This past spring, Theo and I were selected to visit several Lutheran congregations in the U.S. that contribute to HELP through the Haitian Timoun Foundation (HTF). From March 2-19, we toured Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Omaha, NE; Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA; and Orlando, FL.

Everywhere we went, people were very happy and impressed to hear our stories and how we managed to succeed in our education. For the kids we met, this helped them realize how lucky and fortunate they are to be in a country with so many educational opportunities. At Coronado Elementary School in Denver, we saw fifth-graders’ faces in tears when we explained how we managed to buy books only by skipping lunch, or hand-copied from classmates’ textbooks to study, or even left family when we were six years old to go to school far from home. Our stories kept them quiet and very attentive, as you can see in the picture above (Daphnée’s favorite photo from the trip).

This year, in our first year of leadership class, we got more than what we were expecting. Our first semester was really interesting. Our leadership teacher, Meaghan, introduced us to Dr. Zenkov from George Mason University. He came to work with us on a project called “Through Students’ Eyes,” or TSE, which aims to identify leadership through photography (click here to see our curated slideshow). Dr. Zenkov gave all of us a digital camera and asked us to take pictures that answered four guiding questions: What are the most important needs in your community? What types of leadership are required to address these needs? How might you play a leadership role in addressing these needs? What roles do education and school play in helping you to serve as a leader?

Haiti’s rigid class structure has meant that, for many Haitian workers, their voices go unheard. In this article, Country Director Garry Delice reports on the lessons learned from HELP’s first staff retreat – a ritual that’s common in the US, but almost unheard of in Haiti.

My name is Yoldy Jacques Simon. I was born in Bombardopolis, in northwestern Haiti, the youngest of five children. My mother was a vendor in a local market, and my father was a carpenter. I attended primary school in Bombardopolis but in October 1998, I left my hometown to go to Port-au-Prince for secondary school.

This past November, we welcomed a team from the Global Give Back Circle (GGBC) to the HELP Student Center in Port-au-Prince for a 10-day exchange and training program facilitated by The MasterCard Foundation. GGBC’s mission of guiding disadvantaged girls to complete their education, gain marketable skills, and become agents of change has much in common with HELP’s goals. The visit was designed to bring together our complementary scholarship organizations and to expand HELP's existing mentorship program using the GGBC model.

One of the first things many people notice when they arrive in Port-au-Prince is the garbage. Garbage piles up on the streets, eventually making its way to abandoned lots and dumpsters where it is burned, or to streams and ravines which wash it out to the port, especially during heavy rains. But Dieugrand Louis, a HELP student in agro-environment (class of 2013), emphasizes the benefits of a better managed system...

Guest writer Sandra Macías del Villar shares the story of how her work with HELP and with Haiti have grown from a summer of interning to an enduring passion.

Sitting in the office of the HELP Student Center, an oasis in the midst of a crowded and chaotic Port-au-Prince, I can’t help but feel inspired and extremely proud. Students are dutifully reading their textbooks, others are taking classes in the computer lab, and still others sit on the patio sharing ideas and talking, in English, about the latest news, practicing what they have learned in their ESL classes...

ESL Instructor Stephanie Rapp shares her impressions of her first time at Carnival, the vibrant celebration that takes place each year in Haiti and across the Caribbean:

Haiti's 2012 Carnival celebrations had a singular theme: Ayiti ap dekole – “Haiti is taking off.” The whole month before the National Carnival, the country built momentum and excitement with ra-ra bands every Sunday in Port-au-Prince, and the signature parade (or défilé) in the town of Jacmel. HELP's international staff set off from the capital on February 12, ready for a long weekend...

Earlier this month, HELP students Ronel Lefranc, Daphnee Charles, and Anne-Martine Augustin were among 30 students from around the world invited to participate in the Learners’ Voice program at the WISE Conference on international education in Doha, Qatar. They had the chance to interview several key figures at the conference, including Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder of BRAC and winner of the inaugural WISE Prize.

HELP students Ronel Lefranc, Daphnee Charles, and Anne-Martine Augustin were among only 30 students from around the world invited to participate in the Learners’ Voice program at the WISE Conference on international education in Doha, Qatar in November. Daphnee, Ronel, and Anne-Martine had the chance to interview Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder of BRAC and winner of the inaugural WISE Prize recognizing lifetime achievement in education.

HELP is pleased to welcome the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to our community of donors. MCC is a worldwide Anabaptist ministry that partners with local churches and community organizations in more than 50 countries to carry out disaster relief, sustainable community development, and justice and peace-building work. MCC also seeks to build bridges to connect people and ideas across political and economic divides.

At HELP, students learn about collaboration, teamwork, and communication. While these are important skills to hone for the business world, they are also essential to practice in a relationship! HELP’s Fedorah Pierre-Louis sat down with Ermine and Monil to learn the story of the first-ever HELP marriage.

HELP: How did you two meet?

Ermine: We met at HELP. We were both interning in the accounting department at the American Institute for Research.

Haitian-American Ivanley Noisette grew up in Philadelphia, earned a B.A. from Villanova University, and received a Masters of Public Service from the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas. Ivanley is a George J. Mitchell Scholar studying Human Rights Law and Transnational Justice at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. This summer, Ivanley spent three weeks at the HELP Student Center interviewing and creating student profiles for this year's incoming class. Upon his return, he was inspired to write an open letter to the HELP community:

To the staff of HELP, I hope you all realize how special your work is—especially in these transformative years after 12 January 2010.

Meaghan Balzer arrived at HELP in July as our first Leadership Program Manager. Although she is a native of New Brunswick, Canada, Meaghan came to us from the Union School, an international school in Petion-Ville, just three miles up the hill from the HELP Student Center, where she taught for two years. In this article, she talks about the leadership curriculum and her experience at HELP so far.

Last July when I joined HELP, I walked into an office full of supportive people who make personal sacrifices every day in order to advance HELP’s mission to “promote a more just society in Haiti.”

As the 2010-2011 school year draws to a close, all of us at HELP are very pleased to recognize 11 more graduates who have joined our growing community of alumni! And, in a country that has only three doctors per 10,000 Haitians, we are particularly delighted to highlight three female students who have earned their medical degree: Dr. Marie-Dieumane Chaperon, Dr. Ornella Sainterant, and Dr. Guielledana Paul (pictured above).

On a normal weekday, the computer lab at the HELP Student Center is full of students hard at work studying and completing assignments. Fortunately, at 4:53 on January 12, 2010, the lab had just emptied for the day when the earthquake hit. The ceiling collapsed and crushed the equipment below, destroying everything.

As a HELP scholarship student who eventually became an intern, Student Advisor, and now Student Services Manager, Smyrne Saintil has seen the program from almost every angle. English teacher Micol Issa sat down with Smyrne to get her perspective on the importance of student advisors, the particular challenges students face, and what she likes about working with HELP.