Change Lives with English Education

Thanks to your incredible support the English in Mind (EIM) Institute in Haiti is looking forward to the start of another exciting school year.

As with our previous project reports we asked EIM’s International Director, Steph, to provide an update from Port-au-Prince. Here’s what Steph had to say:

“Our 2016-2017 school year is about to begin!

This September, 230 students will walk through the doors of EIM, eager to start their new classes. Many will be returning students hoping to get one step closer to graduation, while others will be starting their very first year with EIM – either as a transfer student or a [total] beginner.

The energy level is high coming off another successful exam season, followed by the August summer vacation.

Based on the success of last year, we’ll once again be splitting our beginner students up by gender. This separation is especially important for our female students as they find these classes to be more comfortable and empowering for them.

Getting a solid foundation is critical when learning a foreign language, and we’re excited to see how this method impacts our students’ success in their future, co-ed classes as well.”

Steph also sent us some information about some of EIM’s new and returning students.  For example, she had this to say about one of EIM’s new intake.

“Stanley [pictured], is a brand new student at EIM. A self-taught English learner, Stanley’s impressive home study enabled him to transfer into EIM at our Intermediate level. We’re very impressed already and are excited to see his skills develop as he finds his home with us – his first institute!”

Steph also had this to say about one of EIM’s returning female students:

“Medjina [pictured], or Jina as we call her, is one of the youngest students at EIM. Despite her age, Jina doesn’t get intimidated easily. As one of the only girls in her class, she’s always the first to raise her hand and offer an opinion or question. We can’t wait to see her continue to grow and thrive as she takes on Intermediate this year!”

On behalf of Steph, Jina, Stanley and all of EIM’s new and returning students, thank you so much for continuing to support this amazing English school.

And remember, while EIM is incredibly grateful for your donations, the staff and students aren’t just sitting around becoming dependent on them.

EIM’s own social enterprise, EIMAdventures.com, is continuing to organise trips to Haiti with focuses on education, health, yoga, design, local coffee production and adventure travel. These trips employ EIM students as guides and the profits are folded back into the school to help make EIM become more sustainable.  

So why not check them out today and personally visit Haiti and the school your donations support?

As always, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org or Steph@Englishinmind.org, both of us are always happy to provide direct updates.

For more updates about IDV’s work please like us on Facebook or follow IDVExec on Twitter. You can also email Andy is you would like to be added to our direct mailing list.

Note that IDV is now also fundraising on GlobalGiving to increase its overall capacity to help disaster survivors.

The English in Mind (EIM) Institute in Haiti recently hosted a volunteer, Emily, with some amazing photography skills.

So, although we only sent you an update two weeks ago, we couldn’t resist posting a quick “photo report” using the some of the pictures we weren’t able to include last time.

We also wanted to share another great opportunity to help EIM thanks to GlobalGiving.

This June 15 donations to this project will be matched by an incredible 50%.

Matching will start at 9am Eastern US Time and donations up to $1,000 will be matched per donor while funds remain. In the UK matching will start at 2pm and up to £1,000 will be matched per donor.

So, please consider making a gift on June 15 if you can, and please also spread the word about this incredible opportunity.

As always, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I would be delighted to hear from you.

We hope you enjoy Emily’s photos.

Thanks to your fantastic generosity the English in Mind (EIM) Institute in Haiti is continuing to thrive.

As with our previous project reports we once again asked EIM’s International Director, Stephanie Price, to provide an update from Port-au-Prince. Here’s what Steph had to say:

“Exam season is almost here at EIM and our students are hard at work!

Every July our students take one of four official Cambridge exams that tests their skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. The stakes are high as those who pass will move up a level and start a new class at EIM come September. They will also earn a valuable certificate that can be used to find new employment.

Those who don’t pass are able to repeat their current level and try again next year. But, this doesn’t stop our highly motivated students from pouring everything they have into passing!

The summer is also the time we prepare to welcome new students into our ranks. Our plan is to accept new applications this June and ultimately accept around 80 new students across all our various levels.

We are especially excited with our developing women-only and men-only beginner classes. The friendly competition these classes have created has greatly increased both attendance and performance among all our beginner students.

Outside of classes, the volunteer trips that EIM runs to Haiti are growing and expanding like never before! So much so that we’ve recently launched ‘EIM Adventures’.

This is a social business EIM has created to leads various trips to Haiti with focuses on education, health, yoga, design, coffee and adventure. These trips employ EIM students as guides and generate profits that are folded back into the school to help make EIM more sustainable and less reliant on foreign donations.

Interested in joining us?

Check out EIMAdventures.com“

Thanks so much for continuing to support EIM as it continues to develop into a sustainable, independent entity.    

As always, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org or Steph@Englishinmind.org, both of us are always happy to provide direct updates.

Thanks to your amazing support it’s been a great start to 2016 at the English in Mind (EIM) Institute in Haiti.

As with our last report we once again asked EIM’s International Director Steph to provide an update from Port-au-Prince. Here’s what Steph had to say:

“Back in the fall of 2015 we admitted 90 new students to our school. In years past there has been a fair amount of dropouts in the first few months as students decide if this is a commitment they really want to take on. Happily this is NOT the case this year!

