Hope Amid Crisis: How buildOn Supports Displaced Students in Haiti

As escalating violence disrupts life in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, many students have been unable to continue their education. Per a recent article in the New York Times, gang violence has led to hundreds of thousands of children dropping out of school.

“Robbed of their education and their prospects for the future, legions of Haitian children are the overlooked victims of the gang violence that has crippled the country: homeless, hungry and often targeted for recruitment by the armed groups they fled,” reports Frances Robles.

In the face of the chaos in the capital, Haiti’s rural communities are becoming havens for families seeking safety. “About one million people in Haiti have been forced from their homes because of gang violence,” Robles writes. This places immense strain on schools in Haiti’s rural communities. “The education situation is complicated by the more than 100,000 students, primarily from the capital, who moved to the south, where life is relatively calm.”

While these communities grapple with the challenges of accommodating displaced families, buildOn is helping ensure that every child is still able to attend school and pursue a better future.

The Growing Educational Challenge in Rural Haiti

As families flee Port-au-Prince, rural schools are experiencing unprecedented pressure. Classroom sizes are swelling, and many arriving children have gaps in their education that need addressing. 

Take Journu, a community of about 3,000 in the southwestern corner of the country. buildOn constructed a brand new school in the village in 2024. Already, it serves 285 students, 150 of whom were previously not attending school. As more and more families from Port-au-Prince migrate to Journu and communities like it, the challenge of getting students back into the classroom grows.

“Life in Port-au-Prince was not good for me at all. The situation was terrible—so much insecurity. The violence was intense. People were beheaded. They were killed, raped. Everywhere in the streets, there were lifeless bodies. I could not live there anymore; the situation was extremely difficult. So in the end, I left Port-au-Prince and returned to my hometown. I had to leave just to save my life and the lives of my children.” shares Camita Bonhomme, a mother who recently arrived in Journu with her five children. “Before the situation worsened, they used to go to school regularly. Now, they have lost an entire school year.”

Camita’s son Nodelson is one of the 150 children buildOn has gotten back to school through our Enroll program.

“I feel good seeing my child participate in buildOn’s program. It was a great opportunity. Additionally, he received school supplies, which helps ease my financial burden.”

Enroll: Returning Students to the Classroom

buildOn’s Enroll program serves as a crucial bridge for out-of-school children, helping to get them back on track with their education. The program’s comprehensive approach includes:

• Alleviation of factors keeping children out of school
• Accelerated learning opportunities for students who have missed schooling
• Resources and materials to ensure successful transitions
• Community engagement to support students and their families

Once a buildOn school is completed, our Enroll Program identifies school-age children who aren’t currently enrolled in school and works with their families to ensure they’re able to start learning. 

In Journu, that meant running Accelerated Learning classes in partnership with Education Above All’s Educate A Child program (EAC) to help 47 children catch up on the education they missed. Nodelson was one of them.

Nodelson: A Model of Educational Resilience

Nodelson, a third grader, experienced things no child should in Port-au-Prince. “The streets were empty, and people were in shock. My neighborhood was like a cemetery,” he explains. “Bodies were scattered throughout the streets, and you could hear gunfire both day and night. People were afraid to go outside.”

“I spent the entire school year at home, filled with sadness, fear, and despair—I was a prisoner in my own home. Sometimes I played with other children in the neighborhood, but whenever we heard gunfire, we hid under our beds. I was afraid. I wondered if I would ever see my classmates and teacher again because I was living between life and death—anything tragic could happen at any moment. This was the most difficult year of my life.”

Once his family made the dangerous journey to Journu, Nodelson finally started to have hope for the future again. “I can play with my friends. I feel at home in this community. I am not afraid. There is no noise, no sound of gunfire. I can move around freely. I feel truly safe!”

Moving to a new community also meant a fresh start in school. “I was warmly welcomed at the buildOn school. The Enroll program was amazing because not only did I get to play with my friends, but I also received school supplies, plus a meal every Friday,” he says. 

Thanks to buildOn’s involvement in Journu, Nodelson could restart his education and begin to work towards his goals again. “I am really happy to return to school and pursue my dreams. I want to be a soccer player and a civil engineer so I can be useful to my family and my entire community.”

Building a Better Future in Haiti

Nodelson serves as a poignant reminder of the power of education and resilience in the face of incredible adversity. And Haiti is full of children just like him who are ready to build a better future for their country.

Our work in communities like Journu shows how well-designed educational infrastructure and support programs can help rural communities become resilient educational centers.

As Haiti navigates these challenging times, Journu provides a model for other communities facing similar challenges. Through continued support and strategic programming, rural schools can serve as anchors of stability for displaced families while maintaining educational quality for all students.

The pride Camita has for her son is palpable. As she stands outside of the small store she now runs in her new home, she reflects on how far her family has come.

“Thank you to buildOn for accepting my son into the program. Now he is in a school where buildOn has built three large and beautiful classrooms. This is a great opportunity for the community. My dream for my son is for him to continue his studies. Through his education, he can learn a profession that will help me, the community, and the country as a whole.”

Will you help us build a brighter future for Haiti? Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to buildOn today.