development. A container jack stand was fabricated to safely support containers during unloading. Five of the ten donated (Thanks Community Presbyterian Church!) concrete picnic tables were delivered to HHA, the University of Limonade, and the PNH (Police National Haiti) station near the university — and all three recipients responded with deep gratitude. Two more are headed to Emmaus House in August.
The Extollo name was also painted on the boom of the boom truck this month. Small detail. Big signal.
New Team Members, New Capacity
July brought meaningful additions to the team. Kedesh was selected from a competitive pool of candidates and onboarded on July 13th as Purchasing Clerk — a role that will ease the logistical burden that has been stretching Clenson and Jonathan thin. Welcome, Kedesh.
An internship contract was also signed with Nehemy, the civil engineering student who has been contributing motivation and capacity to the construction team. His contract runs through August 30th.
The team also installed a water pump at the police station near the University of Limonade — funding the installation of a submersible pump that is now operational and providing water to the station. Extollo showing up for its neighbors, not just its students.
"Unless the Lord Builds the House"
The July Prayer Campaign invited Extollo's community to lift up students, trainers, and staff by name — and the responses that came back were something the team didn't expect. Encouragement. Testimony. A shared sense that this work is bigger than any of us can measure or plan for.
Watching Harry return to teach. Watching graduates build something lasting for their neighbors. Watching a title make its way through the final steps of registration. These aren't things a strategic plan produces on its own. They're the result of faithful people, sustained effort, and a God who has been generous in ways the team didn't ask for and couldn't have engineered.
Fuel the Mission Campaign
This spring, Extollo supporters came together and fully funded a brand-new kitchen for the Construction Trade School in Haiti. Goal met. Kitchen purchased. It's being shipped to Haiti and will be installed on campus — a real, tangible result of your generosity.
We want to take a moment to say: thank you. What you helped make possible is real, and it's on its way.
But here's what we're thinking about now:
A kitchen is only as good as what comes out of it.
Our students show up every day to learn trades that will rebuild Haiti — welding, electrical, construction. They pay a portion of their own tuition because they believe in their future. They are not passive recipients of charity; they are invested, motivated people doing serious work.
They deserve to be fed while they do it.
This August, we're launching our annual scholarship and operational campaign — and this year, it picks up right where the spring left off. We're raising the ongoing support needed to make and serve 125 meals every week to our students and staff once that kitchen is up and running.
Each meal costs $5. That's $625 a week. $32,500 a year.
We're asking people to make a one-time gift — or to join our monthly donor crew and make this a commitment that keeps the kitchen running long after it opens.
Thank you for being in this with us.
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