Education
Dr. Lowney and some neighborhood children; their dream is to be able to afford to attend school.
In Haiti, access to elementary and high school is neither free nor compulsory. With average incomes of less than $300 per year, parents cannot afford tuition, uniforms, books, and supplies for their children, depriving them of the right to an education, and ensuring continuing ignorance for the next generations. In fact, estimates are that less than 40 percent of children attend school and less than one percent graduate from high school.
Since 1988, our education programs have provided access to school for poor Haitian children, helping these students learn to read, write, sum, etc. and helping to ensure a better future for themselves as well as their country.
HHF also constructed and fully supports the St. Pierre School, a K-7 school in downtown Jérémie. Over 400 of the poorest children attend this school. HHF also provides a free lunch to the students, usually their only meal of the day. Teachers describe how these children come to school malnourished and lethargic—but within a few months of healthy lunches, they are active and fully participate in class!
L'Ecole St. Pierre, a school in downtown Jérémie, was constructed in 2001 through the generosity and compassion of HHF benefactors. The second story was added in 2007, again through magnanimous donors.
Currently, over 1,700 students are attending school through HHF’s education program and the St. Pierre School. Your gift of $150 will provide for a year’s education for a poor child by providing tuition, uniforms, books, and shoes. (Note: You will not receive a photo of your child—please understand that this ensures that 100% of your donation is used towards the child’s education, not to pay staff administrative fees).
Help provide for the future of Haiti by supporting a needy school child.
Past and current educational efforts of the Haitian Health Foundation, include:
- Supporting the creation of a school to teach welding to street boys—providing them with employable skills. Over 30 boys are in training at one time.
- Supporting the founding of a school of nursing in Jérémie, which graduates 18 nurses each year. The program is one of only five nursing schools in Haiti. HHF also provides a clinical practicum for the nurses in nutrition and public health.
- Continuing to send young men and women to universities in Port-au-Prince for advanced studies, including medical, nursing, medical technology, computer and accounting schools.
HHF also provides a daily lunch to these students. They are so happy to have this nutritious meal—usually their only meal of the day.
