Colby Bowker
Why Haiti, Why Now
Why Haiti, Why Now
Colby Bowker
“The Haitian Project: A Blueprint for Solving ...
“The Haitian Project: A Blueprint for Solving Big Problems” - Ever Widening Circles

Join THP this Summer at Four Rhode Island Parishes

Mission Cooperative Program Summer 2023 Banner

Please join The Haitian Project this summer as THP participates in the Diocese of Providence's Mission Cooperation Program!

The Haitian Project often notes that a mission is only as strong as the community that sends it. Thanks to the Diocese of Providence and the parishes that will welcome The Haitian Project this summer, the Project will have the opportunity to share its authentic Catholic mission work with a new audience through the diocese’s Mission Cooperation Program.

The Mission Cooperation Program is an annual initiative, both locally and globally, when missionaries visit parishes to increase mission awareness and bear witness to, and raise support for, their work. THP President Reese Grondin will be speaking at Masses in four parish communities in Cranston, RI, during the months of July and August. 

If you are in the Ocean State this summer, please join us!

 
 

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

Presenting The Haitian Project's 2022 Annual Report

The Haitian Project 2022 Annual Report is here!

As you read it, we hope you are proud of what YOU have made possible and the work we did TOGETHER for Haiti.

Here are some of our favorite sections of the 2022 Annual Report, especially this quote from graduating Philo (13th grade) student Mckenley S.:

“Louverture Cleary School is helping us to rebuild our country. The school is teaching us principles that help us to become better people. Since I was a child, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur.... I would get enough money to change the situation of my family, and I will be able to employ people who need a job. My hope for Haiti is to see one day my country among the greatest ones."

See Mckenley's quote, along with others from the LCS Class of 2022, on pages 10 & 11 of the Annual Report. 

And did you know?

Despite challenges in 2022, the first phase of construction on The Haitian Project's second school, the Model Campus in the Diocese of Gonaïves, is complete—and a site for an additional Louverture Cleary School has been identified in Haiti's southern peninsula in the Diocese of Anse-à-Veau and Miragoâne!


Be sure to check out more on the progress of the LCS Network on page 4.

And...

Drawing on The Haitian Project's Charism (spiritual identity), service has always been at the core of LCS formation. The LCS Community Outreach Program is just one more way the LCS community lives its commitment to put others first in pursuit of a brighter future for their country. 

Read more on the Outreach Program's service to the LCS community on the Inside Back Cover.

Thanks again for your support last year. It is abundantly clear that Haiti needs more Louverturians—they possess the heart, skills, and purpose to transcend the challenges of the moment to create the positive, long-term change that Haiti needs! Please continue to stand with us as we push ahead with historic plans to increase access to education in Haiti through the Louverture Cleary Schools Network! 

Design work on The Haitian Project's 2022 Annual Report donated by Dan Wykes.

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

The June Issue of Haitian Project News is Here!

Group of smiling students in uniforms

Louverture Cleary School Class of 2023

Read all about it...

Looking Forward to Graduation! Every year, the Philo (13th grade) class looks forward to graduation as they savor their last months in the Louverture Cleary School community and make plans for university studies, careers, and lives after LCS. This year, the anticipation is no different, except graduation will be in July instead of June due to the late start of the 2022–2023 school year. 

You can also read more about this year’s graduating class in a special July 2023 issue of Haitian Project News—coming soon!

What else is featured in the June 2023 issue? 

  • Haitian Voices: 
    Haiti remains in the media spotlight due to the pervasive gang violence, economic pressures, and political instability impacting the country. Haitian Project News staff recently interviewed members of The Haitian Project’s community in Haiti to hear their thoughts. 

  • Spreading the News at LCS:

    When LCS Economics Department Head Djim G. (LCS ’14) was a student and saw his fellow Louverturians participating in a newspaper club that shared news of the school and the world from the student perspective, he knew he wanted to be involved. Now, as a staff member and teacher, he is bringing this opportunity to a new generation of Louverturians.

Read about these topics and more of the latest THP happenings in the June issue of Haitian Project News! 

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

The Haitian Project Continues to Serve

“Ours is a generational commitment and vision. We are proceeding as if this mission will outlast us all and ultimately be fully supported and run by Haitians—because that’s exactly the plan.”

Most Appreciated Community Members,

On behalf of the team in the U.S. and our colleagues in Haiti, I want to express how grateful we are for your continued concern and awareness of the immense challenges in Haiti.

I want you to know that, with your support, The Haitian Project has been able to continue all operations at our flagship Louverture Cleary School outside Port-au-Prince AND advance the work being done to develop additional schools. (In fact, funding is the single largest impediment to expansion.)

