Greetings from Health for Haiti. Haiti continues to suffer from instability, unrest, and widespread violence. Nearly half the population does not have enough to eat and thousands of children are denied access to education because it is not safe enough to attend school. However, in rural Grande Saline, our community gardens are thriving and the 2023-2024 school term is in session. We are hopeful that it will be another successful year for our students and teachers.
Last year a record 252 students attended our school. This is amazing considering that back in 2014 when Health for Haiti started, there was only a small number of children attending class in the church. Along with an education, students received a school lunch provided in part by rice and vegetables grown in the community gardens. Despite the ongoing challenges in Haiti, Health for Haiti has continued to invest in the community school. We have used donation money to help support professional development for the teachers and school supplies for the students. And there has been much to celebrate and be proud of!
During the 2022/2023 term we had our second class of ninth graders, and these students were able to participate in the national exams taken by all ninth grade students in Haiti. These exams require travel to a national testing site for three days of rigorous exams. While our 2021/2022 class had the distinction of being the first group of students from this area to participate in the national exams in almost forty years, our 2022/2023 class (pictured below) distinguished themselves and their teachers by achieving a 100% pass rate on the exams. This is strong evidence of the high quality of education being offered at the Health for Haiti partner school.
As a result of the high quality of education being offered at our school, and the instability forcing the closure of some schools in affected areas, we have seen a rise in enrollment and attendance. While tuition payments are helping to pay teachers and purchase supplies, we are in desperate need of funds to construct additional suitable learning spaces for our students.
We are striving to meet the challenge to serve these bright and motivated students who inspire us daily with their drive to obtain an education. We hope to raise funds to help the community to build another classroom. The students are extremely crowded and another learning space and more desks would be a tremendous help.
As part of this effort, Health for Haiti is proud to introduce a few of our talented students and and share some personal messages from them:
“Hello! I have been attending school for several years now and know all the hard times we have experienced since the time when all classrooms were only at the church building. Now I’m proud to see all the changes that we have made. I have no words to express my happiness for this excellent school that we have now.”
Doubensky, Age 12
“I’m happy to be in a strict institute to educate and transform future leaders for Haiti. I wish to become an engineer to be able to someday realize great construction plans. I love my school!”
Carl-Henri, Age 12
“Hello! I live in the neighborhood of the school. I heard about the good results and performance of this school. Now I’m happy to actually be one of the students who is making great results here.”
Pierrelande, Age 12
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“Hello, Friends! I live miles away from the school and I have to walk an hour and half to get here. But I do this without any problem or complaining because I wanted to be in this school. I love my school but now we’re facing a space issue to fit enough students, and I know there are others who still hope to be here as well. We need room to learn.”
Tamar, Age 12
“Hello, friends! I am originally from another region. Due to gang violence where I was, there are no classes in the whole area at all. My family moved here in Grande Saline and we heard great things about the school. We decided to make it our choice and now I’m very proud and happy to be in a good place to learn.”
Gelinda, Age 13
“Hello, Friends. I’m excited to be here because it was my dream to be a student of this school. I am so proud to be in a place where discipline and excellence are taught. Thank you to my parents for making this good choice for me, and thank you helping to support my education.”
Nicodème, Age 13
We are proud of the students who were featured in this post and of their hard-working classmates and teachers who continue to face challenges with optimism and hope. Although we are not able to visit in person, SUNY Broome Health for Haiti is committed to continuing to support our partners in Haiti by investing in clean drinking water, community gardens and farms, and quality education.
If you would like to make a donation to Health for Haiti, please visit our website: https://healthforhaiti.org/ and click on “Support Health for Haiti”. Thank you to our community and we are grateful for the continued support from the Health for Haiti family!
