Here’s your good news update from the Matènwa Community Learning Center.
Thank you for standing with this community. This is what your generous and regular giving helps to make possible — progress that builds over time and keeps moving forward.
Peace,
Chris Low
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Friends of Matènwa
MCLC's preschoolers are now fully covered for breakfast.
Preschooler Breakfast Club Goal Achieved!
Thanks to so many people who care, we reached our goal of 30 new Breakfast Club members. It certainly was a very well appreciated Valentine’s gift!
The preschool classes at MCLC are now fully covered for breakfast every school day.
When young children eat before class, they settle in faster, stay focused longer, and are ready to learn. Teachers say it determines whether or not it's going to be a good day. Providing breakfast is what makes learning possible.
With preschool now covered, we’re turning our attention to first grade (pictured below).
Over the next few weeks, we’re hoping to add 15 more Breakfast Club members so these students can be fully covered too. You can follow our progress at: https://matenwa.org/breakfast
Lounedia and Tamika are both MCLC graduates now in nursing school at the Wesleyan Hospital on Lagonav Island.
From MCLC to University
One of the clearest signs that the Matènwa model works is what happens after students graduate. Right now, 13 MCLC graduates are in higher education:
- 11 students at the University of Fondwa
- 2 students studying nursing at Wesleyan University on Lagonav
- 7 of these students are women
The nursing students, Lounedia and Tamika, are at the top of their class, deep into clinical training and preparing to return to serve their communities after graduation.
Lounedia shared: “I am proud because I will be a nurse. I am the first person in my family who will earn a professional diploma.”
This is the long game — education in Haitian Creole, confidence, critical thinking, and the expectation that students will come back and help their communities move forward.
As International Women’s Day (March 8) approaches, we’ll be sharing more about the young women whose journeys began at MCLC and who are now preparing to become nurses, agronomists, veterinarians and community business leaders.
Two girls collect water at the Little Spring near Matènwa.
Working Toward Clean Water for Four Communities
This month, we applied for a $50,000 grant to install a solar-powered water system that would bring clean water up from a ravine to two roadside kiosks. The spring currently serves four communities.
Right now, many families — especially women and children — spend hours each day walking for water.
If funded, the system would eliminate the need to make a treacherous hike down the ravine and provide up to 1,600 gallons a day, powered by the sun and managed by the community.
That means better health, less physical strain, and more time for school, work, and family life.
We don’t know yet if the grant will come through. But this is the kind of practical, community-driven work MCLC keeps moving forward.
Elders were invited to share a meal with students and tell stories from Matènwa's past.
Students Learning From and Honoring Their Elders
On January 6, students and staff invited elders from the community to the school to share soup joumou together — a powerful symbol of dignity and independence in Haiti.
After the meal, students sat and listened as the elders shared stories about their lives and the history of the community.
At MCLC, education isn’t only about preparing for the future. It’s also about understanding where you come from — and your responsibility to the community you’re part of.
Getting to Matènwa is easier than many people expect. Our visitors flew into Cap-Haïtien and then chartered a helicopter directly to Lagonav.
Visitors Return to Matènwa
This January, we hosted our first visitors at MCLC in three years. Three school directors from Port-au-Prince, along with the director of the Peace Project and his translator, came for a 10-day observation visit to see The Matènwa Way in action.
Their goal was simple: to decide whether they wanted their teachers trained here. By the second day — after sitting in classrooms, talking with teachers, and meeting with school leaders — they had their answer. They’re in.
We’re now planning to begin working with 21 of their teachers starting in September. The next step is figuring out the logistics of bringing them to and from Lagonav over the next two years — not a small task, but an exciting one.
Getting to Matènwa is easier than many people expect. Our visitors flew into Cap-Haïtien and then chartered a helicopter directly to Lagonav. Brian and I recently made the same trip using a small plane operated by Hope From Above, a missionary air service. This route bypasses Port-au-Prince entirely, avoiding current security concerns and making travel to the island straightforward and safe.
And the truth is — we’re glad to host visitors. Seeing classrooms in action, sitting in the gwo won, walking the campus, and talking with students and teachers gives people a completely different understanding of what makes MCLC work.
If you’ve ever thought about visiting, we’d love to host you. Summer Camp is coming up, a time when we’ve welcomed many visitors in the past. If you’re interested in planning a trip, please reach out to Brian. We’re happy to help you explore options and think through the logistics.
There’s nothing like seeing Matènwa for yourself!
Students at MCLC share their love and gratitude for you!
This is what your generous and regular giving makes possible: Young children starting the day with breakfast. Graduates becoming nurses and university students. Communities working toward reliable water. Students growing up connected to their history and culture.
Thank you for being part of the Matènwa community. We feel the love you share every day!
