Colby Bowker
Why Haiti, Why Now
Why Haiti, Why Now
Colby Bowker
“The Haitian Project: A Blueprint for Solving ...
“The Haitian Project: A Blueprint for Solving Big Problems” - Ever Widening Circles

Jwaye Nwèl / Celebrations of the Season

As we celebrate Christmas, we wanted to share celebrations of the season—and some recipes—from some of our THP and LCS community members:

"Christmas was one of the most celebrated holidays when I was growing up in Haiti. On Christmas Eve, people will have reveyon, which is a gathering of family and friends to eat bouyon (https://www.savorythoughts.com/haitian-bouillon). Typically, the food is consumed around midnight to ring in Christmas. Everyone dances, drinks, opens gifts, and has fun. Some communities will gather and do the same."

—THP Board Member Sabine Guerrier

Shilove Charles

"Christmas in Haiti is celebrated from Christmas Eve to New Year's. On Christmas Eve, people often celebrate with goat soup, baba au rhum (cake soaked in rum) and lots of crémas (a sweet and creamy alcoholic beverage). On Christmas, we celebrate with turkey and rice and beans (https://loisa.com/blogs/comida-real/haitian-rice-beans). Then on New Year's Eve, we celebrate with Haitian fritay, an assortment of fried foods, which for us always included griot (fried marinated pork), pikliz (a spicy slaw mixture), and fried plaintains."

—THP Bookkeeper and Office Manager Shilove Charles

Myriam J. (LCS ‘10)

"In Haiti, we eat Congo beans with rice and fried chicken (of course) during the whole month of December. On December 24th, we spend the whole night dancing, eating fried meat and plantains with macaroni gratin, and drinking with family and friends."

—Louverture Cleary School Principal Myriam J. (LCS '10) 

Over the holidays and especially on New Year's Day, Haitians everywhere celebrate with soup joumou, a traditional pumpkin soup (which can also be made with squash). This soup, which is a celebration of Haiti, is a perfect dish to celebrate the holidays, too!

Craig Elstak

THP Board Member Craig Elstak shared wife Martinna's soup joumou recipe. See the recipe here.

You can see how Martinna makes it in this great video: 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm-ch0yIlE0/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

 

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

A Solar (R)evolution at LCS

The recent fuel shortage and supply chain disruptions in Haiti have made Louverture Cleary School's solar capabilities more vital.

The earth has circled the sun 18 times since the first solar arrays were installed on the flagship Louverture Cleary School campus.  

Since then, every building has been equipped with its own system of panels, inverter, charger, and batteries. The result—over 54 kilowatts (kW) worth of panels and 12 dozen batteries scattered across the rooftops and tucked in the niches of the campus.

This massive undertaking of talent and resources freed LCS from unreliable utility power and drastically reduced dependence on back-up generators.

Over the past 18 years, the batteries have charged during the day and discharged their stored energy at night more than 6,500 times. The state-of-the-art storage available back then was gel lead-acid batteries. These were heavy, expensive, and at best lasted 1,000 cycles under normal operating conditions. But the demands for power on a campus with over 400 people are high, and the prohibitive cost of assembling adequately large battery banks never allowed for “normal” operating scenarios. As a result, most of the batteries that have cycled through LCS over the years have been exhausted by their 700th charge. It has been a constant struggle to keep the battery banks at optimum output. 

Thankfully, in that span of 18 years, solar technology has evolved at the speed of light.

New systems are available that greatly increase efficiency and allow LCS to obtain optimum solar performance. The Radia Science Lab was the first building on campus to use paired inverters capable of delivering 220 volts, compared to the old inverters that could only produce 110 volts. And this fall, the east section of campus received the newest inverter—a hybrid model that combines several components into one powerful unit.

A technician from Energy Central, a local Haitian company co-founded by an LCS alumnus, installing the new hybrid inverter for the Agora (library) building.

This state-of-the-art model will also be used to power future campuses in the Louverture Cleary School Network.

The new inverters can also be paired with the latest battery technology. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries provide 10 times the life cycles of lead-acid batteries and can be regularly discharged to 90 percent, instead of lead-acid batteries' optimal 20 percent discharge. Furthermore, LiFePO4 batteries can deliver higher amounts of current over longer periods of time, are less expensive to operate, and require less maintenance than lead-acid batteries. 

Solar panels, too, have increased in efficiency and decreased in price. Almost two decades ago, solar panels were selling for $7 per watt; today, costs are down to $0.42 per watt. The current campus is outfitted with panels that average about 350 watts; the new schools in the LCS Network will have panels with double that capacity. With the newest technologies requiring fewer individual panels, components, and batteries, the new schools will also reap the benefits of centralized power production, storage, and distribution systems.

LCS’s solar capabilities will continue to evolve and new technology will continue to be implemented. Lead-acid batteries and outdated components will continue to be replaced with lithium-iron batteries and hybrid inverters. Planning is underway to install a dedicated array providing 220 volt power to water and septic pumps on the LCS campus.

