We finished July summer camp and now I can hardly wait for September 7th. That’s the day more than 355 children will walk on to the campus of the Matènwa Community Learning Center—and mark the beginning of our 30th year!
Whether you’ve been on this journey with MCLC for years or are a new friend of Matènwa, you are part of the community that makes this possible. Thank you for standing with Haitians in Haiti and in the U.S. in this difficult moment.
I hope you enjoy your August Good News Update from Matènwa!
With hope and love,
Chris Low
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Friends of Matènwa
Summer Camp is about curiosity, confidence, friendship, and belonging!
One Very Joyful Summer
I remember the first few years we had July summer camp. We served about 200 children and the activities were led by our teachers and volunteers from the U.S.
They offered workshops on making macramé and beaded bracelets, papier-mâché bowls, earrings, painted T-shirts, crocheted scarves, woven baskets, and more, along with drawing, painting, music, and board games. Today, many of the activities are led by former campers who are now high school students or MCLC teachers. They’re giving back by teaching the next generation what they learned when they were little.
This is one example of what sets us apart from other schools: a place where children can start off with a free meal, then participate in an activity of their choice, taught in Haitian Creole. The result: fully engaged students discovering what they’re capable of and how creative they can be.
We had 500 children this summer—a record number! A majority of the children came from other schools on Lagonav. The July camp is their chance to experience things that they do not usually have at their schools: music, sports, art, computers, a library, and plenty of joy.
Visit our Summer Camp page to watch the video and see how the MCLC campus was buzzing with energy.
Chris and Louiseda at the Teacher of the Year ceremony in Cap-Haitien.
Matènwa's Louiseda Sumé Named One of Haiti’s Top 10 Teachers!
I have some wonderful news to share: Louiseda Sumé, one of MCLC’s beloved teachers, was selected as one of 10 finalists for Haiti’s 2026 National Teacher of the Year!
Think about that: more than 2,000 teachers were nominated from across Haiti, and Louiseda made it to the final 10. We couldn’t be prouder.
Louiseda knows Matènwa from the inside out. She was once a student here herself. Today, as a fourth-grade teacher, she gives her students what she received: love, respect, a voice, and the confidence to believe in themselves.
She teaches in Haitian Creole because, as she puts it, learning in their mother tongue “motivates the students; it allows the child to believe in themselves.” And she teaches without violence, using dialogue to show children that their voices matter.
What makes me especially happy is that Louiseda doesn’t see teaching as a job. She sees it as giving back: “As they taught me with love, I also teach the children with the same love.”
Louiseda didn’t take home the top prize, but we’re not disappointed. Being named one of Haiti’s 10 finalists out of 2,000 nominated teachers is an extraordinary honor. We are so proud of you, Louiseda!
She teaches in Haitian Creole because, as she puts it, learning in their mother tongue “motivates the students; it allows the child to believe in themselves.” And she teaches without violence, using dialogue to show children that their voices matter.
What makes me especially happy is that Louiseda doesn’t see teaching as a job. She sees it as giving back: “As they taught me with love, I also teach the children with the same love.”
Louiseda didn’t take home the top prize, but we’re not disappointed. Being named one of Haiti’s 10 finalists out of 2,000 nominated teachers is an extraordinary honor. We are so proud of you, Louiseda!
Standing With Our Neighbors in Springfield
Friends of Matènwa continues to stand with our friends at the Haitian Support Center in Springfield, Ohio. FoM is providing technical support for the Center’s fundraising and development efforts so that Viles Dorsainvil, Rose-Thamar Joseph, and their team can continue helping Haitian families.
Since the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, stripping them of legal status on July 27, nearly 700 people have come through the Haitian Support Center looking for help.
Viles, the Center’s Executive Director, has been driving people to ICE appointments in Cincinnati and Columbus. Last week, he wrote to us about what he has been witnessing since July 27:
“They arrive with their immigration papers carefully organized in folders. But after their interviews, they are sent home wearing ankle monitors, as if they are criminals. One mother I know tried to hide it from her children when she got home. She did not want them to see it. Another man collapsed to the ground in tears outside the ICE office after being fitted with an ankle monitor. I cannot stop thinking about either of these souls.”
Neither can I.
Some 350,000 Haitians came to the United States legally under TPS. The Trump administration canceled TPS on the grounds that conditions in Haiti have improved. Yet more than 5.8 million people in Haiti are experiencing acute hunger, a crisis that will only worsen as many families lose remittances from relatives who were working legally in the United States under TPS. At the same time, 1.5 million people are homeless, hungry, and traumatized by gangs that terrorize their neighborhoods, set fire to their homes, extort money, kidnap people, and murder and sexually assault women and girls in front of their families.
The U.S. State Department’s travel warning for Haiti remains at its highest level: Level 4: Do Not Travel. It even advises travelers to leave DNA samples with a medical provider and dental records with family members so that their remains can be identified.
Solidarity isn’t an abstract idea. Your support gives Friends of Matènwa the capacity to stand with Haitian communities like Springfield when they need vital humanitarian assistance. Thank you.
Sara may be calling to ask you about hosting breakfast in your home!
Meet Sara Sezun, Breakfast Club Coordinator
You might have gotten a phone call from Sara Sezun, or will be soon! We are absolutely delighted to have her working with Friends of Matènwa.
Sara is helping us reach out to people in our community—not to ask for a donation, but to ask something a little different: Would you consider inviting a few of your friends to your home for breakfast?
The idea is simple. You gather some people you know, we come talk about what’s happening at Matènwa, and everyone gets to learn a little more about this remarkable community.
Maybe someone falls in love with the Breakfast Club. Maybe someone wants to help with another program. Maybe they simply leave knowing something they didn’t know before. That’s how communities grow.
Sara is a Vassar graduate—just like me! She brings to Friends of Matènwa a deep commitment to justice and years of experience supporting and advancing progressive causes.
She is also a delight to talk with. So if Sara calls, please pick up!
