Universities reopen as HELP expands

From HELP's October 2010 newsletter: Haitian universities started to reopen their doors in April and May, though most with limited course offerings, and many classes were held in tents or at professors' homes. Because of the disruption, the "spring" semester didn't finish until August, and the 2010/2011 school year will begin in October at most schools. The exception is the badly damaged State University, which will complete the 2009/2010 academic year in December, and start the following year in January 2011.

As soon as secondary schools reopened, HELP students hit the road to recruit our next class. Under the direction of Marie Montout (4th year, education), HELP students visited over 230 schools and spoke to over 140,000 high school students around the country.

Due to the large number of applications last year, we raised our requirements this year, accepting applications only from students who had an A or A+ average in secondary school. Out of 150 eligible applications, HELP accepted its largest freshman class to date!

These new students began orientation in September in the new Student Center, a nice leafy property just a block from the old Center. Of course, we couldn't do any of this without your support. We look forward to introducing some of our new students to you and sharing their successes in the years to come.