Volunteer Family Returns to LCS

April 11, 2018

Rachel and Nick Carter first came to LCS as Volunteers in 2011.  This spring, the Carters have generously responded to the call to return to LCS; this time with their young children Peter and Phillip. 

Rachel has picked up where she left off teaching English and Spanish at the school.  Meanwhile, Nick works at St. Francois de Sales Hospital in Port-au-Prince.  Among other projects, he is working with the Haitian Association of Surgerns to help prepare a trauma course for Haitian physicians that will be taught at the hospital in May.

A few words from an LCS Volunteer family:  

“We see these ten weeks at LCS as a trial run for a long-term commitment in Haiti.  We want our boys to grow up with the lessons that were reinforced for us at LCS – that progress requires hard work, that everyone can and should contribute to their community, and that faith drives commitment to justice. We are inspired by the commitment to Matthew 10:8 – “Freely you have received; freely give.”  We have been blessed with opportunities for graduate training in both education and surgery.  LCS offers a chance to share these blessings with a community and that means a great deal to us. Deacon Moynihan often talks about how the results of education speak for themselves. I find that to be a tangible truth at LCS.”

-Rachel Carter, Volunteer ’11-’12 and current English & Spanish teacher

Rachel Carter remarked recently on the joy of seeing the progress her former students have made: “They are now finishing degrees in engineering, medicine, nursing,education, and business management. Lochard Laguerre, an 11th grade student in 2011, recently cared for my youngest son Philip (17 months) during a bout with strep throat.  Each graduate is the product of a strong community…”  

“There are so many interrelated hurdles to building a health system that can stand on its own in Haiti.  We have to respect Haitian leadership in setting specific priorities.  On the macro level, more than 90% of the population lacks health insurance and must pay out of pocket for medical care.  This makes even fundamental care prohibitively expensive for a large swath of the population unless it is provided on a charitable basis.  In the long run, the nation needs a stronger economy so that local professionals can maintain a living while providing care for the population at large.  The situation at the hospital at times is pretty tough, but I am always encouraged when I return to LCS and see the groundwork for a different Haiti being laid through education.” 

- Nick Carter, M.D., Volunteer ’11-’12 and visiting physician at St. Francois de Sales Hospital, Port-au-Prince

Dr. Carter operating with Dr. Mertuse and Dr. Eustache at St. Francois de Sales Hospital, a large Catholic hospital built in Haiti's capital in 1881 and destroyed by the 2010 earthquake.  It was reopened in August of 2015 in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Health Association, and the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince. 

March 2018 Newsletter

The March 2018 edition of Haitian Project News is here! Click here to see what we've been up to.

Jeff B. (LCS '14), head of the LCS Computer Department, teaches students in the brand new computer lab donated by the Michael and Susan Dell Family Foundation.

December 2017 Newsletter

Our December Newsletter is here! Click here to see what we've been up to.

Students pose between classes at the LCS campus gate.

September 2017 Newsletter

Our September 2017 Newsletter is here! Click here to see what we've been up to. 

In-country Program Manager Connor Branham works in THP's Office of External Affairs with accountant and LCS alumna Stephanie V.

School's Back in Session!

This past Monday marked the first day of the 2017-2018 school year at Louverture Cleary School!

Among those excited for the start of the new year is LCS Principal Marjorie M. (LCS '07):

It is very exciting for all of us in the administration to have the students back. Celebrating a 100 percent pass rate on both required state exams, the Philo Baccalaureate and the Katryem state exam, we are very happy to start the school year off strong!

Philo (US 12th grade +1) student Billy S. leads the school in prayer, Haiti's national anthem and the school song during the first morning meeting of the year on September 11, 2017.

A large part of LCS' success each year is the consistency with which it operates. THP President Deacon Patrick Moynihan reflects:

I am pleased that Irma saw fit to leave Haiti alone, even as great damage was done to her sister islands. School opening on time in Haiti each and every year is part of a process toward the institutional strength Haiti needs to be the great nation it strives to become.

Members of the administration and staff gather to welcome the students back to LCS for another year, including Dean of Students Obed G. (LCS '09, far left) and LCS Principal Marjorie M. (LCS '07, second from right), joined by THP In-Country Program Manager & Liaison to Partner Foundations Connor Branham (Volunteer '14-'15, far right).

Thanks for celebrating the start of the new year with us. We look forward to a great year!

June 2017 Newsletter

Our June 2017 newsletter is here!  Click here to see what we've been up to!

LCS Class of 2017 graduate poses with Deacon Patrick and Christina Moynihan after receiving her diploma. 

Why We Give: A Letter from Patrick B.

I have grown up in Haiti witnessing my country deteriorate year after year.  I have seen a UN force sent to restore some level of security and order.  I have seen thousands of NGOs apply all kinds of theories only to leave after a few years, having nothing to show in terms of achievements or positive impact. Following recent natural disasters, I have yet to see one successful community development project even though an abundance of resources and hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent.

Through all this, however, I remain hopeful because I see great progress in the field of EDUCATION. For nearly 3 decades, The Haitian Project, through its Louverture Cleary School, has been educating young Haitians from the most vulnerable sections of our population.  This education allows them to qualify for jobs, earn an honest living and become productive citizens.  While not often reported by mainstream media, this transformation of our poorest citizens is the most important thing currently happening in Haiti.  Only through education will Haiti make order of its chaos, raising its head and moving towards true community development and economic growth with an educated population possessing the ownership and determination necessary to turn the country around.