Nearly all of our new students have committed to classes and are getting involved in the life of our school. We are especially impressed with our new women-only Beginners class, which has the highest attendance rate in the school!

What's more, after our first graduation this past November we also decided to create a special new class for our alumni. With the help of our newest teacher, Alison, EIM is now offering a bi-weekly class to help our grads secure meaningful employment using their new English skills. From resume writing and interview skills, to tourism trips and networking opportunities, we’re helping set our grads up for success in whatever career they choose to pursue.

Lastly, our volunteer trips are also expanding this year. Beyond the six scheduled trips usually planned, we have recently formed some exciting new partnerships to offer more types of trips in more places. For example, we’re now working with a mobile maternity clinic out west in Cayes to bring groups of volunteers in for public health / tourism trips. These trips are led by EIM guides and trip leaders, and the proceeds will benefit both the clinic and our school!

It’s a win-win and partnerships like these are creating more employment opportunities for our students, more in-country revenue for EIM, and introducing more and more people to this beautiful country.

Thanks for your support and feel free to come and visit! “

Steph also sent us some beautiful photos and background information on EIM students and staff which we wanted to share with you as well - some of these faces you might recognise from your amazing support of our microproject appeals.

Firstly Elza, pictured above, is more than a teacher at EIM, she’s a true leader. Now in her second year of teaching with EIM, Elza heads up the school's growing women-only Beginner class. In Haiti women’s education is sadly not typically as highly valued as men’s. So, EIM is trying hard to encourage its female students more by giving them their own class when they're most shy. Beyond teaching them language skills, Elza is a true role model of what a well-educated, English-speaking women looks like.

And then there’s Florence below. Florence started with EIM as a beginner back in 2011. Now, five years later, she’s in the highest level class – Advanced 2, and is aiming to graduate this summer. Beyond being a student, Florence is also training to be a volunteer trip leader with EIM to lead groups of foreign volunteers out west for a week. Doing this she’ll apply not only her English skills, but also the vital leadership skills she’s learned within the EIM community.

Pete, also below, transferred to EIM last year as a shy, intermediate student. One year later his English has bloomed and he’s also come out of his shell - Pete was also recently chosen to be a  volunteer trip leader!  We have high hopes for what this charismatic Advanced 1 student will now achieve, both in school and in life.

And finally, Ansly is a quiet leader at EIM. While his soft spoken demeanor might fool you, Ansly is a strong personality at the school – leading others both as a trip leader for foreign volunteers and as the president of the garden club which runs on EIM’s land.

Thanks so much for supporting Elza, Florence, Peterson and almost 200 more students at EIM. As always, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org or Steph@Englishinmind.org, both of us are always happy to provide direct updates.

From recently buying a second plot of land, to celebrating its first ever graduating class, it’s turning out to be a fantastic end to 2015 for the English In Mind (EIM) Institute in Haiti.

In our last report we introduced EIM’s International Director, Stephanie Price. We asked Steph to provide this latest update and here’s what she had to say:

“We have so much to be grateful for at EIM. Just last month we officially closed on a second piece of property, doubling the size of our land and providing a large enough foundation on which to build the school of our dreams. Although waiting to buy more land has delayed construction, we feel it was the best move to meet both our current needs and our goals for the future as well. Already, EIM students are using our existing, lush property for gardening, outdoor classes and special events. And more space is needed.

In September we also held our annual new student admission process and the turnout was unbelievable. Over 300 people poured into EIM in hopes of gaining a place in our school. After an extensive testing period, we were able to admit 90 new students, including 2 new beginner classes – one for men and one for women. We’re hoping that by separating these classes by gender, especially in the beginning, our female students will be able to better encourage one another, and hopefully stick with the program through the end. Already, we’re seeing very high attendance levels in all of our 2015-2016 classes.

Our trips also continued to thrive in 2015, as we were able to offer 8 different volunteer and tourism based trips for foreigners to work with EIM students, and enjoy this beautiful country. Over the summer, 6 EIM students were also selected and trained up to be trip leaders. This fall, they partnered with our international leaders to host their first trips and earned rave reviews from participants. We don’t know how we ever did it without them!

Finally, on November 28th, EIM celebrated our first ever graduation. 11 incredible students took the stage in front of family and friends, earning their diplomas and marking the end of our rigorous 5-year program. Hearing the speeches by teachers, students and friends alike, we were all reminded of just how far we’ve come at EIM. What started as a simple language exchange in 2010, really has become one of the top English institutes in Haiti. Wow.”

EIM really has had a fantastic 2015 and your generous support has played a big part in that. And there’s still time in the weeks ahead to make EIM’s year really end with bang!

For example, there’s match funding available for any new recurring donations set up via GlobalGiving during December. On the US GlobalGiving site your initial donation will receive a 100% match after four months (a limit of $200 applies). On the UK site the terms are the same but the matching limit is £100.

Recurring donations are particularly amazing, as they allow EIM to plan ahead more effectively. But we would obviously also be very grateful for any further one time gifts you might be able to make as the Holiday season continues.

As always, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I would be delighted to hear from you.