Only a little over half of primary school-age Haitian children are enrolled in school. Less than 2% of children finish secondary school (UNICEF). Many children in Haiti do not have the luxury of going to school. Many minds become wasted as the days are filled with wandering about in settings of abject poverty. This makes the 18 primary schools that St. Luke operates incredibly important. Unfortunately, they are all in various stages of development (although we do ask that our teachers be certified now, which has helped with proficiency in ALL students/schools!); one is a tin building with pews and a dirt floor, another is a cinder block building with secure roofing and numerous classrooms. There is a governing committee that decides everything related to the schools. Around 4,500 children were enrolled last year and we’re happy to be able to give half of them a daily meal. These schools are located in many of the slums in Cité Soleil, with others in Wharf Jeremy, where children do not have the luxury of going to school or even having a meal.

The areas where the street schools are concentrated contain the most gang activity, violence, prostitution, and transmission of AIDS. With this program, the hope is to diminish the amount of children on the streets participating in such activity. In Sub-Saharan Africa, it’s found that the transmission of AIDS is 60% less likely among children who have structure, are in schools, and off the streets.

Some of our goals for the upcoming years are to provide each child in the school system, even the street schools, with laptops through a One-Laptop-Per-Child initiative. We would also like to increase transportation to and from the schools for the less fortunate children, along with opening some more schools in the countryside.

The road to anywhere starts with a first step. Start where you are. Pretty dismal outside. But lets look inside!

Eyes are bright! Hearts are light! There is eagerness to learn.