3... 2... 1... Announcing Countdown to Change, The Haitian Project's online social fundraising campaign for 120 donations in 30 days to support 360 future leaders of Haiti!

While Haiti finds itself in the news again, this time facing political unrest driven by an economy in peril, The Haitian Project (THP) is keeping its sights on the future, providing a real solution through education.

Countdown to Change asks our community to stand for the transformative power of education and ensure the success of LCS students by launching an online fundraiser to bring this message to your own family and friends.

HOW do you do this? It couldn't be easier... or more important!

Click the button below to receive your own unique fundraising page. Set a goal, customize your page if you'd like or use the text we have provided, and easily share your page with friends and family through social media, email and text message. Each week between now and September 16th (the start of school at LCS,) THP will send updates on LCS students and alumni that you can share to inspire your community and remind them to support your campaign.

"Education is the key" for LCS students and for Haiti. Check out the video below to hear Salomon's story (LCS '96, Technical Director at Energy Central).

Haiti needs more success stories like Salomon's. We hope you will join the countdown with us to support our students who bring real change to Haiti!

Each year in Haiti, students in Katryèm (U.S. 9th grade) and Philo (U.S. 12th grade +1) classes are required to take Haiti's National Exam in order to proceed to the next level: from Katryèm (the final year of the fundamental level) to Segond (the first year of secondary level) and from Philo (the final year of the secondary level) to University.

The Haitian Project is proud to announce that 100 percent of this year's Louverture Cleary School Katryèm class has succeeded on the National Exam!

With a historical pass rate now over 99 percent, Louverture Cleary School Santo 5 (LCS) has long held a reputation for excellence in Haiti.

Now we are looking forward to hearing the good news that we know will come from the result of the Philo National Baccalaureate Exam. In the meantime, we celebrate the Katryèm class' perfect result!

Please join us in celebration today by making a donation in honor of each student in the Katryèm class and ensuring that LCS' tradition of success continues for years to come!

Want to help keep this success going? Make a gift today in honor of the Katryèm class! Your donation will be a driving force behind more good students, good scores, and good news!

In a recent report from its Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) identified an educational crisis in Haiti. This crisis is due to a lack of access to education and "brain drain"—the expatriation of those who do receive an education—and contributes to issues of rule of law, violence and instability: Providing young people with good education, together with economic opportunities, would go a long way to addressing some of the root causes of violent crime among young people, including gang violence, which is highly prevalent in the country. (Section C.22, June 2019 UNESCO Report on Haiti)

For over three decades, The Haitian Project (THP) has been addressing these issues directly, providing excellent education through Louverture Cleary School (LCS) as well as university scholarships and connection to employment through LCS' Office of External Affairs. As a result, 85 percent of LCS graduates remain in Haiti while 85 percent of the general populace who receive a university degree leave the country. This UNESCO report affirms that our mission of education is the answer. This crisis cannot be met by supporting efforts to give food, water and housing. Educational missions must be more strongly supported, and you can make a difference by making a donation to THP today!

The June 2019 edition of Haitian Project News is here! CLICK HERE to see what we’ve been up to.

The Haitian Project (THP) is proud to announce the 24th consecutive graduation of Louverture Cleary School Santo 5 (LCS)! This past Saturday, June 15, 2019, the LCS Class of 2019 proudly stood as a promise of hope for Haiti's future. They chose the class name Synergy, as it reflects their deep sense of community and the responsibility they feel to take an active role in improving their society.

Four graduates were chosen to speak at graduation representing the four languages of LCS—Kreyòl, French, English and Spanish. This excerpt is from the speech delivered in English by graduate Lovensky Jean-Louis: 

Our decisions are what lead us to achieve our dreams, even when we are afraid, remembering that courage is not the absence of fear. On the contrary, it is trying despite having fear. Only then will we achieve the impossible.

Please join us in congratulating the graduates of the LCS Class of 2019!

It is a recent tradition for the THP community to celebrate each of LCS’ graduating classes with a symbolic gift of $1 in honor of each graduate for the continuation of THP’s mission. Simply include in the donation note that your gift is in honor of the graduates!

We are proud to announce that Louverture Cleary School Santo 5 (LCS) will graduate its 24th class of servant leaders tomorrow, June 15, 2019! It is a recent tradition for The Haitian Project (THP) community to honor each of LCS's graduating classes with a symbolic gift of $1 per member of the graduating class toward the continuation of THP’s mission.

