buildOn Team in Haiti Continues Work Despite Challenges
Haiti is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as violent protests call for the resignation of current President Jovenel Moise. Nationwide roadblocks have persisted for several weeks resulting in hospital closures, limited drinking water, a massive fuel shortage, and the closure of schools leaving an estimated 2 million children without access to education.
buildOn broke ground on its first school in Haiti in 2001, and today, more than 40,000 Haitians of all ages attend 162 different buildOn schools. Despite the political upheaval, we estimate that more than half of our schools in the rural villages of Haiti continue to hold classes. In addition, our teams remain on the ground, conducting the final evaluations for 384 Adult Literacy participants in five villages to prepare for their graduation; supporting the enrollment of 260 out of school children who participated in our accelerated learning program over the summer break by giving them notebooks and pens for the start of their school year; and we even broke ground on a brand new school in the region of Grand’Anse on Sunday, October 27th.
While we deeply value and maintain the safety of our staff, we also remain committed to ensuring that all Haitians have access to a quality education and a brighter future. At buildOn we believe that when a society and its people are uplifted and empowered through education, they can transform a community—and maybe even the world—for generations to come.