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

Flag Day in Matènwa Tells a Different Truth

So much of what the world hears about Haiti is only crisis. But on Flag Day Matènwa students celebrated how Haiti’s ancestry instills courage, dignity, pride, and joy.

Flag Day in Matènwa Tells a Different Truth

So much of what the world hears about Haiti is only crisis. But on Flag Day Matènwa students celebrated how Haiti’s ancestry instills courage, dignity, pride, and joy.

Matènwa Celebrates May Day

This May Day, Matènwa students celebrated the dignity of work and the critical role that agriculture and the environment play in our lives.

What Belonging Looks Like in Matènwa

During my time in Matènwa, what stayed with me most is the way no one is treated as an other.

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Once a month you’ll get the very latest news from Matènwa and Lagonav Island

More Stories

Recycling at MCLC

Recycling at MCLC

Climate change is happening NOW and negatively affecting our planet! Many organizations are engaging in recycling programs, for example, Converse, 4Ocean, and, of course, MCLC. Converse is apparently instituting a new “Converse Renew” recycling option for all of its…

Camp at MCLC

Camp at MCLC

I recall going to camp in my village of Petion-Ville, Haiti as a kid, and honestly, I wasn’t a fan. I was just very shy, and, as one gets older, it gets boring. Camp activities (from what I remember) included, tennis, soccer, swimming (in a pool, not a lake), arts…

Open Space and What it Means at MCLC

Open Space and What it Means at MCLC

Once every month, everyone who donates to our organization, receives a letter highlighting what is going on at the Matènwa Community Learning Center. In May we discussed Open Space and what it means at MCLC. Open Space is, “a method for organizing meetings in which…

The Education System in Haiti

The Education System in Haiti

This week, I attended the Haitian Ladies Network “Summer Meetup” at the Doña Habana restaurant in Boston. HLN is a community organization founded by Nadine Duplessy Kearns and is headquartered in Washington D.C. The purpose of the event was to connect women of Haitian…

The Education System in Haiti

The Education System in Haiti

This week, I attended the Haitian Ladies Network “Summer Meetup” at the Doña Habana restaurant in Boston. HLN is a community organization founded by Nadine Duplessy Kearns and is headquartered in Washington D.C. The purpose of the event was to connect women of Haitian…

Summer Camp Is On Its Way!

Summer Camp Is On Its Way!

School is almost over, but the Matènwa Community Learning Center is gearing up for its 9th annual summer camp. We have planned a range of activities for 300 participants of all ages— students from preschool through high school, MCLC teachers, and even adults from…

Matènwa Poem | Powèm Matènwa

The little girl brown as a sapodilla The little girl with the musical name Treading lightly in Matènwa There where the world is turned inside out Where stones grow in the field Is anyone at all listening The little girl with the musical name She treads lightly in…

Water is Flowing!

Water is Flowing!

Water IS flowing! The trench from the deep well to the school is dug; eight solar panels, a 3000-gallon fiberglass chateau on a raised platform, and two water fountain stations are all in place. Pumps and rubber piping have been installed, so that water now travels up…

Congratulations Louiseda Sumé

Congratulations Louiseda Sumé

Last year we were proud to announce 83% of our first ever graduating class passed the National exams. Only 37% of students passed these exams nation-wide. Now we are beyond pleased to share an update: 92% of our students passed the National exams! Li se yon fyète ni…

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We hope the new year greeted you as warmly as it greeted us,—with a satisfying bowl of soup joumou! On January 1st, 1804 Haiti became the first independent nation and the only nation in the world to be established as a result of a successful slave revolt. In…

Water

Water

The average American uses 17 gallons of water per shower. We also use gallons of water to wash our faces, teeth, dishes, clothes, dogs, and once in a while even our cars. We flush away even more gallons of water. Access to clean water is something most of us take for…

Learn about the MCLC Gardens!

Learn about the MCLC Gardens!

It is no secret that one of MCLC’s most popular classes is gardening. The students love all of their other special classes as well: woodworking, music, gym, and computer science. Even though these specials are part of the national curriculum, they are not typically…