How We Work

Scholarship Coverage

HELP scholarships include:

Classes at an internationally accredited university in Haiti.
Textbooks and school supplies
Living stipends
Housing: HELP has four dormitories that house 80% of our student body.
Advising and counseling: Each student is assigned to one of HELP’s five Student Advisors, who they meet with at least once a month to track academic, social, and personal progress at university and at HELP.
Leadership curriculum: HELP’s unique four-year curriculum uses our five pillars – respect, rigor, courage, sacrifice, and service – as the foundation for teaching civics, citizenship, and leadership. The first two years of the curriculum introduce concepts of ethics, values, and democracy. In years three and four, students design and implement group community service projects. The program gives students the skills and desire they need to leads efforts for change in their schools, communities, and beyond.
English curriculum: HELP has a two-year ESL curriculum that introduces students to literature, poetry, and theatre. The leadership curriculum is taught in English as of the third year. ESL classes are taught by native speakers, including three full-time volunteers who also serve as resident advisors in HELP dorms, giving students additional opportunity to advance their English outside the classroom.
IT curriculum: HELP’s two-year program provides basic and intermediary training in computer literacy.
Career services and internship opportunities
Study abroad opportunities: HELP has established partnerships with Dartmouth College and Cornell University, each of which accepts two students annually to attend their summer session.

Students at work in the HELP Computer Lab.

Performance Standards

HELP students attend only those Haitian universities recognized by the Association of Francophone Universities (www.auf.org). HELP students must maintain the equivalent of a 3.0 GPA in order to retain their scholarship.

Internships

HELP partners with local corporations, government offices, and NGOs to offer students the practical experience they need to be successful professionals. HELP students have interned at such institutions as:

Voila
United Nations Office of the Special Envoy to Haiti
U.S. Embassy in Haiti
ONA (Haitian Social Security Administration)
International Organization for Migration
Oxfam
American Red Cross
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

Extra-Curricular Activities

Many Haitians are isolated from new ideas by their poverty. Through a series of regular speakers and occasional field trips, HELP introduces our students to a broad range of innovators and activists. Speakers at the HELP Center have included former Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis; Jean Robert Cadet, former child slave and author of Restavek; Jean-Sorel Beaujour, founder of Haiti’s first HIV-positive support group; and Jane Wynne, one of Haiti’s foremost environmentalists. HELP field trips include visits to the annual “Women’s Production” trade show, featuring local female-owned businesses, as well as excursions to the Jacmel Carnival, an annual celebration of Haiti’s colorful artistic tradition.