Haiti: Improving schools for rural students

One such student is Ludny, a 16-year-old girl from a mason's family in Constant which is two hours walk from Camp Perrin. The 7th grader is by far the oldest in her class because her family often could not afford the 25 USD school fee per year for her and her seven siblings. Thanks to a sponsor from the community, she now has a chance at education, and she is determined not to miss it – even if that means getting up at five o'clock every morning, so she can do her chores before starting her long walk to school. When she comes home, she often has nothing to eat, either because there is no food available, or because she is expected to start cooking dinner for the family.

"When the children arrive in the morning, they are thirsty," Principal Duval Emmanuel says. "But because we have no clean water, the students must go out and buy drinking water most of the time." Principal Emmanuel recommends that the children bring their drinking water from home, which is almost impossible for students like Ludny, who have a long walk and no money to buy bottles.

Agents of change

The LWF/NCA “Green School” project at Ecole Lespwa of Camp-Perrin will address all these problems. The compost toilets will be switched to flush latrines allowing better maintenance and use, eliminating odors. The project will also provide access to clean water by building a drinking water point. The green school project will make 400 liters of potable water available daily for the school, making it possible to cook meals for the children as well.

These improvements come with lessons on good hygiene practices: use of latrines, hand washing, and only drinking safe water. "It is widespread that the households in remote areas in Camp Perrin practice open defecation," explains Prospery Raymond, LWF Country Representative in Haiti. "They contaminate the spring water and other household water resources, resulting in diarrhea and other waterborne diseases."

We hope they (the children) will take these lessons home and help improve the lives of their families and their communities.

Prospery RAYMOND, LWF Country Representative, Haiti

Ludny dreams of a schoolyard with games. As she likes to read, she wishes to have a library in the school. She is very determined to make the best of her situation.

"We consider the children agents of change," Raymond adds. "We hope they will take these lessons home and help improve the lives of the entire family and their communities."