Please consider giving $40 today in honor of the 40 Philo (US 12th grade +1) students in LCS' Class of 2019.

A few words from members of the Class of 2019:

Q: What are some of your hopes or plans for the future?

A: I want to help others as LCS helped me. Even if I do not have a lot, I can share what I have. Especially my knowledge. I will give some of my salary to hospitals, the poor, and the school systems, because LCS has taught me to share what I have with others.

—Philo student Falonne Fils-Aime

Q: What is something you will always remember about LCS?

A: Being a Louverturian is a gift. Being one means we have leadership skills, speak four languages, and know how to live in community. I think that the word Louverturian will be forever in my mind. I want to continue the mission.

—Philo student Samuel Gustave

Congratulations LCS Class of 2019!

Please join us in honoring our graduates by supporting the education of the LCS students who follow their courageous lead. You, your family, and your local community are welcome to share the success of our graduates by easily hosting a Graduation Celebration!

The Class of 2019 stands out as dynamic and responsible. I can describe them in two words: great leaders. Everyday they are working hard for a better school and to be good examples for the younger students.

—Marjorie Mombrun, Principal, LCS Santo 5

By Patrick Moynihan and Tommy Cody

When small, oft-forgotten countries like Haiti experience high inflation, it does not make the news like a country such as Mexico or Argentina would. However, the people of Haiti are likely to suffer as much or more given that their buying power is already the weakest in our hemisphere.

Whether it is on our radar or not, skyrocketing inflation, unemployment, and a quickly weakening currency are destabilizing an already vulnerable country adding daily to the heightened political unrest. There are ongoing riots in the country asking for answers; some are even asking for the president to step down.

Most recently, as if the situation was not dire enough, the very agency responsible for collecting import taxes—the main source of revenue for the struggling nation other than direct aid—has gone on strike. Workers at the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) want their pay adjusted. Who wouldn’t if your paycheck just lost over 30% of its buying power? However, they may end up with a nose-less face given it is their work that brings in the money the government has to pay salaries.

In the past 12 months, the Haitian gourde has decreased precipitously in value. It now takes over 90 gourdes to purchase one US dollar—it was in the low 60s last June and as little as 45 in 2015. The resulting high inflation (over 25%) is sending an already poor nation into greater poverty and increased political turmoil.

Since Haiti produces very few goods, currency devaluation has a direct and immediate impact on the livelihood of everyday Haitians by increasing the local cost of imported goods. Already struggling, those at the bottom of economy—70% of Haitians—are hurting the worst. However, the economic crisis is severe enough to curtail normal operation of even large businesses.

To take a step back, Haiti’s current economic turbulence is not solely a result of internal issues. The recent failure of Venezuela’s economy is a major factor. How? Out of appreciation for the safe-harbor Haiti provided to Simon Bolivar, the great South American liberator, Venezuela has historically provided Haiti with aid through its PetroCaribe program in the form of subsidized petroleum products. Much like a grotesquely played game of musical chairs or the stomach punch end to a Ponzi scheme, when the Venezuelan subsidy stopped, several politicians and an economy were scrabbling for a place to land.   

Haitian private sector member, Patrick Brun, worries that Haiti’s currency problems have kick-started a treacherous cycle. “Businesses adjust their prices to replacement cost and this drives prices up,” Brun stated. “As a result, people need more gourdes to purchase the same quantity of goods while revenues do not increase.”

Unfortunately, the pattern Brun details above weakens the gourde even more; it causes increased incentive to ‘dollarize’ (to post prices or makes sales in US dollars) the economy. This forces the everyday Haitian to buy dollars—putting more downward pressure on the gourde. This negative cycle places greater stress on families’ budgets, making even small, daily purchases high-stress decisions.

Even those fortunate enough to keep their jobs suffer and risk losing the economic foothold they established for themselves. As Brun warns, Haiti’s middle class is at great risk. “Where higher income households can cope for a limited period of time with the difficulties caused by accelerated devaluation, borderline middle-class households drop quickly below poverty levels,” he stated. What exactly this drop below the poverty line looks like depends on what families value and are able and willing to sacrifice. For many, this means difficult choices with long-term consequences.