There is no question that the situation is extremely difficult and complex. Our faculty, staff and students, their families and loved ones, are all under significant stress from the constant risks posed by pervasive gang violence, economic pressures, and political instability. Under these conditions, the tremendous talent, experience and dedication of our team, especially the remarkable leadership of our colleagues in Haiti, have been invaluable. 

Things are not easy in Haiti, yet this is precisely the time to invest more, not less, in our mission. It is always possible that we may have to temporarily pause operations depending on the reality on the ground. However, a pause of weeks, or even months, while incredibly difficult for our community in Haiti, is not a threat to our mission overall.

The Haitian Project has navigated extremely challenging circumstances for nearly four decades—from failures of government to natural disasters—and has never stopped growing or serving the people of Haiti. Our current plan to develop the Louverture Cleary Schools Network spans another 20 years.

Ours is a generational commitment and vision. We are proceeding as if this mission will outlast us all and will ultimately be fully supported and run by Haitians—because that’s exactly the plan.

Careful management and planning by the administration and the board prioritizes delivering our core programs and supporting our community at times of crisis in every appropriate way, knowing that our mission will emerge through this current moment in Haiti’s history.

This means making prudent decisions that ensure our ability to develop future schools. And, since future campuses will be located outside of Port-au-Prince where the worst of the instability is concentrated, each new school provides additional resilience to the mission overall.

Finally, it is critical to stress that our work has only become more important. Our community in Haiti needs the immediate stability, support and hope we are providing during this period of difficulty. And Haiti needs the servant-leaders (and more Louverture Cleary Schools!) who are ready to build a just and prosperous future out of the current situation.

That’s what the entire THP Community is working for. And that’s why it is imperative we all seize this moment as the opportunity to step up, not back.

If you ever have any questions, I encourage you to reach out. Simply reply to this email and I will be sure to respond. 

Reese Grondin
President—The Haitian Project, Inc.

Thank you for your support of our work together for Haiti!

 
The Haitian Project and LCS Network double logo
 

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

Louverturians Are Deepening Roots and Branching Out Through Language

Louverture Cleary School has been an innovator and trendsetter in Haiti since its opening nearly four decades ago; its approach to teaching languages is just one example. Recognizable and impactful as students, employees, community members, and citizens, perhaps one of the more apparent attributes of a Louverturian is their fluency in four languages—Kreyòl, French, English, and Spanish.

Young boys playing checkers

Perhaps the most immersive learning of the four languages in the LCS curriculum is done outside the classroom, during pastimes such as extracurricular activities.

Haiti has two official languages: Kreyòl (also known as Haitian Creole) is the familial language spoken in Haitian homes, and French is the language of academia and business. Historically, in school, only French was spoken, written, and read. Kreyòl  was not officially introduced into schools until 1979.

Due to Haiti’s location, the LCS administration developed its language program to add English and Spanish to the study of Kreyòl and French, to further bridge the gap with the country's geographical neighbors and open doors for global commerce and collaboration. 

Recognizing Kreyòl as a language worthy of being studied, written, read, and recorded did more than expand the linguistic horizons of students; it recognized and validated their history and culture.

Female teacher standing at podium in front of sitting students in uniform in classroom

LCS Dean of Academics Myriam J. (LCS ‘10) teaching class.

LCS Dean of Academics Myriam J. (LCS ’10), who received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a minor in English and Spanish instruction at Université Quisqueya with a scholarship from LCS’s Dulcich Center for Career Advancement, wrote her thesis using LCS as a case study for effective immersive language learning. Notes Myriam:

“The purpose of the teaching of Kreyòl in Haitian schools is to allow students to discover the mechanism of operation of the Kreyòl language, to use a language that is rooted in the culture of the Haitian people, to help in the use of Kreyòl in formal situations for its promotion and integration, and to promote Creole cultures and values in the field of literature, theatre, music, and more.”

Perhaps the most immersive learning at LCS is done outside the classroom through extracurricular activities and, most notably, the language of the week program. LCS assigns one of the four languages to each week on a rotating basis which the students must speak at all times outside of class, such as passing between classrooms and at play time. This allows students to use languages more colloquially and instinctively, and to gain confidence in their use. 

As Myriam remarked in a 2015 interview about her university thesis, “At LCS, students can practice the language and not just memorize it. They read books and develop the ability to think in English.... My proposition is that every school in Haiti use a model like LCS, so that in seven years, or less, students will have learned English and Spanish and have the language skills they need to be successful in the global community.”

A version of this Community Update recently ran as an article in the December issue of Haitian Project News. If you would like to receive our newsletter, either electronically or on paper, email THP at development@haitianproject.org today!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

The Haitian Project is Platinum!

