We are Makarios, which means “blessed” in ancient Greek.  Blessed we are, and it’s our joy to provide hope for a better future to children in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other impoverished nations.

Founded in the spring of 2004 by Executive Director Sharla Megilligan, Makarios is a faith-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization committed to meeting children’s spiritual, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs.

We meet educational needs by operating the Colegio Makarios, or Makarios School, instructing children from three different communities ages three through nine in all core subjects. We also administer academic development programs in Haitian villages, called “bateyes”, on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and support existing outreach efforts that target poor Dominicans in Santiago, the country’s second largest city. Recently we have begun to partner with churches and organizations in other countries such as Southern Sudan, Haiti, Pakistan, and Mexico City, who are striving to develop their own educational outreach programs.

We help meet our students’ physical needs by providing clean drinking water, a vitamin, and two hot meals a day to every child attending school, facilitating access to medical care, and conducting health awareness programs throughout the community. We embrace God’s calling to communicate His love for this particular people group through provision of these physical needs in accordance with what Scriptural directs in Proverbs 31:9 and James 2.

Though we enjoy assisting children in every way, the most important help we can provide is to point them to the loving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in accordance with Luke 4:18. Our greatest passion is introducing our students and their families to a life-changing relationship with Him, as only He can best meet their most dire needs.