By Jessica Schott | Intern
Thank you for supporting our project, Haitian IT Professionals of the Future. So far we have raised $200 of our $50,000 goal but are still very excited about the Program, and are continuing to push its development as we have seen many success stories already.
As you know, this program is as much about helping young individuals as it is empowering Haiti as a whole, especially after the 2010 earthquake. Yoldy Jacques Simon’s story is an excellent example of this. Since graduating from the NetHope Intern Academy, he has been working at Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF). Since the earthquake they have been working on removing and recycling the rubble and rebuilding the country. Yoldy supports about 60 users spread out over several offices and departments. His job is to make sure they have the information technology to communicate and do their work.
He says, “NetHope prepared me for my job. They gave me the entire package: technical skills and interpersonal skills. I could troubleshoot, fix things, and find solutions. I also learned about responsibility. For my internship, I was dispatched to different offices, and I had to be very independent because there wasn’t always a manager there to guide me. I also improved my English. Having the training in English forced me to speak English, and all of my books at work were in English too.”
The program has also seen its desired continued participation and graduation of women, as they are underrepresented in the ICT field in Haiti. Sondja Telemaque says she has always had a passion for science but that in Haiti a career in IT is considered a“very unconventional path for women.” For her internship, she was placed with the World Health Organization which was very challenging as it was during the cholera outbreak and she had never done humanitarian work before. But, he hard work paid off and she was promoted. Now she hopes her story can encourage more young women to pursue similar careers!
We are still fundraising for a Spring class in Haiti and these stories are great examples of the big impact that your donations have. As always we want to thank you and welcome your feedback, questions, or any suggestions on how to attract more attention to our program.
Thanks again!
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