The THP miracle has been a labor of love and of subsidiarity (working at the local level). It harnesses both US and Haitian resources to establish, in Haiti, a formal structure able to address the need for education at an institutional level. Through our recent establishment of local non-profit foundations, (Fondation Haitian Project and Fondation Educative Louverture Cleary) responsibility for school operations, assets, and property now happens locally.  We are becoming more equipped to build more schools in Haiti. 

Today, Louverture Cleary graduates are in every spectrum of Haitian life, bringing their values as Louverturians to the national edifice. Even with all I have seen these past 51 years, I have faith in the future knowing the day is coming, the tipping point, where Haitians, led by Louverturians, will have the ability to think strategically and collaborate with one another to accomplish our dream of "building a Haiti where justice and peace thrive.”

Regards,

Patrick B.

THP Board Vice Chair
Chair of THP’s two Haitian Foundations
Haitian private sector leader

Patrick B. and Robert Moynihan catch up before a THP event in Providence, RI.

Female Enrollment Strong and Steady

When THP President Deacon Patrick Moynihan arrived at Louverture Cleary School in 1996, changes were in order.  At the time, only 15 percent of the LCS student population was female.  Reasons for this disparity are many and include a domestic culture that views sons as more likely to earn an income and thus more deserving of what few educational opportunities exist. 

A strict affirmative action plan was immediately put into place, requiring at least 40% of each incoming class be female. Because potential students must pass an entrance exam for enrollment, this necessitated enrolling some females even if they tested lower than a number of males. 

Within only a few years, it became far less necessary to adjust the acceptance process.  Word got out about the success of LCS’s women graduates and biases in the community began to change.  Soon, LCS had a large number of female applicants to pull from.  

In 1996 only 15 percent of LCS’ students were female. Today, over 50 percent of LCS’s students are female.

"Right rules equal right results.”

Leveling the ratio is truly something to celebrate, but, as Deacon Moynihan points out, it is “very normal” that LCS won this particular battle:

If you put the right rules in place and defend those rules, you will get the right results. Beyond the pure justice of this issue, it is a great indicator that, in Haiti, if you introduce purposeful rules you will get very normal outcomes.

Today, there is no affirmative action plan—it is no longer necessary. Philo (US 12th grade +1) student Edwine E. is just one of many who has benefited from the cultural shift that was ignited by the plan in 1996 and that now drives the large numbers of female applicants. She will graduate in a few short weeks from LCS, after which she plans to attend university and study medicine. Edwine, fittingly, finds motivation in her mother:

My mom only went to elementary school.  I see how she has worked very hard to put me where I am.  I want to seize the opportunities that my mom did not have and make her life easier after I go to university.

Edwine E., pictured far right with a few of her Philo classmates, reflects: “We are also human beings and deserve to be educated because we have the same dignity.” 

Breaking the Poverty Vacuum in Haiti

Salomon A., team manager at Energy Central, a solar panel sales, installation, and maintenance company in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince is a 1998 graduate of Louverture Cleary School with a perfect employment record.  He has been continuously employed since graduating from LCS.  

Salomon is one of many graduates breaking stereotypes about poverty in Haiti. A snapshot of his resume shows a man who has worked his way from stock keeper at a hardware store to his current position at Energy Central, which he helped start and now co-owns.

His employee badge reads he is from Cité Soleil, a fact that throws his customers off.  Cité Soleil is a deeply impoverished area near Port-au-Prince and home to many LCS students. Typically, Cité Soleil is tapped for factory labor at best, while management positions are awarded to people with wealth and strong family connections. Salomon sees this changing thanks to LCS:

Employers want LCS graduates – they know that they can trust them. I have not seen anyone who was poor and did not go to LCS in a management position. 

While THP has always known that education empowers individuals and their families, 20 years and hundreds of alumni later, it is now clear that LCS graduates are empowering their nation.  THP President Deacon Patrick Moynihan characterizes this change as something physical, like breaking the vacuum seal off a jar. If people living in poverty have literally been kept in cultural isolation, then education, specifically a Louverture Cleary education, is the force breaking that seal to allow for an equal and free flowing exchange throughout all levels of society.  

Salomon A., LCS '98, at work at Energy Central, a solar company he helped begin and now co-owns.

Post graduate support emerges

Salomon graduated from LCS when Deacon Moynihan, newly arrived in Haiti, was confronted with the reality that without connections or money to pay for university, graduates had no place to go after LCS. Thus, THP's Junior Staff program was born, offering new graduates part time employment at LCS to help pay for university.  Deacon Moynihan hit the pavement quickly, establishing connections with local business owners for internships. It did not take long for THP’s Office of External Affairs to emerge – first, managing internships then, formalizing university scholarship and networking programs for graduates.  Today, the OEA supports university scholarships for more than 100 graduates every year and has a steady network of companies that are hiring LCS grads, sometimes up to 10 at a time.

Of LCS' more than 600 graduates, 90 percent are either in university or employed in Haiti.  The vacuum seal that has prevented Haiti's poor in the Port-au-Prince area from being seen as individuals capable of supporting themselves and their families has been broken through the power of education at one school.  Imagine the possibilities.

“In a country like Haiti the one thing we need is better education at all levels of society.”                                                                                                  – Salomon Asmath