In 1990, JoAnne Kuehner, Founder and President of  , first visited Haiti while volunteering on an emergency airlift mission run by AmeriCares. The poverty of the country and her people had an immediate and lifetime impact on JoAnne Kuehner. She was determined to do what she could to help the Haitian people move out of destitute poverty and she deeply believed that the only way was through education. was thus founded with education being the foundation for all programs and initiatives, particularly focusing on educating the children of Haiti. started with sponsoring a handful of children to attend school each year and has since grown to supporting 37 schools, 500 teachers, and helping to provide an education to over 12,000 girls and boys each year.
To provide the children of Haiti with access to a quality education.
 
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has one of the worst education systems in the world. The current education system functioning in Haiti is doing so with virtually the absence of Government involvement. Over 50% of school aged children, averaging well over 1.3 million, do not have access to an education. Less than half the population of Haiti can read and write and Haiti has the lowest enrollment rate for primary education in the Western Hemisphere. How can a country be expected to get out of poverty and develop as a nation, if the majority of their population does not have access to even a basic education? The country needs the support of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International Organizations to provide support in mending the Haitian education gap.
Although the Haitian Constitution explicitly states “…education shall be free. Primary education shall be compulsory. State education shall be free at every level” the reality of the Haitian education system is far from what the founders of the 1805 constitution had intended. According to the most recent World Bank Haitian Education Report, public schools can accommodate less than 10 percent of the school age population. Unfortunately, the Haitian Government lacks the necessary funds to provide a public free education to the Haitian children. Therefore, the children whose parents are financially capable are enrolled in private schools (pastoral, religious, and for-profit). Today, private education represents over 75 percent of primary school enrollment and 82 percent at the secondary level (World Bank, 1998). made the decision to partner with pastoral and religious private schools in order to increase access for poor children to receive an education. By providing necessary assistance to private schools, can help to increase student enrollment as well as the overall quality of education.
Early on, the Founder of , JoAnne Kuehner, discovered that investing money in teacher salaries was ultimately the best way to ensure that enrolled children would receive a quality education. Private schools continue to suffer with lack of funds to sustain their operations. With no government aid, private schools solely depend on the parents of students to come up with a yearly tuition to help pay the teachers’ salaries and fees for school supplies. Far too often the parents have no financial possibility to pay the school, leaving the teachers with no salary and with little initiative to continue teaching. By financially supporting teacher salaries, works to provide the following:
- Job security for teachers;
- Reduction in teacher turnover rate;
- Qualified and properly trained teachers;
- Complete access for all children, regardless of family’s ability to pay tuition;
- Consistency and dependability for parents, teachers, and students to know that the school will continue to function throughout the entire year.
- The overwhelming majority of Haitian primary and secondary teachers are poorly qualified in both private and public schools. The teachers many times are not only unqualified, but highly unmotivated with little to no access to school materials or an adequate salary.
- It is well acknowledged that the Haitian education system is far below International standards and that the majority of school “facilities” are beyond inadequate to provide a suitable learning environment. School structures range from being made out of coconut and banana leaves to corrugated metal roofs and concrete blocks. Many lack electricity, bathrooms, clean water, food, first aid, benches, chalkboards, and daily classroom necessities.
- With little to no oversight in education on a government level mixed with incredible poverty, schools face a problem with overage students in classes. In Haiti it is not unlikely to graduate High School in your early to mid 20s. This is a testament to both quality and lack of access to education that families and schools must face.
- The Ministry of Education unfortunately operates with a bare minimum requirement for quality standards. There is little to no school monitoring or evaluation from outside parties to offer assistance or recommendations for improvement.
- Haiti is still incapable of educating over 50% of her school aged children – an enormous number of boys and girls with no hopes of receiving even the most basic of education.
partner schools receive financial funding for teacher salaries and training opportunities in addition to specific needs (i.e. construction, school materials, benches/blackboards, children’s shoes/clothing, first aid supplies, clean water, etc…). The Haitian education system is a continual challenge, but is dedicated to continue working to improve the quality and access for the Haitian children. believes in partnerships and collaboration, most importantly in the area of education. We work to bring other organizations together who are working in similar education fields to avoid overlap and wasted resources and to encourage non-profit organizations, community leaders, and government representatives to work together.
It is through partnerships that can receive the most return from our donors’ investments by challenging organizations working within the Haitian education system at all levels to join forces towards a common goal of improvement and success. This challenge is where has seen the most progress made in providing the environment for non-government, government, and community to solve the problems together.
believes there is a solution to the failed-education system and continues to do our part with the loyalty of our donors to continue striving for increased access and quality within the Haitian education system. We see successes every year with over 12,000 boys and girls receiving an education who otherwise would not have the opportunity. Although works towards the ultimate goal of providing all Haitian children with the opportunity to receive a quality education, takes pride in each additional child’s enrollment and success.
- A $1,000 donation can provide an education to over 30 children by subsidizing their teacher’s salary for one year and supplying school supplies for their classroom.
- A donation of any amount towards education can help change these children’s lives.
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