As the school's commitment to environmental stewardship continues with each cycle of the sun, more improvements to the solar energy system will be made, and for years and years to come, LCS — and all campuses of the LCS Network — will be shining points of (solar) light. 

Do You or Someone You Know Want to Invest in Solar Power at Louverture Cleary School? The school needs $100,000 in critical solar upgrades over the next 12 months and could use your help! Email [email protected] to learn more.

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

The December Issue of Haitian Project News is Here!

Group of smiling students standing with hand raised

National Laureates and Class of 2023 graduates Marquez M. (left) and Joovica J. (right) visited LCS in November to encourage students.

LCS—One of the Best Secondary Education Programs in Haiti: For nearly four decades, Louverture Cleary School's rigorous academic education and formation steeped in community service have created a solid foundation for its reputation of excellence. Classes not only challenge bright minds but also help create well-rounded people. In return, much is expected of Louverturians who know that the top-notch, tuition-free education they receive is not for them personally, but for their country. 

A Solar (R)evolution on Campus: The earth has circled the sun 18 times since the first solar arrays were installed on the flagship Louverture Cleary School campus. In that span of 18 years, solar technology has evolved at a rapid speed. New systems are available that will greatly increase efficiency and allow LCS to obtain optimum solar performance. 

Ahead of the Curve: Louverture Cleary School has a long history of educational vision and innovation. Ahead of its time, LCS included art, music and sport in addition to economics across its four-year secondary curriculum, long before the Haitian Ministry of Education’s requirements for schools to do so.

Catch up with LCS Principal Myriam J. (LCS ‘10).

And much, much more!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

A Thanksgiving Reflection from The Haitian Project

A Thanksgiving reflection from THP President Emeritus Patrick Moynihan  

Pumpkin, gourd and dried corn with the word Thankful

Unloading the car from Thanksgiving Day grocery shopping, I held up a bottle of champagne. My lovely wife Christina said, "That is specifically for the toast when we say what we are especially grateful for this year. Do not open it before." 

In character, I responded, "Can we have a practice run?"   

You know, many truths are spoken in jest. Or, as Joyce coined it, "In laughter, truth." We can practice being grateful everyday. But, Thanksgiving is an especially good time for it. Whether it happens spontaneously or as we go around a table, the day just brings it out of us differently on the fourth Thursday of November. 

With that in mind, what is The Haitian Project grateful for in 2023?

You.

Your support, your prayers, your love and, well, again, you.

A mission is only as strong as the community that sends it. We are thankful for the strong, supportive, loving and active THP community. We are thankful that you, along with us, have heard the call to serve. 

While I know the focus of Thanksgiving is thankfulness, I will add two wishes. I wish the bottle of champagne that Christina set aside was bottomless and that travel was instantaneous, so that we could all share a glass together as we say aloud what we are grateful for.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving,

Patrick signature
 

Patrick Moynihan

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

Thanks to You... This Year's Back to School Campaign Is a Tremendous Success!

Check Out What YOU Did! banner with smiling class of students in uniform

We are so excited to share that our community (that’s you!) has made this year’s Back to School Campaign a tremendous success! Click here to visit the campaign page to see just how successful you’ve been. You won’t be disappointed!

We remain so grateful to our donors and fundraisers for their incredible efforts, and to those who stepped up with challenge gifts to encourage us all, including the LeGrand family, the Brun family, and Charles and Joy Wharton.  

When the dust settles, this campaign will have made an enormous difference to our students. The need has never been greater for Haiti, so the outpouring of support is truly appreciated! 

Thank you again for making this year's campaign the best yet! 

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

LCS is 100% Perfect—TWICE! With TWO National Laureates!

The Louverture Cleary Class of 2023 achieved a perfect pass rate on the baccalaureate exam—and had TWO national laureates!

The Haitian Project is proud to announce that Louverture Cleary School has once again achieved a 100 percent pass rate on BOTH the Katryèm (9th grade) state exam and the Philo (13th grade) baccalaureate exam.

Not only that, but the Philo class had two national laureates placing #3 and #5 in all of Haiti! This not only an incredible achievement, but a testament to excellent education and formation Louverture Cleary School provides!

Passing the Katryèm state exam allows students to progress from the Fondamentale (middle school level) curriculum to the Secondaire (high school level) curriculum for their final four years at Louverture Cleary School. Passing the baccalaureate exam is necessary to be eligible for university acceptance.

LCS’s historic pass rate is 100 percent, nearly double the national rate and particularly impressive with the period of recent instability in Haiti.  

We congratulate all the students who worked so hard to succeed on these exams and the teachers and staff who support their education every day!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

The September Issue of Haitian Project News is Here!

What's featured in the September 2023 issue of Haitian Project News?

Louverture Cleary School students gather for morning assembly as LCS starts its 36th year!

LCS Opens for the 2023-2024 School Year After a Busy Summer: Louverture Cleary School kicked off the new school year on time on September 11th. As usual, the bustle and excitement of the first days of school were not sudden; the LCS campus had been working hard to plan and prepare for classes and programs for weeks. 

