Education for Prosperity, Inc.

EfP Service in Haiti - EfP Newsbrief Vol 3

host — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:23:00 GMT

Sixteen graduate from Lekol Pa Nou

The Education for Prosperity (EfP) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that 16 students graduated from Lekol Pa Nou this year, the largest graduating class to-date. All 16 students passed the National Exam, making them eligible to...

EfP Service in Haiti - EfP Newsbrief Vol 2

host — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:35:00 GMT

Although much of the news about Haiti remains tragic, with issues like cholera, conflict and contention, Lekol Pa Nou (“Our School”) remains relatively stable and successful.

EfP Service in Haiti - EfP Newsbrief Vol 1

host — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:11:00 GMT

Education for Prosperity Launches E-Newsletter

The board of Education for Prosperity (EfP) is happy to share with you the first edition of our e-newsletter, EfP Newsbriefs. In our six years of service as a non-profit organization (2005-2010) EfP has had the good fortune to align with a wonderful network of supporters. This network has given us both moral and financial support for our development efforts in Haiti. It has also facilitated our sharing the lessons we have learned with a wide range of audiences, from middle school Social Studies classes to Faith Communities and service clubs.

School Expansion

host — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:25:00 GMT

We need to expand to accommodate the increased student enrollment. We need an additional $2,000. in order to do this. The villagers agreed to donate their services for construction.

Support A Teacher Program

host — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:25:00 GMT

Please help the students of Lekol Pa Nou by supporting a teacher for 3 months, 6 months or for the rest of the school year. We have 8 teachers on staff. They earn $100 a month, for an 11-month period. If you pledge your support, you will receive a picture, a brief description and contact information for your teacher. With your consent we would also like to put a picture and a brief bio of you and also of the teacher you sponsored in the forthcoming newsletter. You can decide how you will pay for your sponsorship: monthly, quarterly or as a one-time payment.

Summer School Program

host — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:25:00 GMT

The summer school craft program was so successful that we are adding two art teachers to the staff. Arts and crafts can be turned into a viable source of income if artistic potential is developed and opportunities for sales are created.

Newsletter: Summer 2008

host — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:28:00 GMT

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Summer 2008

Newsletter: Winter 2008

host — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:31:00 GMT

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Winter 2008

Newsletter: Spring 2007

host — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 06:25:00 GMT

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Spring 2007

Newsletter: January 2007

host — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 06:15:00 GMT

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January 2007

2006 Updates - Domestic Abuse Awareness

host — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:57:00 GMT

Fund Raising Event for Abused Women

RAVE (relief after violent encounter) an agency serving Mid-Michigan will host a wine and cheese event on 4-22-06, at Mootzie’s Art Gallery in Owosso, MI. The event is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and tickets are $25 per person. The event will feature gourmet wines and cheeses, art created by RAVE clients, as well as Mootzie’s art. Victoria Croasdell, a board member of EfP, and a survivor of childhood and spouse abuse will be a featured artist at the event.

Newsletter: September, October 2006

host — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 05:20:00 GMT

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September, October 2006

Support A Teacher Program Update

host — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 05:02:00 GMT

Lekol Pa Nou's "Support-a-Teacher" program grows. Our last newsletter announced a new approach to providing stable, grassroots financial support for Lekol Pa Nou with a program to Support-a-Teacher. The first subscriber was our own board member, David Smith. We are pleased to announce that a second subscriber, Joyce Beasley, of Detroit, has also contributed funds to pay a single Lekol Pa Nou teacher's salary for the year, which is $100 per month for 11 months. Joyce is a Senior Partner in the BBP Group, LLC, which provides executive coaching, performance improvement and training services. Our heartfelt thanks go to David and Joyce for their generous support of the children of Pichon!

Newsletter: January, February, March 2006

host — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 06:17:00 GMT

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January February, March 2006

First Support-A-Teacher Enrollee!

host — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 06:00:00 GMT

David Smith
EfP President & Director

Antoine Raphael
Principal & 2nd Grade Teacher

David Smith earmarked our first contribution in March to pay the full 11 month salary for Mr. Antoine Raphael. Antoine functions as the second grade teacher and also serves as the principal for Lekol Pa Nou. David lives in East Lansing, Michigan and serves as president of Education for Prosperity. An article about David can be found elsewhere in this issue as part of a continuing series to acquaint readers with contributors to EFP.

