By Anne Hastings | Vice President | uFondwa USA Board of Directors
You Are Educating the Next Generation of Haiti’s Leaders
Thank you for your generous gift to the University of Fondwa USA’s “Scholarships for Haitian University Students” project on GlobalGiving.
We are grateful for your solidarity with the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Fondwa!
The Largest Number of Students Ever
We are thrilled to announce that the University of Fondwa’s 2024-2025 academic year has commenced! Classes are underway for the 200 new and returning students -- the largest number of students ever at UNIF!
The 88 bright, motivated new students are on campus and beginning their classes. Think of it: 200 women and men studying across our three schools: Agronomy, Business Administration, and Veterinary Medicine.
It’s the best start of the school year ever for UNIF – and it took an extraordinary collective effort from people in the UK, the US, and from Fondwa, Lagonav, Cite Soleil, and other communities throughout Haiti.
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to achieve this. It’s nothing short of glorious!
Launching the Scholarship Program
At the start of 2024, UNIF administrators began implementing a new scholarship program, created by the University of Fondwa USA.
They built partnerships with the Andrew Grene High School in Cite Soleil, the Matènwa Community Learning Center in Lagonav, and Local Development Committees across Haiti to recruit students, and undertook an extraordinary effort to increase the number of applications, reviewing each, and making offers to students who passed the entrance exam.
An Old Coffee Plant Becomes a Dormitory
And in the last month alone, the university community pulled out all the stops to turn an old coffee plant into a dormitory for all the young women who are attending this year.
Local craftsmen built bunk beds and other furniture, wired the building for electricity, and constructed showers so that the young women can study and make new friends while remaining secure and comfortable in their new dorm.
Some new students and their parents arrived early for orientation to avoid the escalating gang violence. Others arrived late, taking small boats from Lagonav Island to bypass Port-au-Prince. They all looked bedraggled yet excited to be there.
Of Our 200 Students, 196 Are On Scholarship – But We’ll Run Out of Funding Soon
None of these new students are paying anything for tuition. That's coming from people like you who have helped to support the scholarship program.
It's a lot of work, but it’s work that is rooted in love and care from so many of us determined to make this happen. We have funding for the current group of students through January. If you have the means to give again or invite others you know to give, we would be grateful.
We all know how challenging the news from Haiti can sometimes be, but let’s recognize and celebrate the growing amount of good news coming from UNIF. Your commitment to UNIF and the students there creates hope and joy and drives tangible progress.
Thanks to your generosity and your belief in their potential, these students are able to study and build toward a brighter future for all Haitians.
More Updates to Come
We’ll keep sharing updates about what’s happening at UNIF throughout the school year. If you have questions, please reach out anytime.
Most importantly, please reach deeply into your heart (and your pocketbooks) once again to help us cover more of the cost of the scholarships we are providing to the students at the University of Fondwa. We know you care, and we need you!
With heartfelt gratitude and hope,
Anne H. Hastings
Vice President | uFondwa USA Board of Directors
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