A Shining Example of Community:  The Haitian Project is blessed with many wonderful supporting parishes. Among these, The Madeleine Parish in Portland, Oregon, has been a shining example of support and community for over two decades.

Meet the New LCS Dean of Academics Abbigaëlle S. (LCS ‘18)!

And much, much more!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

Join THP’s Back to School Campaign!

k to School 2023 campaign header with group of smiling students in uniform

Have you heard? THP has launched its fundraiser Stepping Up, Not Back: The Haitian Project’s 2023 Back to School Campaign—an online fundraiser to raise $30,000 through the middle of October in support of Louverture Cleary students as they begin their new school year.

Louverture Cleary School outside of Port-au-Prince continues to be a lifeline to our community there, as well as a beacon of hope for what Haiti will become. At the same time, THP continues to push forward with its transformative plans to build more schools across Haiti to create the Louverture Cleary Schools Network.

Haiti needs Louverturians more than ever, because there can be no lasting peace, prosperity or justice in Haiti without those who are willing and able to serve those ideals.

So together—let’s do more, not less, for our students and their country. Join the campaign today!

So, how can YOU help? 

1. Donate to the campaign! 

2. Visit the campaign site to get your own unique fundraising page. Set a goal and personalize your page with a few sentences about your connection with the Project. Then share your page with your friends and family. It’s an easy way to help make your friends, our friends!

3. Setting up a fundraising page seems like too much? Then simply email the campaign homepage to 3—5 friends, family, or colleagues and ask if they would consider a donation to one of the best programs in Haiti.

Thank you for supporting education in Haiti!

Not able to launch a fundraiser at this time? Simply donate to the campaign to show your support!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

Louverture Cleary School Opens for Its 36th Year!

Louverture Cleary School students gather for morning assembly as LCS starts its 36th year!

Louverture Cleary School's 36th school year is in full swing!

Classes at LCS began this week, including the newest Louverturians in the incoming Sizyèm (7th grade) class! Given the tremendous challenges Haiti faces, it would be hard to overstate the importance of this accomplishment.

We cannot give enough thanks to the administration, staff, junior staff, teachers, cooks, security, and outreach team whose dedication ensures LCS runs smoothly each and every day, especially during the ongoing insecurity in the Port-au-Prince area. Their incredible work made opening on time possible, and we look forward to the great things our students and community will accomplish this year.

And, of course, thank YOU for your support of Louverture Cleary School and the hope that comes with each new generation of leaders. 

Please join us in wishing the students, faculty and staff a wonderful and successful school year!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

Spreading the News at LCS

As we look forward to the start of a new school year in Haiti, we thought you might enjoy this update on a very special extracurricular activity at LCS — Newspaper Club. Read all about it!

LCS students reading the school newspaper, posted on a wall near the school’s cafeteria. In keeping with the school’s dedication to stewardship of resources and using tools that are available, the school “newspaper” is not printed in quantities and handed out.

When LCS Economics Department Head Djim G. (LCS ’14) was a student and saw his fellow Louverturians participating in a newspaper club that shared news of the school and the world from the student perspective, he knew he wanted to be involved.

Now, as a staff member and teacher, he is bringing this opportunity to a new generation of Louverturians.

In keeping with the school’s dedication to stewardship of resources and using tools that are available, the school “newspaper” is not printed in quantities and handed out. Instead, one copy is printed and posted on a wall near the cafeteria for students to read and reflect on as they pass and glance at the news of the week.

Some students even wait by the wall to be the first to read the club’s latest work each Friday.

“The purpose of the club was to provide the community with information on what is going on in the various clubs and extracurricular activities so that everyone was aware of what others are doing at school,” explained Djim. “As time went on, the project expanded to include national and international news on aspects such as politics, economy, and sports. The members of the club are very dynamic and collaborative, and they learn quickly.”

What do Louverturians say about Newspaper Club?

Rising Philo (13th grade) student Annie F. reflected:

“I am very open-minded and l like to read and learn. I present the column of economy and politics, and I supervise some columns such as sports, ‘Je Partage’ [meaning ‘I Share’] and more. My goal is to continue to inform and entertain every Louverturian. I like when others see our work. It makes me proud.”

Recent graduate Jonathan F. added:

“I was the one who makes everyone laugh, and I was in charge of the humor section called ‘As Soon as You Laugh You Lose.’ The purpose of the newspaper club is to inform everyone about some internal activities and information at the national and international levels like politics, soccer, society, economy and technology, with the aim of keeping the Louverturian community in a happy and informative atmosphere.”

Newspaper club is a great opportunity to expose Louverturians to the field of journalism as they learn about career paths and opportunities for when they leave LCS. Building on the Louverturian values of transparency, equality, and truth (and equipped with fluency in the school’s four languages of Kreyòl, French, English and Spanish), forming Haiti’s future journalists, editors, and others in the field of communications is just another way that LCS and its alumni lay the foundation for a brighter future for their country.

A version of this Community Update recently ran as an article in the June issue of Haitian Project News. If you would like to receive our newsletter, either electronically or on paper, email THP at [email protected] today!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.