We are so excited to begin our second year at Lespwa Lavi Academy. Many exciting things are happening! When we started we planned to add one class each year, but this fall we are adding TWO classes. We have incredible leadership in place and we are so proud of our staff for their dedication and creativity. Please keep reading to see what your support has done.

Ricardo Pierre-Louis

GIVE TO BACK TO SCHOOL CAMPAIGN

Haiti National Update

An interim government is in place, Kenyan troops are on the ground, and a former prime minister has been sanctioned for promoting the drug trade and funding rebel gangs, leading the the current crisis. While there have been sporadic reports of police and Kenyan reinforcements providing some help, for the large part of the country, no improvements in the security situation have been visible yet. Main roads are impassable throughout the country due to rebel roadblocks. Truck drivers desperate to make a living and help their communities survive take the risk of driving back roads and off road through the mountains to get supplies. Healthcare is almost nonexistent in many areas. Food prices are 500-700% higher than five years ago, making balanced nutrition impossible for the majority. On average, a household can only afford less than 10% of food it needs to survive. Throughout the country, very few can scrape together the funds to pay for school enrollment at this time. Mainly for that reason, but citing insecurity and gang violence, the Haitian government has postponed the 2024-25 school year until October. This happened two years ago, and most schools ended up staying closed until December, leaving children abandoned. This is unacceptable.

What is Lespwa Lavi Doing?

At Lespwa Lavi, our priority is keeping children safe and empowering them for the future. When the kids are not in school they are at high risk for malnutrition, labor trafficking, and sexual predation. In addition, they are not moving forward and every week’s delay puts them at higher risk to never finish school. Our staff were prepared to start school on September 9th, so we asked them if we could still do that safely. They said yes.

Last year we opened a school for grades 1-8, which is similar to K-7th in the USA. Other schools in Verrettes charge between $12 and $35 per month for those grades. We charged $4-$7 to help the school be sustainable, however we found that 98% of our students could not afford to pay even that. Our students come from extreme poverty, many of them are orphans or Restaveks. Only 10-20% of students have a father living at home. Many more have several siblings and their parents are forced to chose which ones get to go to school.

We believe every child has the right to learn

We believe every child has the right to eat every day

We believe every child has the right to access healthcare

We believe every child has the right to safety

One of our core values as an organization is that Every Person has Inherent Value. No parent should be forced to choose between their son or daughter, their oldest or youngest. As we evaluated the home situations of our students, we awarded financial need scholarships to 98% of them, and invited their siblings to come to school also.

Another challenge we faced was that many parents/guardians are illiterate. We have children coming into Class 1 who have never had a book read to them, and do not know letters, numbers, colors, etc. Almost half our students have no one who can help them with homework. We realized we needed to devote more resources to our tutoring program and additional classroom resources.

Lastly, our attention was directed to teenage girls in the area who are experiencing unprecedented rates of abuse and rape. An old Haitian practice of selling girls as young as 14 into marriage has resurfaced in the area because families cannot afford to feed their own children. A girl who has been violated and becomes pregnant is often rejected by her family, and will be discharged from school. There are zero resources or organizations where these girls can seek help in this area.

What Is Going To Change?

School opens September 9th. Lespwa Lavi is now Pre-K- 9th grade
- New teachers: Pre-K, Art, Music, Math, English
- New chapel services
- Adding to the library and computer lab
- New Girls and Boys after school clubs
- New school nurse
- Expanding the play area/soccer space
- Expanding and empowering the tutoring program
- Special education track for pregnant girls
Nutrition program continues to feed 350+ children
Church is expanding
- Two new pastors
- Advancing community outreach
- Building discipleship programs
Microloans program: this self-sustaining program will focus on single mothers and at-risk families to empower their business
NEW Project Isaiah 62: empowering adolescents to prevent underage pregnancy and care for girls who are victims
- Six staff members lead this project
- LLA will be the first school in the region to allow pregnant girls to stay in school
- Support and advocacy for pregnant girls and high risk girls to achieve independence
- Educate and prevent!

How Can I Help?

1. Sponsor a Child

Sponsorship provides reliable ongoing funding that directly impacts the child. 100% of sponsorship funds go to Haiti, funding the school, nutrition program, advocacy program, and medical care.

2. Supply Curriculum

Our Mwen Kapab “I can do it” curriculum is developed by Mission of Hope and produced and printed in Haiti. While we are so happy to support the local economy, prices have increased. Our curriculum for primary school = everything the children need for the year is $12,000 and not yet funded

3. Sponsor a Classroom

This gift allows teachers to find more creative projects and promote practical skills in their classroom

4. Give to Project Isaiah 62

The gift with generational impact