Preparations for School

The past two weeks have been very busy around here. We are so thankful to our TOHH Sponsors, because of them we had nearly 50 kids to get ready for school to start September 5th. TOHH helps to supply children with everything needed to have a successful school year!

The Wikipedia Encyclopedia states "Formal Education rates in Haiti are among the lowest in the Western Hemisphere.^[3] Haiti's literacy rate of about 61% (64.3% for males and 57.3% for females) is below the 90% average literacy rate for Latin American and Caribbean countries.^[1] The country faces shortages in educational supplies and qualified teachers. The rural population is less educated than the urban.^[3] The 2010 Haiti earthquake exacerbated the already constrained parameters on Haiti's educational system by destroying infrastructure and displacing 50-90% of the students, depending on locale.

International private schools (run by Canada, France, or the United States) and church-run schools educate 90% of students.^[3] Haiti has 15,200 primary schools, of which 90% are non-public and managed by communities, religious organizations or NGOs.^[4] The enrollment rate for primary school is 88%.^[2] Secondary schools enroll 20% of eligible-age children. Higher education is provided by universities and other public and private institutions."

This tells us that our job is vital in helping children in Haiti gain education and break the cycle of poverty. Our TOHH children attend NGO private church run schools. Take a look as to all the preparations that took place prior to the 1st day of school.

We are so thankful for Pastor Edon and his wife who made all our TOHH uniforms for almost 50 children. These are Mission of Hope International's school colors (Green and White) for primary school. Preschoolers wear brown and High Schoolers wear navy blue checkers. There is no catalog to order school uniforms, so this is a huge task for getting kids ready for school. 

Gama's brother Flantorge took a full day shopping for shoes for each sponsored child. 

  GOT SHOE'S?

The 4 barrels shipped from Boston came just in time with 40 new backpacks to hand out to our sponsored kids. So much work took place to get these barrels down to Haiti. Thank you to all those who donated, clothes, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies. Rebecca Miller from The Erving Church took up the task of organizing this "Build-A-Backpack" Program. We also had help from Laurice Fournier (Cassandra Clemente's mom!!) who volunteered to be a drop off spot in the Holden area. She then drove to meet up with Rebecca. We are thankful to get these barrels from Gama's cousin Jean Sainvil and another thank you to Angela's dad (Dean Boudreau) who went to go get the barrels, clean them out and also drive them to Boston. 

Sunday, August 4th, we gave out school supplies to 47 children!!

 

Thank God for Pastor Edon who organized all the books so that each child received the books they need for their grade. He then also handed out all the uniforms to each child. This who day took a while but thankfully was very organized and everyone waited their turn. Praise be to God!

Jean Wilzer Rene received his backpack from Pastor Vic and Rebecca Miller and new school shoes!

Esther Edmond is happy to get her backpack, school supplies, uniform and shoes!

Pastor Edon hands out uniforms

Samantha poses for the camera!

Donaldoni and Emmanuel are the coolest high schoolers!

 September 5th, 2016

First Day of School Photo's

Our Preschoolers (Lucienne, Presner, Damaniel and Demas)

Primary grades (Peterson, Elie, Terravil, Dede, Penthia)

Primary grades (Angello, Claude and Thedson)

Primary grades (Loudia, Kavensky and Wismene)

Primary grades (Kathiana, Widlenson and Eltanice)

Primary grades (Dodo, Samantha, Rosemitha and Linedialine)

1st graders 

High Schoolers (Jacque, Emmanuel and Donaldoni)

High Schoolers (Simonia and Fafan Jr)

High Schooler (Jean Wilzer Rene)

Angeline Guerrier is our oldest student. She is in the 9th grade. This is where life change can happen by keeping these students in school. We encourage them to stay focused and keep their eyes on Jesus! We know that with God all things are possible for them. It was a great start of the year and we look forward to see what this year holds!

Thank you for partnering with TOHH and following our posts, blogs and photos! 

Stay updated with all we are doing here at Tree of Hope Haiti through social media! Have a blessed week!

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