By Monique P. Garrity | Project Leader
On October 7, 2013 , the school year started for 230 disadvantaged boys and girls attending Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Petite-Riviere de l' Artibonite. These children were excited to reunite with their friends and teachers and many looked forward to again having a daily hot meal.
Most of these children come from poor families and no more than 30% of the parents are able to pay the full yearly tuition of US$46. Parents are often illiterate and children undernourished or malnourished. For them, pre-school -- a relatively new development in Haiti for at risk children-- is an oasis where they have the opportunity to learn in a nurturing environment.
Five year old Vanessa Charlemagne was particularly excited to have the opportunity to go to school. The daugher of a single mother unable to care for her, she has had a hard life being shifted from friends to friends and suffered as well from malnutrition. Her situation was so dire that the orphanage which shares the campus with the school agreed to take care of her and gave her the opportunity to be one of the 230 pre-schoolers who will benefit from the Global Giving Project.
The recently launched Pre-School project promises to be a real game changer for these at risk children. Thanks to the project, they will have more and better trained teachers as well as educational resources for new activities that will promote their cognitive, emotional, physical and social skills and better prepare them for formal education.
To learn more about Head Start for 230 Pre-School Children in Haiti and pledge additional support, please visit http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/head-start-for-230-pre-school-children-in-haiti/
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