Matènwa Community School

Children and teachers engage in hands-on education, critical thinking, and mutual respect.

Institute for Learning

Teacher training for schools seeking to find a more effective way to teach.

Mother Tongue Books

Empowering children to become literate by reading and writing in their native language.

Women’s Leadership Fund

Seven Matènwa graduates are now continuing their university education—fully supported for the year—thanks to this community.

Creole Gardens

Students cultivate organic produce, practice environmental stewardship.

Summer Camp

Inspiring meaningful exchanges that strengthen community ties and inspire collaborative learning.

Art Matènwa

Nurturing creative expression by supporting women artisans.

Community Outreach

Help students and families care for elders and build lasting food security.

College Scholarships

Matènwa grads who've earned full-tuition scholarships need your help to cover costs like housing, meals, books, and more.

Support Matènwa programs

Louiseda’s Story

May 31, 2026

Louiseda’s story shows the full circle of Matènwa’s impact.

She came to MCLC as a child. Now she is back as a 4th grade teacher — helping children learn in Haitian Creole, believe in themselves, and grow through love and dialogue instead of violence.

And this year, more children need that kind of welcome than ever before.

MCLC now has 350 students — the largest enrollment in our history. Some arrived after fleeing violence and instability in Port-au-Prince. When they came to Matènwa, the teachers and leadership team said yes.

They did not say yes because the budget was covered. They said yes because children were standing at the door.

Louiseda is one of the teachers making that yes real every day.

Ready to make a gift in support of teachers like Louiseda?

More Stories

March 2016 Update

Dear friends of Matènwa, Students are always excited to work in the garden and go to the library. Here are the third graders (pictured left) […]...

Update from Meg January 15, 2016

This has been a busy week in Matènwa. On Monday, LKM hosted a group of four visitors from the University of Puerto Rico: a linguistics […]...

March 2017 Update

Dear friends of Matènwa, I am pleased to share with you photos from my February trip to Matènwa. I was delighted to witness so many […]...