180 Scholarships for Vocational Training in Haiti

Despite living in a country that many have described as on the brink of civil war, the Haitian people are very resilient. They continue to strive to push their lives forward in every way possible. Extollo has also found a new normal in this environment, and we remain focused on growing our training programs and taking advantage of new opportunities that arise.

In April, a neighboring organization asked us to consider offering advanced welding training to two students from their community who had completed Welding Level 1.  We seized this chance to launch a new class, Metal Fabrication Level 1.  Taught by our two top welding employees, this is the first class Extollo has kicked off with a Haitian team (rather than our US trainers).  This is a big step, as it is our goal that the trade school be fully Haitian-run.  

Both trainers and students had a great experience over the course of a week, learning the metal fabrication process from start to finish in our metal fabrication shop using state-of-the-art equipment.  The trainees spent mornings in the classrooms learning coursework and building skills through exercises, and transitioning to project work in the afternoons.  

The students are so grateful for the skills and knowledge that will help them become hired for larger building projects.  You are such an integral part of this success story.  You are carving out a better future for two young men who share a common goal, to be able to work and contribute and care for themselves and their families.  Thank you so much!

You may have heard about the current civil unrest in Haiti, which lead us to temporarily close our training center. Thankfully, a few dedicated, local training graduates are still able to safely travel to campus and keep our programs moving forward.  

I want to highlight the recent accomplishments of Youwens and Gregory, made possible by the training support you provide. They lead the effort on a months-long project, fabricating the metal roofs of our two large training buildings. They also built desks for the school next door. Aren’t they beautiful? In fact, they worked on over 50 projects in 2022 and they have become two of Haiti’s most competent welding fabricators. Did we mention that Youwens also just had a baby?

Training opens up so many possibilities for a better future in Haiti. Thanks for helping to make this possible!