A Teacher's Journey: Transforming Rural Education in Haiti

The current crisis in Haiti may have slipped out of the headlines, but the country still faces serious political unrest and prolonged instability. Yet still, hope thrives even in the most unexpected places. Far to the west in the country’s Tiburon Peninsula, one teacher’s story of determination and community transformation gives us cause for optimism. 

Lineda Donestant, a 33-year-old mother of two, works as a dedicated teacher at the primary school in Massan, Haiti. Her journey from a small village to becoming an agent of change in her community is an inspiring testament to the power of education.

A Mission to Elevate Rural Education

Lineda’s path to teaching began with a move to Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. There, she observed a stark reality: children from rural areas often struggled to keep pace academically with their urban counterparts. This disparity ignited a passion in Lineda to change that.

Determined to elevate educational standards in rural communities, Lineda committed herself to becoming a teacher. In 2016, armed with knowledge and a burning desire to create change, she returned to her roots in Massan, a community of roughly 2,300 subsistence farmers. Her mission was clear: to provide quality education to the children of her community.

The people of Massan were committed to educating their children, but struggled to provide the proper infrastructure needed. The village had three permanent classrooms for students, but so many children enrolled that they were forced to hold additional classes in temporary wooden structures. These buildings did not hold up well against the elements, which made it very difficult for students to focus on their studies. 

buildOn’s Impact: A New School

Lineda worked hard to educate the children of Massan with the resources she had, but there was only so much she could do—until buildOn got involved. Seeing the need, we initiated a project to construct a new, state-of-the-art school block in Massan to replace the temporary buildings.

We don’t build schools for communities, we build schools alongside them. And the school block in Massan took a lot of work! The community contributed the land and natural resources such as sand, water, and gravel to the project and selected a Project Leadership Committee consisting of six men and six women from Massan to oversee construction. These incredible leaders not only helped to collect supplies, they also organized crews to volunteer on the worksite each day. By the end of the project, the men and women of Massan had proudly contributed 1,235 volunteer work days to the building of their new school.

Hope for the Future

With Lineda as its steward, this monument to education will give the people of this island nation some much needed hope.

Now, Lineda can teach in a clean and structurally sound classroom, and give the students of Massan the education she knows they deserve. Speaking on behalf of her students and the community, she warmly says in Haitian Creole, “Map di yon gwo mèsi pou Moniman sa li mete nan Massan ki fé fyéte nou tout,” meaning, “Thank you for this historic monument in Massan.”

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