Candid Platinum Transparency 2023 logo

The Haitian Project has been awarded the 2023 Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid.*

The Haitian Project is committed to the highest level of transparency. Because of our focus on communicating actual results and impact, Candid has awarded us their 2023 Platinum Seal of Transparency. 

Candid is well known for their comprehensive data tools on nonprofits, foundations, and grants, and we are delighted to be granted this distinction.

You can be proud of your support for The Haitian Project. Thank you for helping to build a brighter future for Haiti!

* formerly the GuideStar Seal of Transparency

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

The April Issue of Haitian Project News is Here!

Female teacher standing at podium in front of sitting students in classroom

LCS Dean of Academics Myriam J. (LCS ‘10) teaching class.

What is featured in this issue? Read all about it...

Deepening Roots and Branching Out Through Language: Louverture Cleary School has been an innovator and trendsetter in Haiti since its opening nearly four decades ago; its approach to teaching languages is just one example. Recognizable and impactful as students, employees, community members, and citizens, perhaps one of the more apparent attributes of a Louverturian is their fluency in four languages—Kreyòl, French, English, and Spanish. Read more about LCS's immersive language program in the April issue of Haitian Project News.

  • Celebrating and Inspiring Haiti’s Young Women: The LCS community has always modeled the change it wants to see in Haiti, including challenging gender bias and inequality and creating equal opportunities for males and females. A great example of this is LCS's impactful “Celebrate Women” program.

  • Investing in Those Who Have the Least: The Haitian Project has always focused on the formation of Haiti’s future servant-leaders so that the country may realize a brighter future built by and for Haitians themselves, and investing the most in those who have the least has been one of THP’s guiding principles since its beginning. A recent report by UNICEF validates this mission.

  • Read about these topics and more of the latest THP happenings in the April issue of Haitian Project News! 

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

A Reflection for Holy Week

Three wooden crosses in field at sunset

A Holy Week Reflection from Longtime THP Community Member Randall Woodard

Now that Lent is nearly over, and we are close to celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus, it can be a good time to look back at our experience of Lent and how it has prepared us to experience the joy of Easter.

I can remember giving up candy each year as a child. As I got older, that changed to beer, as candy’s role in my life has diminished with time. I bet a lot of us have spiritual practices that became habits, and we may no longer deeply examine how we might grow and sacrifice as we journey through Lent.

Hopefully, Lent has been a wonderful opportunity to go into the desert to strip away the elements that obstruct discipleship. To put this simply, our faith might be understood as us living holy lives as disciples as we love God and neighbor. Our sacrifices during Lent have prepared us to rejoice in that holiness as we set our sights on Easter.

We might be well served at this point to consider what practices actually allowed us to grow in holiness, become stronger disciples, and to more deeply love God and neighbor. Additionally, we know that our connection to others and to our higher purpose relate deeply to our own happiness.

Did Lent provide that for me? 

If not, perhaps I should consider a new approach next year?

Here are three questions to focus on while following Christ into the desert, so we may more faithfully love God and others even as we are nearly finished with our Lenten sacrifices.

Firstly, let’s look in the mirror. What should we continue to strip away that will make us better disciples? What negativity or patterns of sin should we walk away from? A traditional examination of conscience can help with this, as can the vulnerability to ask a spouse, close friend, or loved one what might be good for us to strip away—not only for Lent, but for good.

Secondly, we can ask what practices we need to continue so that we can develop our relationship with God. It might be helpful to try something new if our Lenten spiritual practices didn’t bring us into a deeper encounter with God, or allow us to be drawn more deeply in the presence of God.

Finally, how might we more deeply continue to love others once Lent is over? Is there service to those in need to undertake? 

As we finish Lent and prepare to celebrate the joy of the Resurrection of Jesus, we might seek new paths forward to more effectively and intentionally develop as disciples and emerge from this liturgical season to spring into Easter with a newfound and continued determination to continue our growth in holiness, and more deeply fall in love with God and neighbor. 

Happy Easter!

Randall "Woody" Woodard
Community Member — The Haitian Project

Dr. Randall Woodard, is director of graduate studies in theology, chair of philosophy and religion, and associate professor of theology and religion at St. Leo University. Woody volunteers his time at The Haitian Project on the Governance Committee, and Board Recruitment and Visiting Team Subcommittees.

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

We Did It! Mèsi!

Thank you graphic with group of happy students in uniform

We did it! 

During an exciting four days of giving, 179 people supported The Haitian Project, unlocking a $3,000 challenge gift and bringing in other matching funds from 401Gives sponsors. 

Together, we raised over $31,000 for Louverture Cleary Schools and ended up at #16 on the leaderboard out of more than 500 participating nonprofits!

