OUR MISSION

EDUCATION

One of our firm beliefs is that education is the surest way to a secure a future for the students, the community and the country. 

The College Mixtefrere Sylvain (our official Haitian school name) teaches preschool through 11th grade. Our nationally certified teachers use the government-approved curriculum, taught in both Haitian-Creole & French. This allows our students to take the regulated annual exams, allowing them to "pass" onto the next grade level.

For students to complete 12th grade and receive their high-school degree, we have partnered with the nationally accredited high school in the neighboring community of Cazale.

Through your support, we have grown from a 3 classroom ‘lean-to’ shed to a large multi-use building, able to accommodate over 12 classrooms at a time & the ever-increasing number of children attending our school. When Fond Blanc Foundation first started the school had around 56 students, over the last several years we’ve increased our attendance and capacity to over 500 students per school year. We have also been able to secure funding for high quality teachers looking to instruct outside of the dangers of Port Au Prince to accommodate the increase in attendance.

As our students have progressed, we have made changes in our programming to accommodate future goals & education. Our students now have access to extra-curricular courses designed to expose them to what options may be after they have completed school with us here in Fond Blanc. These extracurriculars include English classes & translation studies, in-depth bible study courses, sewing courses, plumbing & electrical courses, as well as courses in mechanics, agronomy & agricultural sustainability. 

Through generous partnerships, we have also been able to set up scholarships to send students on to further education, including university, nursing school, etc. in Haiti and The United States.

SUSTAINABILITY

Through working in a developing nation, we found ourselves repeatedly running into the same challenge; finding reliable and consistent resources. While we would have the funds to purchase food & supplies, we were often searching for people to provide it reliably & consistently.  In addition, we needed to find people who were willing or able to safely drive the food & supplies up the mountain. So it was there, out of the need for reliability, that we decided self-sustainability was the best path forward: use the resources we have to create systems to provide for ourselves & our community.

Our mission for sustainability has grown over the last few years, starting small with chicken coops. Our chicken coop operation started to be able to provide a consistent source of protein through chicken dinners for our children. We started with the humble goal of being able to provide chicken dinners twice a week, and through a few sharp learning curves, we navigated how to raise different types of chickens for different reasons (imagine chickens for “growing”, “eating”, and “egg producing”). 

Over the last few years, with help from many of our generous friends, we have begun bigger projects including purchasing additional land to use for instructional and gardening/farming space. With a larger garden plot, we have incorporated agronomy classes into our curriculum, helping students both understand the techniques of gardening in their climate & higher elevation, as well as learning the balance of knowing how much to harvest vs replant. In addition to the larger garden plots, we have added livestock, including goats, ducks & donkeys.

The additional farming land, the stabilization of our chicken coops, and increasing the number and types of livestock have allowed us to rely less on imported food resources from other communities & cities. These simple steps towards sustainability have not only helped us balance our food budget better, it has also helped increase the safety within our community; by being able to provide some of our own staples, we rely less on having to go out and secure outside resources and risk bringing them up the mountain in unfavorable conditions.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

The children living at the orphanage receive two meals a day. This is a huge blessing, as many people in Fond Blanc do not have access to regular meals. Most of the meals currently consist of grits in the morning, and rice and beans in the evening.

Though these meals are a blessing, they are missing some of the essential nutritional components that are vital for growing children. We are in the process of enriching these meals with additional foods like fruit, vegetables, dairy and protein, while also supplementing them with essential vitamins. A new kitchen and water purification system was installed in January of 2015 to provide sanitary food and water to over 100 people daily.

But nutrition and water is only one part of the children’s health. While the children at the orphanage are relatively healthy, there is a great need for basic healthcare. Problems like ringworm, intestinal parasites, eczema, common colds and flu, have historically gone untreated.

Now that we have a consistent presence on the ground we are able to care for these daily health needs. Simple things like lotion after a bath can prevent skin conditions, and children’s Ibuprophen can relieve a fever. With the recent purchase of a vehicle, trips to the Real Hope for Haiti clinic and Port-au-Prince hospitals are now possible. These initial steps have finally given the children access to the healthcare they need.

SPIRITUAL WELLNESS

Church is held in Fond Blanc every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Ask any child and they will tell you that they love attending church and learning about God! Pastor Jean Claude and Pastor Smail have created a beautiful foundation based on Jesus Christ. We are grateful for the children’s spirit and their eagerness to learn.

It is our desire for the children to truly understand the love that their creator has for them and to live a life in response to that love. To further this goal, we have recently started weekly bible studies, summer vacation bible school, and nightly bible stories before bed. We are also working to provide every child with his or her own Bible. These efforts help to ensure the children grow up knowing Christ’s love for them.