Illiteracy in Haiti Page 1 Illiteracy in Haiti How we can help the fight Two years after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti, 600,000 illiterate children remain out of school, leaving the country's next generation of leaders on the streets and without the education, mentors and tools necessary to move beyond a life of destruction and disappointment. As aid groups devise ways to speed up the rebuilding of a country where more than half a million people are living in tents, they are focusing their efforts on repairing infrastructure, treating diseases and providing clean drinking water. While schooling is key to empowering young people, charities are simply strapped for resources and the education system remains largely privatized in Haiti. Literacy is the skills used in everyday life or those that allow one to function competently in their own society.
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 2 CHILDREN HERITAGE FOUNDATION Join us in the fight against illiteracy in Haiti! The Children Heritage Foundation (TCHF) Elementary Education Sponsorship program aims to improve literacy rates in Haiti by paying school expenses for elementary age children who would not be able to attend school otherwise. In Haiti, students who wish to attend public schools must be able to purchase uniform and required books. Unfortunately, many parents are unable to pay for this small expense and so their children cannot attend school. Instead, these children will spend their days in the street and become either the target or the perpetuator of crimes. To participate in this program, prospective students complete an application, which is reviewed & approved by a TCHF committee. Once approved, the student is matched with a sponsor. A copy of the completed application, a picture of the student and report cards are made available to the sponsor. In addition, sponsors are encouraged to communicate (in writing) with their students. $15 a month can help eliminate illiteracy and make a positive contribution to the Heritage of Haitian children. To sponsor a student, please contact us. A Note From Our Founders :: In a post Earthquake Haiti; we believe that a focus on Education is the best gift we can give to the children and young adults. Haiti's greatest resource is its young generation. We are determined to lend a hand to help them rise out of poverty, not through charity but, through education. Esther Dufflo, co-author of "Poor economics: A radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty" agrees. When asked by Knowledge@Wharton what are some of the crucial steps to eliminating poverty, she stated: "According to our current state of knowledge, there is a zone of shadow where we are not sure exactly what to do. But there are some things we do know that work across sectors. Educating children, for example, is one of them --" www.childrenheritage.org/whowehelp.htm
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 3 GOALS http://goalshaiti.org/
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 4 ARTISTS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE A week after the earthquake hit, Artists For Peace And Justice already had makeshift schools set up in tents throughout Port-au-Prince. Its main mission: to bring education opportunities to kids who would never otherwise have a chance. In October 2010, the organization opened the doors to a high school that served 400 students, free of charge. It brought in an additional 800 kids the following year. http://www.apjnow.org/index.html
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 5 Li, Li, Li! Read Haiti Launched in May 2010, the charity trains local Haitians in the art of reading aloud and sends them to 25 of the most run-down tents to share stories with children. t's an affirmation that people still care about them, people still believe in them. They're getting entertainment, and education at the same time. For most of the children, this is their only access to education. It gives them hope that one day they'll go to school. http://www.lililiread.org/p/support-our-work.html
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 6 Many young Haitian men and women do not get the proper education they need. Consider this, Haiti's illiteracy rate is the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Over sixty percent of the adult population cannot read or write adequately. And younger generations, the country's future, are not being taught properly. Our goal is to raise awareness about the importance of youth education and to combat illiteracy. With your help, we can make a difference. Education provides Haitians with opportunities to develop the skills necessary to contribute toward a stronger, better Haiti. http://orgs.tigweb.org/haitian-for-literacy-community-and-actions-haflica
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 7 Teachers receiving training certificates Partners in Literacy Haiti http://www.haitiliteracy.org/
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 8 Functional Literacy Mission of Haiti (FLM) Current statistics indicate that only half of all Haitians can read. As a consequence, illiteracy stands in the way of most other opportunities for Haitians, who rank among the world s most impoverished citizens. To bring positive change to this situation, FLM-Haiti dedicates every day of its ministry to helping Haitians to acquire fundamental reading, writing and math skills. These basic tools for intellectual and spiritual development would otherwise be denied to the people touched by our work. http://flmhaiti.org/home/
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 9 Hope Hope N Literacy International Foundation, Inc. Casse-Pied is located 152 miles NW of Port Au Prince. It sits on top of a remote mountain where there is no running water, no electric power, and before Hope N Literacy, no church or school building. Prior to Hope N Literacy, the children were required to walk 5 miles down the mountain to the near-by village of Jean Rabel. Only the strongest children could make the difficult round trip down and up the mountain, along dirt paths and washed roads. As a result many children never got even a basic education. The foundation has 3 teachers plus a teacher / principal, and a pastor who work full time educating the village of 1,000 people. http://hopenliteracy.org/index.html
Illiteracy in Haiti Page 10 Doorway To Peace Haiti Adult Literacy Program Since Haiti does not have a system of free public education, a lot of adults in Haiti are illiterate. They do not know how to read. This makes it very difficult for some attending the Sunday afternoon prayer meetings. Doorway to Peace addresses the need by opening the Pilgrim School building for an adult literacy class three evenings a week. It is free and anyone is welcome to enroll. Doorway to Peace pays the teachers, provides books, notebooks and pencils. Many people attend regularly. We would like to run the program five evenings a week and be able to enroll more people. With a bit more funding this would be easily possible. http://doorwaytopeacehaiti.org/ SEBEL Foundation The SEBEL Foundation is a non profit organization registered in New York State (USA) committed to helping hundreds of underprivileged Haitians youths to go to school since 2004. We are committed to helping educate underprivileged Haitians, particularly children and youths - through scholarships and a series of community oriented programs - which we believe will promote socio economic progress and peace in the country. http://sebel.org/ Children Heritage Foundation