We are beyond grateful for the outpouring of support in honor of this giving event and our mission of education in Haiti. To everyone who donated and spread the word (or simply cheered us on while being patient with all those emails!), and to our challenge gift sponsors, thank you! 

We couldn't do what we do without the support of our community members like you. 

Mèsi!

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.

 

Celebrating and Inspiring Haiti’s Young Women

LCS Assistant Campus Minister Chrislie R. (left) presents to Twazyèm (U.S. 10th grade) and Segond (U.S. 11th grade) girls at their "Celebrate Women" retreat last month.

The Louverture Cleary School (LCS) community has always been counterculture in Haiti, modeling the change it wants to see in the country. It is a reliable, accountable employer and educator, recognizes the dignity in all types of work, and cares for the environment by being one of the first in Haiti to adopt solar technology and properly manage resources and waste.

And, perhaps most importantly, it creates equal opportunities for males and females.

The school was a trailblazer in ensuring girls had access to secondary education in the Port-au-Prince area by implementing policies early on that led to gender parity in its student body (see box below). Still, that was not all LCS would do to challenge gender bias and inequality. THP Chief Program Officer Aimée Maier recalls the inception of the girls empowerment program, “Celebrate Women,” which remains an impactful and enduring activity today:

“The 'Celebrate Women' program began during my 1998-99 Volunteer year. The idea and name was driven by Volunteer Moira Feeney and grew from the knowledge that, at that time in Haiti, males had more access to education than females did. Today, 'Celebrate Women' is one of the many examples of how LCS stands apart in its commitment to challenging norms which value the education and contribution of males above females.”

Girls in the Rhéto (U.S. 12th Grade) and Philo (U.S. 12th Grade + 1) classes make friendship bracelets as an activity during a Celebrate Women retreat.

Throughout the years, the "Celebrate Women" program has provided seminars and retreats for the empowerment of female students led by the strong female leaders in the LCS staff, junior staff, and U.S. Volunteer (Missionary) community. Empowering themes, mantras, songs, talks, and activities help girls to develop self-confidence, build teamwork, and grow as leaders. 

(A parallel program at LCS called “Man Up” also helps ensure that male students view their female counterparts as capable individuals and equals.)

As LCS Principal Marjorie M. (LCS '07) notes:

"What I like the most in 'Celebrate Women' is that it is an activity which gives us a way to teach girls to become better citizens for the future. It helps them to know themselves better, to value themselves, to accept who they are, and to focus on their goals, not to act as others want or society thinks they should. It is a way to reinforce self-confidence and know their rights and worth." 

The most recent "Celebrate Women" retreat took place in February right before Carnival break. Girls in the Twazyèm (U.S. 10th grade) and Segond (U.S. 11th grade) classes remained at school after Friday dismissal for an overnight retreat led by a remarkable team of female staff and junior staff members, the majority of whom were LCS alumnae and were formed in the "Celebrate Women" program themselves.

LCS Assistant Campus Minister Chrislie R. (LCS '14) participated in "Celebrate Women" activities as a student and now leads the retreats for a new generation of students: 

"'Celebrate Women' is important to LCS and Haiti because we want to empower our young girls so they can be the best version of themselves. In this activity we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women all over the world. Our girls find models they can look up to, women that inspire them, women that show that they can accomplish great things in life. It is important for LCS and Haiti because it promotes gender equality. We want our future women to find their place in society and to use their full potential."

At a time when women and girls are being terrorized by gang violence in the country, it is especially important that LCS perseveres in providing a top-notch education and formation to Haiti’s young women. "Celebrate Women" equips Haiti’s future female leaders to exemplify the school’s values, achieve their career goals, and make a difference in their country, all while believing in themselves.

Ultimately, the slogan for this year’s retreat says it best: “I am beautiful, smart, talented—and that makes me the BEST and no one can take that from me.”

A Trailblazing Path...Ensuring Gender Equality at LCS

In the early days of Louverture Cleary School, boys in Haiti were more likely to be enrolled in school and granted job opportunities while girls were often relegated to working in the home. This favoritism was due to cultural biases about gender, and the cost and availability of education preventing families from sending all of their children to school. In 1996, the LCS student body was only 15 percent female.

School leadership addressed this disparity by implementing an affirmative action policy ensuring that at least 40 percent of each incoming class was female. Within only a few years, it became far less necessary to adjust the acceptance process. More girls applied to LCS each year and, since 2006, the student body has been over 50 percent female.

“Keep In Touch” to receive periodic updates on our students, activities at Louverture Cleary School, and progress on the LCS Network. Together, we can build a bright and enduring future for Haiti.