ABOUT US

After the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, I volunteered on a medical service mission where I spent ten brutal days visiting hospitals and supporting daily clinics in emergency camps in Jacmel and Miragoâne. Although I lacked medical training, I did my best to serve in any capacity I could. This experience fundamentally changed me and upon my return to the US I resolved to do whatever I could to improve the lives of those in my homeland, especially the children.

The following year, with the help of my sister-in-law Suzette and a close friend Esther, we organized a “backpack” mission, where we would provide school supplies in backpacks for school age children. We shared the idea with others in our community and with our pooled donations we were able to purchased 450 backpacks and fill them with everyday essentials such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, deodorant, in addition to school supplies. In July 2011, seven of us travelled to Haiti and delivered these backpacks to two schools. The students’ smiles as well as those of their parents, teachers, and school directors inspired us to do more.

In May 2012, I turned 40. Following tradition my family planned a party and asked me what I’d like for my birthday. My answer was simple; “I’d like all the guests to bring a check in the amount of $40 to be used toward a project I’m currently working on.” I was able to collect a few thousand dollars, which became to seed capital for Haiti ABC Foundation Inc. established in March 2013.

Recent Missions

Summer 2013:

We partnered with BuildOn as they were renovating Ecole Pavillon in Cavaillon where we were responsible for providing daily meals to laborers until completion of the project.
We collected then delivered 600 pairs of sneakers to two schools, Ecole Sarepta in Mirgoâne, Ecole Pavillon in Cavaillon, and the Fond Parisien community.

Summer 2015:

We renovated Ecole Sarepta in Miragoâne by providing new benches, blackboards, and other necessary equipment.

This journey began as a simple desire to volunteer and has now become our passion. We strive to avoid politics and partisan issues that would detract us from doing our best to provide every child with the opportunity to achieve their full potential. We truly believe Nelson Mandela’s words, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Thus, our ultimate goal is to one day construct our own educational academy.

Why Haiti

According to a UNICEF study, almost half of all primary school-age children in Haiti do not attend school and Haitian public schools have the capacity to serve only one quarter of the school-age population. The economic, infrastructural and educational systems are still broken from years of poverty, hurricanes and the devastating earthquake that occurred in 2010. We believe that if empowered and given the right resources and opportunities, Haitians can build Haiti into the great nation that their founding fathers envisioned.

Students

In many schools in Haiti, textbooks are in short supply and have been used so constantly that the pages have been torn off. For many students, paper, pens and pencils are also rare to find. When students don’t have the supplies and resources needed in the classroom, they become dis-engaged and detached from their learning environment and educators are challenged to instill the value of education to the students.

At Haiti ABC Foundation, we believe that the lack of educational supplies and resources continues to plague the educational system and success in Haiti. Our goal is to ensure that every student at our partner schools has the educational tools, supplies and resources needed to be successful in the classroom. We believe that by providing students with backpacks, pencils, pens and notebooks, clean uniforms and shoes, we also help alleviate the cost to parents and families struggling to pay for their children’s supplies and attendance. Every supply, resource and dollar towards a student lessens the burden on an impoverished family in Haiti.

Classrooms

After many numerous hurricanes and the devastating earthquake of 2010, a study found that 65% of schools had been destroyed after the earthquake, and many of those remaining were in urgent need of repair. In many underdeveloped parts of the country, the classrooms are usually without windows, doors, or a ceiling, separated by a dirty sheet. The rooms are dark, poorly ventilated and have no blackboards or other learning aids. These classroom environmental challenges send a message to students, teachers and the community, giving them doubts about the importance and the value of their education.

At Haiti ABC Foundation, we believe that there is a direct connection in the relationship between the classroom environment, student/teacher relationships, behavior and academic achievement of students. Our goal is to rebuild classrooms and create a comfortable academic infrastructure, allowing students the opportunity to find success in the classroom.

Your unrestricted financial donation or in-kind donation of supplies and resources will help us rehabilitate classrooms and create an enriching environment where students can thrive.

Teachers

Adult literacy in Haiti is variously reported as 52.9% [World Factbook] and 65.3% [United Nations]. The World Bank estimates that in 2004 over 80% of college graduates from Haiti were living abroad, with their remittances home representing 52.7% of Haiti’s GDP. The role of teachers in preparing Haiti’s children for the future of the country was taken for granted. The success of teaching and learning is strongly influenced by the resources made available to support the process. Schools without fair salary for teachers, textbooks or learning materials will not be effective.

At Haiti ABC we believe that small items such as pencils and notebooks, text books, maps, construction paper, copy paper and staplers promote learning. We provide teachers with academic resources, school-based teacher training and intense mentoring and partnerships. We work with teachers to give them the opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge and equipment they need to provide high quality teaching. We provide training so that teachers have a good knowledge of the syllabus and can use up-to-date, gender sensitive and inclusive teaching methods which enable all students to participate thoroughly during lessons.