Haiti’s recovery from immediate issues has proven near miraculous in the past. This can be attributed to its amazing people and their hearty love and willingness to sacrifice for nationhood. However, a country cannot simply will itself a future. A country must also have a working economy for even the best of people to have a fighting chance. 

Dear Friends, though these issues may seem beyond our control, there is a way you can help.  Please consider a donation to The Haitian Project at this time.  This will help create the financial flexibility to allow us to continue to work with our employees to alleviate the economic issues they are experiencing.  We hope to move forward on salary raises and annual contract payments as a first measure.

GIVE TODAY

Yesterday was National Learn about Composting Day! To celebrate, here’s a look at composting on the Louverture Cleary School Santo 5 (LCS) campus. Because Haiti does not currently have a widespread municipal waste collection program, necessity really has been the mother of invention when it comes to taking care of campus trash. As a good steward of the earth, LCS has developed systems over the years for dealing with refuse.

If you are not an avid composter already, perhaps this update will inspire you to roll up your sleeves this spring and start a compost pile of your own!  

Composting 101—Courtesy of Louverture Cleary School Santo 5! 

Step 1:  Collect food and yard waste.  

Every day, students, staff, and Volunteers place compostable food waste in designated containers to be taken to a large compost pile on campus. Common items include egg shells, fruit and vegetable peelings, and coffee grounds. During netwayaj (clean-up) each afternoon, the containers are emptied at the campus’s environmental center—an outdoor area set against a wall with divided storage for compost, recycling, metal, and materials to be burned.  

Yard waste is also collected each day. Students and staff sweep the campus of any debris that may have fallen on walkways during the day. Piles of leaves, branches, palm fronds, and the occasional fallen mango or coconut not already snatched up by a student are carried in wheelbarrows to the compost pile.

Step 2:  Get Cozy with Your Compost. 

Taking good care of a large community compost pile means feeling comfortable with stepping right into it. Five days a week, a handful of LCS students take pitchforks and turn the compost—flipping it from one side of a cinder block divider to another—taking note of texture, smell, and sections that may be ready for removal.  

Step 3:  Put Good Dirt to Good Use!

Students and Volunteers then sift compost material to divide raw materials from composted soil. Raw materials remain in the pile while the fresh, nutrient-rich compost is divided and spread to beds and gardens around campus. Voila!  

With graduation season now upon us, here’s a look at a Louverture Cleary School graduate who is living the school motto: 

What you receive for free, you must give for free.—Matthew 10:8  

"Living together in community as a family" was Jesula Tintin’s favorite thing as a Louverture Cleary School Santo 5 (LCS) student, she recently explained in an upcoming article for the Haitian Project News. Just as service to one another is an important part of family life, it is also an important part of life on the LCS campus. Because students live at LCS Monday through Friday every week, there are plenty of opportunities to serve. While at LCS, Tintin was a dedicated participant in Ekòl Ankourajman (School of Encouragement), an after-school literacy program run by LCS students for children in the school’s neighborhood. 

Today, Tintin is employed by Plastech Solutions S.A., a Haitian company that manufactures custom-made plastic products in an eco-friendly and socially-responsible way. Tintin manages daily product deliveries to customers and continues to be a person of strong dedication—a skill she honed at LCS. She notes, “Since the day I was selected, I have been doing my best to work as a part of the team and to help the company reach its goals.”  

Tintin was first hired by Plastech Solutions after she had the opportunity to meet its general manager through an appointment secured through LCS’s Office of External Affairs (OEA). The OEA is responsible for providing support to LCS graduates for scholarships to Haitian universities and employment. Tintin turned to the OEA after finishing her university degree in management. She’s now been working for Plastech Solutions for ten years.  

Although still fairly young in her career, she is reflective on the opportunities she’s had as an LCS graduate and her desire for these same opportunities to be available to others. She says, “I hope that I can make a difference in Haiti. In a country where many women are mistreated, I especially want to help girls and women be strong, independent leaders and be proud of who they are and what they can accomplish.”

May is Haitian Heritage Month, a time to celebrate Haitian historical and cultural traditions and to honor the unique history, language, and community of Haiti and Haitian-Americans. On behalf of the students, faculty, staff, and volunteers of Louverture Cleary School Santo 5, The Haitian Project wishes you a Happy Haitian Heritage Month!

The Haitian Project plans to celebrate all month long on social media—follow us on Twitter and sign up for our Community Updates to learn more about what makes Haiti and Louverture Cleary School so special!