At a glance, it might seem like Haiti and Greece do not have much in common other than miles of beautiful coastline. What is little known to non-historians is that the two countries have a shared history.

On March 25, 2021, Greece celebrated the 200th anniversary of its independence from the Ottoman Empire, commemorating the date when the War for Greek Independence began. Less than a year later, another milestone occurred: January 15, 2022 marked 200 years since Haiti became the first country to officially recognize Greece as a sovereign nation.

At the time, Haiti itself had recently achieved independence from French rule in 1804, after a brutal 12-year war that was the only successful slave-led revolution in history.

Eager to stand with its fellow nation in the fight for freedom, then Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer wrote the following in a letter to the prominent Greek scholar and political figure Adamantios Korais: “We, like the Hellenes, were for a long time subjected to a dishonorable slavery and finally, with our own chains, broke the head of tyranny... Convey to your co-patriots the warm wishes that the people of Haiti send on the behalf of your liberation."

Today, The Haitian Project is proud to be part of the legacy of support between Haiti and Greece through a partnership with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), one of the world’s leading private, international philanthropic organizations, supporting arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare in Greece and around the world. In the spring of 2021, SNF awarded THP a significant two-year grant to help support Louverture Cleary School outside of Port-au-Prince and to increase THP’s capacity to build its second school—the Model Campus in the Diocese of Gonaïves, which will be replicated across Haiti to create the 10-school Louverture Cleary Schools Network.

SNF Program Officer Casey Russo shared, “For decades, The Haitian Project has shown an unwavering commitment to educational opportunity, regardless of students’ means. SNF is proud to partner with THP in its efforts to expand its reach, creating more opportunities for students to grow into citizen-leaders and increasing university access across the country.”

It is through the generosity of SNF and all supporters standing with THP during this difficult time in Haiti’s recent history that allows Louverture Cleary Schools to be a continued beacon of hope and opportunity in Haiti.

Photo Credit of Jean-Pierre Boyer: Pôlehistoire, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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