Support A Teacher Program

host — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 05:50:00 GMT

Frantz Jeudy
4th Grade

Montilia Jules
Pre-School

The previous Education for Prosperity newsletter announced a new fund-raising program designed to ensure stable funding to pay Lekol Pa Nou teachers and to demonstrate positive, personal connections between people in Haiti and North America.

The school's eight teachers each earn $100 per month for an 11 month period, which includes a summer camp program. We invite our North American collaborators to partner with Lekol Pa Nou staff by paying a teacher's salary. It could be for three months, six months or the full 11 months. That is up to you.

Pierre Mesguet
3rd Grade

Oluc Noncent
1st Grade

Walna Noncent
Pre-School

We would like to personalize this connection, with your permission, by printing your name, a photograph, and a little bit about you in the next newsletter, along side one of the teachers. Furthermore, when we visit Pichon this summer we would like to take a photograph of you to present to the school. This will help us in "making relationships visible" for our valued Pichon colleagues, as well. We want them to be able to see their North American collaborators.

Loulou and Nadia Balthazar, who provide administration and oversight for activities in Pichon, emailed the photos of Lekol Pa Nou staff shown in this newsletter. They apologized for the quality explaining that they had to use "ID badge" pictures because of technical difficulties with their digital camera. Be assured that you would see radiant, smiling faces if you were to meet them in person! We are grateful to the Balthazars for getting these pictures to share with you.

2005 Updates - Domestic Abuse Awareness

host — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 19:09:00 GMT

Domestic Violence

October is domestic violence month. It is the time of year when those who have died from domestic violence are remembered. Each day in America 11 women are killed by their partners and over 100 are assaulted. Spousal Abuse shelters take in women and children and help them to relocate and get legal protection. This past summer the shelters in Mid-Michigan were filled beyond capacity because of an increase in domestic violence. There are not enough resources or funding to assist the victims of domestic violence.

Stronger laws, increased public awareness and community support are needed to ensure that women do not feel trapped. It is not just the women who suffer. Even if a child only sees abuse, the psychological damage is immeasurable. People usually think children are resilient to childhood trauma, until they start to grow up. Then that seemingly docile acceptance falls away to expose psychological damage.

Contact your local agency to see how you can help.

Technology & Communication Program

host — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:03:00 GMT

We are always in need of software; (broken or working) computers, laptops, digital cameras, cam cords, and accessories for our computer loan program. In our technological society, computer skills are a must. Not just for students, but for workers as well. Additionally computer access for the disabled individual is invaluable. Computer skills increase employability, productivity, education, communication, global understanding and accessibility. Material donations of this kind are tax deductible. Contact the below board members to see what is needed at this time.

Board members John & Victoria Siegel set time aside in their home to evaluate and repair (if necessary) donated items. Their children Michael, Autumn and Aurora assist them. If you are interested in helping, regardless of whether you are knowledgeable, contact them to be included in the next repair day. 989-723-0322 / siegel@mrisar.com.

Newsletter: September, October, November 2005

host — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 05:22:00 GMT

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September, October, November 2005

Oct 2006 Update on Haiti Activities

host — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 04:48:00 GMT

August marked the 7th anniversary of the launching of our collaborative work with the citizens of Pichon, Haiti. Pierre Balthazar and David Smith, with the able assistance of Pierre's brother, Liné in Port-au-Prince, met with people in Pichon to discuss a possible joint venture to benefit this remote village in southeast Haiti. In a couple hours of discussion the clear consensus emerged that people wanted a school for their children.

According to a recent Internet article (Caribbean360.com) "Less than 15 percent of Haitian children ages 6 to 11 are enrolled in public school--one of the lowest rates, if not the lowest rate in the world, according to the World Bank's Sam Carlson, who is working with the Haitian government and other international bodies to achieve the millennium education goal. Non-public institutions fill some of the gap, but still most Haitian children do not make it to 6th grade."

