The English in Mind (EIM) Institute is a non-profit, Haitian led English school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The school teaches English as a vocational skill to help students find the long-term employment they need to build a secure future. The school has around 200 students and also boasts a teacher training programme and networking facility to help students find work and develop essential job skills.
In Haiti, two thirds of adults lack a steady, wage earning job. This means that the majority of Haitians scratch out a living based on improvised, insecure employment. As a result, more than half of Haitians live on around $2 a day, leaving most unable to access education for themselves or their children. This locks families into a cycle of poverty. Developing job skills, English included, is the key to creating new opportunities for Haitians to change their own lives for the better.
English is a prerequisite for working in many offices, hotels and restaurants. With English language skills, doors open to jobs and a route out of poverty. The EIM Institute provides these skills for around 200 adults. This GlobalGiving project currently provides around $300 a month towards the school's running costs. The school generates the remainder of its income through a one-time student registration fee of $25, and also by hosting its own independent volunteer trips.
EIM's English classes focus not only on teaching students vital English that will increase job opportunities, but also on empowering its Haitian English teachers and students. EIM has also recently purchased a plot of land and are in plans to build their own school and community centre. With their own building, EIM will be able grow and expand, impacting even more adults and creating even more change in their lives, and in the community.
