ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is located about 3 hours from Jeremie. To get there we ride motorcycles about 1 1/2 hours over very bad roads. We then park the bikes and walk for another 1- 1 1/2 hours over mountainous terrain. The children walk for up to an hour to school from their homes. Their parents are mostly eking out a subsistence living by farming. The nearest community is about 2 hours walk for them.

The school is now (2009) entering it's third year. We began with a single kindergarten class with 24 students (ages 4-14). Imagine being a 14 year-old and having your first opportunity to attend school. The second year moved up to what the Haitians call K-2, and a second K-1 class entered with 23 more students. Each of these classes have moved ahead and a third K-1 class has begun. We anticipate continuing this process through what we would call the 5th grade and what the Haitians call Primary 3.

The most amazing thing is that for approximately $50 (see how you can help) we can provide this basic education for one child. This pays for the teacher, a teacher's desk and chair, blackboard, paper, pencils and other basic supplies for child and teacher, benches for the children, and material for their uniforms. Presently there are no books for the children. We also hope that this year we will also be able to provide one meal per day, and that in the next year or two English as Second Language (ESL). We also plan to provide a Creole bible for each child who finishes the third year