Those parents and leaders in Pichon that converged on the idea of having a school saw the addition of 6th grade in September. The full cycle of growth will occur at the end of 7th grade, at which time all Haitian students must take a qualifying exam to continue their secondary level education. This growth is thanks to a wide circle of Education for Prosperity supporters who have contributed generously over the years so EfP could wire money to Liné Balthazar's non-profit (FREM) to pay teachers, buy educational materials, provide teacher training, and construct a modest structure to protect students from sun and rain.

Those who follow international news find many stories of civil unrest. EfP board members, Lisa McGiveron and Pierre Balthazar, were scheduled to visit Haiti in August. We were all eager to hear news of progress at Lekol Pa Nou (Creole for "Our School") and see recent photographs of our colleagues in Pichon. Unfortunately, the advice from Port-au Prince was to postpone the trip because things were too unsettled.

Despite the difficulties in communicating with our main contacts in Haiti--Liné and his wife, Nadia--we have learned that sixth grade was, indeed, launched early in September. This completes the slow, steady growth of the school at a pace of one grade each year since it was launched in January 2000.

We also learned that there are 45 children in the pre-school program and 90 in the elementary school. A new teacher was hired for the sixth grade class and two additional teachers were hired to replace departing teachers.

An arrangement with the Barbancourt Foundation to add a permanent structure to the school has been submitted to the European Economic Community, so we hope to hear more about the upgrading of the facilities in the coming year. Our approach at the beginning was to build up the program aspects of the school and let the physical facilities remain modest. Now the time seems right and the program seems firmly rooted and the circle of grassroots support seems strong enough to warrant new construction. We will pass along the news as it develops.

Another Grade

host — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 04:24:00 GMT

We have successfully added a 5th grade this fall to Lekol Pa Nou.

Providing Solar Powered Lights & Computers

host — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 11:02:00 GMT

Board member John Siegel (scientist and inventor) has designed a low cost, easy to maintain, solar array power system and prototype LED lighting to provide energy for lights and a few (used) laptop computers at Lekol Pa Nou. The LED emitter is designed to run for over 20 years without replacing. The LED’s (light emitting diodes) used in the emitters are the world’s most advanced lighting technology. This system is cost effective enough that our goal is to install a similar system in the neighboring school of Belle-Anse, allowing both schools to not only benefit from lighting and the learning power of computers, but to be able to communicate via the laptops to each other. This can be done with simple telephone cables, or through the use of a satellite system that we are striving to install, which would connect these regions to each other and the world via the Internet.

John and his family want to assist other impoverished and environmentally challenged communities around the world with forms of alternative energy.

LED’s provide light through direct radiation of Photons, as opposed to Photon conveyance via a hot wire filament, as in the case of short lasting, energy consuming, hot running, incandescence lights. Translated into practical terms LED’s are bright, long lasting light that needs very little power. At the center of a LED is a specially layered, polarized and chemically treated crystal that emits light (Photon energy partials). Photons are partials that exist as a particle and as a wave. They are among the particles that bridge the gap between the concepts of matter and energy.

Adding Environmental Studies to the Curriculum

host — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 04:21:00 GMT

We are in the planning stage of establishing a course on Environmental studies at “Our School”. In Haiti as in the rest of the world, the effects of environmental stresses are creating difficulties for the inhabitants. Providing education regarding environmental causes and effects can lead to the inhabitants understanding and implementing change in how they live. In Haiti large areas of land are striped of trees, which are burned to make charcoal. The smaller foliage dies under the harsh exposure of the sun, leaving a barren landscape. When the rain season comes the topsoil on this mountainous island region is washed away, causing massive mudslides and flooding, which further raises the death toll. Disease and starvation follow in the wake of such devastation. An understanding of the cause and effects of the environment is essential for the welfare of all people, everywhere.

Field Correspondence from Haiti - Benoit Girard

host — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:04:00 GMT

Benoit lives in Quebec where he works as an agronomist and a consultant. He lived in Haiti some years ago and speaks Creole.

