THE NETWORK
The St. Luc Foundation is a Haitian organisation, providing education, medical care and dignified life to more than 1 million people each year through its projects, employing more than 900 Haitians. Father Rick Frechette, an American, priest and doctor, founded and directs this institution in collaboration with a group of young Haitian leaders, who, together, have the will to lead their country towards a new future in which every man can live outside extreme poverty that takes away their dignity. Founded in 2001, St. Luc programmes provide:
- Training and food to 10,000 students every year
- Medical care to more than 200,000 people each year
- Work for more than 1,800 permanent staff.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT
In a context such as Haiti, the role played by school becomes fundamental: safe places where children can “take refuge” from the dangers of rampant crime and benefit from an education which offers potential emancipation for them and the community itself. Educating children and their families to the concept of school as a chance for emancipation for themselves and the community means engendering awareness that change must go through and for them. Education and respect for its value, reaffirms the dignity of individuals, making them capable to positively impact the choices for their future. Education also means the culture of self respect, respect of one’s own body, in a more responsible approach to sexuality and to STDs.
All schools of the ABF-Fondation St. Luc system have the same status as state ones, and they are managed by duly authorised and qualified teachers and personnel. The curriculum is in line with that of public schools and is managed by a central committee, which is responsible for the implementation and monitoring its application in the schools of the various communities. A local committee at each school manages adaptation of the curriculum based on local characteristics and needs and on the level of the students concerned. The Central Committee is in constant dialogue with the local committees, communication which is not only conducive to addressing the specific needs related to education, but also the general conditions in which one operates. All teachers are included in a regular training programme that follows the national curriculum. The 5 schools of St. Augustin, St. Philomene, Notre Dame du Rosaire, St. Raphael and Manitane include kitted out learning rooms, management offices, library, computer lab, kitchen, canteen, sanitary facilities, playground. Some of the school facilities are equipped with electricity powered by a system of solar panels, solar-powered lamps, water towers that serve the Community as well, a system of water purification and distribution. ABF schools host the ABF Mobile Clinic project, the 3.COM Project and meetings with educational committees and representatives of the Community.
OBJECTIVES
- To maintain continuous access to education for the students living in the 5 communities
- To ensure a salary for teachers;
- To offer a meal to students every day;
- To improve the level of education of the 5 communities;
- To offer a safe haven to the community.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
| m.u. or type of skill | Performance indicators | |
|---|---|---|
| Direct beneficiaries | no. | 2,319 |
| Indirect beneficiaries Families | no. | 19,525 |
| Indirect beneficiaries Communities | n/a | 401,000 |
PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Stage 1: Identification on the basis of the needs analysis with subsequent feasibility project shared with the partner;
Stage 2: Design carried out directly by the local partner and verified through ABF team missions carried out over time;
Stage 3: Execution carried out by the local partner;
Stage 4: Four-monthly narrative and financial reporting.
IMPACTS ON THE COMMUNITIES
The possibility of learning, through innovative teaching methodologies, in areas lacking public education and community spaces makes it possible to develop educational, public health and work placement policies, which in a context such as Haiti, take on an even higher value. Indeed, in Haiti, the education of children, and their families, is the main factor for change and a means to positively influence choices for their future. Education also means a culture of self-respect, of one’s own body, in a more responsible approach to sexuality and the resulting diseases; in fact, the teaching proposals are, first and foremost, a tool for the protection of one’s health from contracting diseases and is a form of cultural struggle, which provides an alternative to criminality as the sole possibility of survival.
