Four more Matènwa graduates have begun university. They join a growing group of our young people pursuing degrees with a shared hope: to return to Lagonav Island with the skills to help their communities thrive.
I think about their parents and teachers, and all the years of work that got them here. There’s a lot of which to be proud.
With so much violence in Port-au-Prince, good news like this can be hard to imagine. The suffering is real, and these students’ achievements can’t erase it. But they are a reason to keep believing in what is possible in Haiti. I wish everyone who wonders if anything still functions in Haiti could spend a day in Matènwa.
Children are learning, teachers are teaching, and the school remains ready to welcome students whose families flee the mainland. Life is moving forward. Progress is happening.
I’m glad to share a little of that life with you in this month’s Good News Update.
Thank you for caring about Matènwa and helping children have a future they can look forward to.
Peace,
Chris Low
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Friends of Matènwa
Sixteen Graduates Proud to be in University
The 13 MCLC graduates studying at the University of Fondwa.
Thirteen Matènwa Community Learning Center graduates are now studying at the University of Fondwa, including four new freshman.
Three more MCLC graduates are studying nursing at Wesleyan University on Lagonav Island, including Tamika, who is close to graduating! She has completed all her coursework and is doing an internship at a hospital in Grand-Goâve, the final step in earning her nursing degree.
Their guidance counselor, Williamson put it beautifully, "These 16 students are a source of pride for their parents, their school, and their communities. Think of the years of work behind this moment. There is so much to celebrate. Thank you for helping keep opportunities like these within reach."
Come Spend a Minute in Matènwa
A new 1-minute video: A glimpse of life on the Matènwa campus.
This new 1-minute video offers a window into the school at the heart of everything that our extraordinary teachers, staff, parents and donors make possible for more than 350 girls and boys at Matènwa.
Look What’s Growing in Matènwa
MCLC agricultural technician Elijèn (right) with students in the school garden.
Five beds of spinach tended by fourth graders. Five beds of tomatoes growing in the fifth-grade garden. And 100 avocado saplings in the nursery, getting their start.
Seedlings take root in a repurposed tire.
Children are learning to grow food they can eat and taking that knowledge home. Thank you for helping put plants—and the skills to grow them—into more hands!
Eggplants growing in repurposed flour sacks.
Three Hundred New Backpacks
Matènwa eighth grade girls (above) and boys (below) with their new backpacks.
Three hundred smiling faces, 300 students ready for the school year. A special shout out to Madam Kawòl and Mari Joze who had these backpacks made by young budding entrepreneurs in Haiti.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the backpack campaign. Rejoice in the joy that you all helped bring!
Their Voices, Haiti’s Future: Matènwa's International Peace Day March
Children deserve to grow up in peace. In September, Matènwa’s students and teachers marched on the International Day of Peace to call for that right—for themselves and for families across Haiti.
His poster says, "Live in peace for a different Haiti without violence."
Being hit or humiliated is part of a normal school day in the majority of Haitian schools. Matènwa students learn without that fear. During this march, children expressed that same expectation beyond their school campus, shouting "Peace for Haiti" as they passed by other schools and homes along their route.
Our students have something to say, and I’m glad we encourage them to be vocal.
His poster says, “Peace is peace of mind. Peace can change everything. Everyone should live in peace. Respect, share, and work collaboratively together. Long live peace!”
Students marching from Matènwa to the neighboring community of Nan Kafe on the International Day of Peace.
Standing with Haitians in Springfield, Ohio: Standing Up for Dignity and Decency
Staff and volunteers with the Haitian Support Center in Springfield, OH.
On Monday, Oct. 27th, on NPR’s Morning Edition, Michel Martin interviewed Haitian Support Center staffers Rose Joseph and James Fleurijean. With courage and determination they accompany their neighbors facing fear, uncertainty, humiliation and the death of Pierre Damas Bel, a promising 20-year-old honor student.
Listen to the interview here: NPR: Springfield, Ohio, residents share how Trump's attacks on Haitians have affected them
Rose and James remind us that every family deserves safety and every person deserves dignity. No one should be targeted or dehumanized because of where they were born. These are values we stand for in Matènwa and they don’t stop at Haiti’s shores.
Pierre Damas Bel
Our deputy director, Brian Stevens, continues to provide technical assistance to HSC and serves on its board. We’re committed to standing with Springfield’s Haitian community, long after the headlines move on.