Education for Prosperity, paid part of the travel expenses for his May of 2005 trip to 2005 trip to Haiti where he visited a number of small developmental initiatives, including Lekol Pa Nou. His mission was to try and find common ground between those that operate with honesty, integrity, recognizing the oneness of humanity, promoting the equality of women and men, and building local capacity, etc.

Visit to Belle-Anse, Pichon and Mapou

The day after I arrived, I went with Liné Balthazar to Belle-Anse, Pichon and Mapou. Liné and his wife Nadia, manage the «Fondation pour le relèvement du milieu rural» (FREM). There are 7 other members and 3 of them are from Belle-Anse, 4 in Port-au-Prince and one in Paris. FREM was created first to organize activities of development in Belle-Anse (½ an hour from Pichon), the city of origin of Liné and his brother Pierre in Michigan. It is with [Pierre] that the idea of this foundation was started about seven years ago.

Liné took me to the school. I met with the director Antoine Raphaël, three teachers, two parents and a few other people. We stayed about half an hour with them. My visit was a little too fast to gain a good assessment of the organisation of the school. The needs of the school according to Nadia are expansion, improvement of the curriculum and the training of the teachers. Because Belle-Anse and Pichon are not easily accessible, she also mentioned that it would be helpful to have someone on the spot that could help with the administration. Another project that needs to have Internet connection by satellite.

Visit to Mapou

Liné took me to the recently created lake in Mapou, which was formed one year ago after the flood of May 23rd 2004. Under the water lay 3,000 people who drowned because of this environmental disaster. In Mapou, I met 2 farmers who lost their property under the water. One told me he had lost every thing and now is ready to plant trees if there are projects for that. We were at the bakery and the baker is the main natural leader of this zone. Liné told me that if he was able to do some thing to help these people, it will be with the collaboration of this man. Many families who lost everything in last years flood are still living in tents.

Regarding the agro-environmental situation, I was wondering how we can help their situation. I see a grass roots willingness to do something. The people feel somehow powerless and seem to be waiting for outside help. Some know they have to take some initiatives if they want something to happen. But, people need to be trained in order to change certain habits and to do things a different way. They need to understand some basic ecological principles. They have to be the protectors and the rebuilders of their own environment.

It appears to me that education is really a primary goal in Haiti in order to release the potential of children and to develop their consciousness about the issues of development.

There is also great need in regard to the environment and agriculture. But the change has to pass through means of education and training. The peoples have to understand the link between the consuming of natural resources without a sustainable approach. They have to become the builder and the guardian of their environment. But the poverty is so great and the social organization so deficient. It is not an easy situation.

I wish to thank the different partners who support me for this trip and make it possible. It is my hope to be able to continue this process of developing a long-term collaboration with partners in Haiti who are living in a difficult period now.

Newsletter: May, June 2005

host — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 05:19:00 GMT

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May, June 2005

Lekol Pa Nou Communication Project

host — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 04:21:00 GMT

This communication project has a number of steps and requirements. We are striving to set in place a system that will have internet access for “Our School” as well as other local educational and humanitarian projects who’s ability to communicate with the rest of the world is limited. We need to raise $1,400 (a one time fee) to install a satellite for Internet access. When you combine this with the use of donated broken and used laptops, digital cameras and cam cords that can be circulated in the Pichon / Bell-Anse / Port-Au-Prince area, an international presence will be further assisted, as well as an increased understanding of what is happening in their world.

Newsletter: February, March, April 2005

host — Wed, 04 May 2005 05:09:00 GMT

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February, March, April 2005

School Expansion

host — Sun, 01 May 2005 04:20:00 GMT

We need to expand to accommodate the increased student enrollment. We have to raise an additional $2,000 in order to do this. The villagers will be donating their services to build the expansion. Our costs are for materials only.

Lekol Pa Nou Communication Project

host — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT

Adding Another Grade to Lekol Pa Nou

host — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 04:19:00 GMT

We need to raise funds to add a 5th grade this fall to Lekol Pa Nou. With your help we have added one grade per year.

Newsletter: Winter 2004

host — Sun, 04 Jan 2004 06:30:00 GMT

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Winter 2004