Students gathered under the shade trees at MCLC to celebrate International Women’s Day and honor the women who keep the school running.
Monday morning in Matènwa, the school courtyard filled with students gathering under the shade trees to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Students formed a wide circle — hundreds of them — clapping, laughing, and cheering as each of the women who teach, cook, clean, and keep the school running was called forward and presented with a certificate honoring her contribution, leadership, dedication, and vision for the community.
It was joyful, loud, and proud — exactly the way Matènwa celebrates the people who make the school what it is.
Each woman on staff was honored for her contribution, leadership, and dedication to the Matènwa community.
At MCLC, women help lead every part of the school. Women parents head up the visitor committee — the group that organizes local families to host visitors in their homes when people come to Matènwa to learn about the school — as well as the water committee and the breakfast program. Women staff serve on the leadership team, run classrooms, and plan the annual summer camp. A longtime female educator directs the Institute for Learning, where teachers from across Haiti come to be trained in Matènwa’s pedagogical approach.
Since the school was founded, gender equality has been a core principle. Girls and boys have the same opportunities — to speak, question, experiment, and lead — taking responsibility for the life of the school.
None of this happened by accident. Years later, we're seeing the results.
A female student watches Monday's festivities.
This commitment to women’s leadership is why so many of our graduates continue their studies beyond Matènwa.
Girls who once sat in MCLC classrooms as students are now standing at the front of those same classrooms as teachers.
And today, seven of the thirteen MCLC graduates currently studying at university are women — preparing to become nurses, agronomists, veterinarians, and business leaders.
That kind of leadership grows from years of seeing women lead — in classrooms, in meetings, in gardens, and on days like Monday when the whole school pauses to celebrate them for International Women’s Day.
That example stays with students long after they leave the schoolyard.
Thank you for standing with the Matènwa community and helping make all of this possible.
With gratitude and hope,
Chris Low
Co-Founder and Executive Director | Friends of Matènwa
PS - Three of the seven MCLC women now studying at university are already fully funded. If you’d like to help the remaining students stay in school by covering basics like housing, meals, books, and transportation, you can chip in by clicking this button:
