This project will establish a library in a rural school in Haiti in the community of Jean Bellune. The school has 450 students from kindergarten to the junior year of high school. Many of the adults in Jean Bellune do not know how to read and write. Literacy support for young people is essential not only for themselves, but also for the whole community. Jean Bellune has no electricity. The library will serve as a study space for the students, in addition to foster a love of reading.
The school in Jean Bellune is in a remote, rural area and is under resourced. Children have no books, and they do not have a study space. It now gets dark at 4:30 pm at the latest, and they ave to study by gas lamps. In addition these children have no access to printed materials in the home.
Access to books will enrich the vocabulary of these students and provide them with critical thinking skills. Thus the library can become more than a room with books, it will enhance the students' quality of life. It also will improve their grades. Jean Bellune has no resources at all for children and young people, the library will serve as a meeting place, where young people can be engaged in discussions about the environment, and learn how to start their own small business.
Providing access to the library for the students of JeanBellune school will not only increase their literacy level, but also the literacy level of the adults in the community. High school students can run a literacy program for adults who cannot read or write and use the resources the library provides. As the programs that the library offers expand, more people will need to be employed as assistants.
