From a Church's Calling to a Foundation's Mission

Where It Began

A Church That Refused to Look Away

La Paix Foundation did not begin with a business plan or a grant proposal. It began with a pastor's conviction that the church is not a building — it is a people who choose to love their neighbors, no matter the cost.

Pastor Elysee Joseph and his wife Yolette Joseph are Haitian-Americans who have given decades of their lives to seeing the gospel take root in Northern Haiti. Long before there was a formal foundation, there was a church: Eglise Evangelique de la Paix — the Evangelical Church of Peace. From that church came a vision: train local pastors, plant more churches, and serve the community that surrounds them.

That vision grew organically. As the church community gathered and grew, so did the needs it encountered. Children in the surrounding neighborhood had no school. Young men with a calling to ministry had nowhere to be trained. Families struggled to put food on the table. And so, one step at a time, the church became something more.

Building the Institut Théologique de la Grâce

The first formal program was a theological institute — Institut Théologique de la Grâce (ITG), or Grace Theological Institute. Grounded in the belief that the local church is the hope of the world, ITG launched a 3-year Bible education program in Cap-Haïtien to equip pastors and lay leaders to take the gospel back to their communities.

Today, ITG has produced four graduating classes of trained church leaders who are actively planting and serving churches across Northern Haiti — in villages, in neighborhoods, and in communities that desperately need the presence of a healthy local church.

When the Children Couldn't Go to School

In 2013, a medical professional named Babak Iranmanesh went on a mission trip to Cap-Haïtien. He kept noticing the same thing: children in the neighborhood surrounding the campus, every day, just wandering outside. Not in school. Not because they didn't want to go — but because they couldn't afford it. Even Haiti's public schools charge fees that many families simply cannot meet.

That conversation became a school. École Communautaire de la Grâce — the Community School of Grace — opened its doors and has been growing ever since. Today it serves over 120 children with quality, Christ-centered education and a daily hot meal — the only hot meal many of them will receive that day.

Haiti: A Crisis That Doesn't Make Headlines Every Day

Haiti has faced earthquake, hurricane, COVID-19, political assassination, rising gang violence, fuel shortages, and rampant food insecurity — often simultaneously. Inflation has made daily life nearly impossible for ordinary families. At least 40% of Haiti's population lives in food insecurity. Work is almost nonexistent for many.

In the midst of all of this, our team stays. Our teachers come to school. Our students show up. Our pastors preach and serve. Not because the situation is easy, but because they believe that abandoning the community is not an option.

La Paix Foundation: The Next Chapter

In February 2022, La Paix Foundation was formally registered as an assumed name under Eglise Evangelique de la Paix Inc. in the State of Florida — giving our work a legal structure, greater accountability, and the ability to attract broader support.

Under the leadership of Chairwoman Loudrige Simon — Pastor Elysee and Yolette's daughter — the foundation is entering a new chapter. Loudrige brings fresh energy, strategic vision, and an unwavering commitment to serve those who need it most. She is reshaping the foundation's outreach, communication, and fundraising to ensure that the work on the ground in Haiti is supported by a world-class organization.

The mission hasn't changed. The urgency has only grown.