Successes in Haiti continue thanks to the support you’ve provided. The last time we updated you, we told you about how well the English students did on their English exams. This update, we’re delighted that two advanced English students have used their new language skills to find employment.
That employment will allow them to build secure, earthquake-proof housing for their families, send their children to school, and build a more secure tomorrow. We’re delighted that after just a few months of classes, students are already finding work and, with it, a road out of poverty.
You’ve made the school’s success possible. This Mother’s Day, whether you’re giving or receiving, we hope you’ll take a little extra joy in the lives you’ve changed in Haiti.
If you’re planning on giving a Mother’s Day gift this year, please consider keeping the English school in mind and making a donation in honour of your mum. When you donate as a gift, GlobalGiving will send your mom a lovely card. Cards can be emailed, printed at home, or mailed.
A GlobalGiving tribute card makes a fantastic, meaningful mother’s day gift, and as a bonus, GlobalGiving will be awarding financial prizes for the organisation which receives the most mother’s day donations between May 1st and May 7th.
We hope that this mother’s day, you’ll choose to give mom a gift that also helps Haitian children build a better tomorrow. You can easily send your gift by clicking here.
Thanks so much for all you’ve already given to support education in Haiti, and our warmest regards from Port au Prince.
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First of all, our apologies for taking so long since our last update! It’s been a challenging, emotional time for the scholarship programme. In January 2012, the leader of the orphanage where the children in our scholarship programme live and attend school, Valerie Delice, was killed in a car accident.
Val was a kind and self-less man who devoted his life to children who would otherwise have been on the street. His death was deeply upsetting for all of us at EDV. Its effects on the orphaned children who called him a father have been unimaginable.
Following Val’s death, there were concerns that the orphanage and the school would be forced to close. We spent more than a month in contact with other orphanage supporters and Val’s friends and family trying to decide what was right for the children. In the end, all agreed that the children should stay together and stay in school, but there was no one to run the orphanage. For a time, it looked hopeless.
But “hopeless” isn’t a word that appears very often in the Haitian vocabulary.
Since those early difficult days, Val’s friends have taken shared responsibility for the orphanage. The community has rallied, and today, while challenges remain, the orphanage is open and working its way back to security.
35 of the original 50 children in our scholarship children are in school, and we plan to bring the rest of the children back into school as soon as possible. The future is anything buy certain, but we’re proud that despite enormous challenges, 70% of the children in the programme have stayed in school.
If it hadn’t been for your generous donations we wouldn’t have had the resources to continue supporting the children in our scholarship programme through their grief. Thank you so much for all you’ve given. We hope that you realise what your support has meant to these kids who have faced so much hardship and loss in their short lives.
Today, we are turning our attention to the challenges and joys which are sure to lie around the corner. The kids need the support of donors like you more than ever, so please give what you can, share this update, and help us find the resources we need to keep these vulnerable children in school.
Thanks again, and our warmest regards.
On Wednesday, March 14th (that’s today!), GlobalGiving will be matching donations. You’ve already given so much, but we hope that you’ll dig deep and give a little more.
By continuing your inspiring support of the orphanage, you bring them closer to their next set of goals: Building a permanent home on the land they’ve already built and investing in a business to make the orphanage sustainable. We asked the orphanage director, Carlo, why a house they own would be better than a rented house.
“…we hope to one day be able to purchase a home so that the kids will always have a home to come back to, more space and especially so that they can feel like they’re living in a family.”
You’ve already made such a huge difference in Carlo’s life and the lives of the children in his care. These are children who lost parents in the earthquake and have lived on the street. Because of you, children like Nicolson, age 11, are enjoying a whole new life and dreaming about what they want to be when they grow up.
“Life makes sense at the orphanage, I like having volunteers coming and bringing toys and playing with us. I also like the school because I want to be a lawyer. I want to be rich and help other people.”
Today, March 14th, any contributions received will be doubled, and we hope you’ll be able to share this page or donate yourself to ensure that Nicolson and all of his friends can reach their dreams.
Thanks so much for your generosity, and our warmest regards.
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