In 2012, more than 3 million Haitian children returned to school with 200,000 of them educated in Salesian-run institutions. The country’s educational system is continuing to rebuild after the earthquake destroyed 90 percent of schools and 60 percent of hospitals, killed thousands of people and left more than 350,000 injured.

For Salesians in the country, schools in Haiti fulfill an important socio-economic mission by providing poor youth a foundation for lifelong learning through education and training in skills and trades to help them escape poverty and establish a sustainable livelihood.

Recently, Salesian missionaries secured financial support from Mercedes-Benz for their “Food for Haiti” project which is designed to meet the nutritional needs of children affected by the earthquake. Currently, the project is improving the nutrition of 135 children aged 3 to 9 who live in La Saline and Cite Soleil, the two largest slums in Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince.

The “Food for Haiti” recipients attend the Little Schools of Father Bohnen —“Oeuvre des Petites Ecoles de Père Bohnen” — or OPEPB in French. They are a network of 50 small Salesian-run schools that were founded in 1954 to educate Haiti’s most vulnerable children. Most of the student’s families were already poor and lost everything in the earthquake, including the ability to feed their children and send them to school. With parents out of work with little means to provide adequate nutrition, or even a daily meal in some cases, many children suffer from acute malnutrition. As a result, additional health complications such as stunted growth, poor immune systems, tuberculosis, skin diseases, bronchitis and other ailments are prevalent among children.

The project focuses on providing a daily breakfast and hot lunch for school students with the goal of helping them flourish in school. For most, school is the only place a daily meal is offered. The food serves as an incentive for families to send their children to school, since parents often do not understand the importance of education for their children’s future.

Proper nutrition increases the cognitive abilities of children and increase their chances of staying longer in the education system. It also allows children to socialize and develop relationships with their peers, a process important for their rehabilitation and normalization after the psychological trauma of an earthquake.

“Access to nutritious meals allows youth to be better prepared to take part in school activities and focus on their education,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Prepared students are more likely to stay engaged with their peers and school activities helping them to remain in school and gain an education.”

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Sources:

ANS – Haiti – Mercedes-Benz supports children affected by the earthquake

Salesian Missions – Haiti

World Bank – Haiti 

The post HAITI: Mercedes-Benz Contributes to Salesian Project Helping to Feed Poor School Children first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Of those returning to school, more than 20,000 are educated in Salesian-run institutions, including more than 10,000 who receive one meal a day at the Little Schools of Father Bohnen—“Oeuvre des Petites Ecoles de Père Bohnen” — or OPEPB in French — which provides education ranging from preschool to vocational training.

In addition, more than 1,200 teachers have been hired in Salesian schools throughout Haiti, most of them trained at Salesian institutions like the OPEPB.

But Haiti is still in the process of recovery.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, Salesian Missions Office for International Programs, located in New Rochelle, NY, was assigned the task of coordinating international Salesian relief efforts. Early efforts focused on providing basic human needs such as food, water, medical supplies, survival kits and tents for shelter. Thousands of refugees were housed within Salesian facilities that were not destroyed, and thousands more were provided food.

Since the earthquake, many of the Salesian schools and other programs are back up and running. Many of the OPEPB’s students have been studying vocational trades as well as training to be teachers to help prepare future generations of leaders.

Data offered by the World Bank shows various estimates that bear witness to the recovery. It cites 11 million cubic meters of debris that have been removed making it possible to once again move about on the streets. One million people have left the camps for displaced persons and 600,000 people will soon have access to electricity.

“The missionaries have always been on the side of those who had more need of help; the most vulnerable children, the women and the sick,” said Fr. Sylvain Ducange, Superior of the Salesians in Haiti. “Our dream is a better Haiti for young people able to take care of themselves, to ensure young people are in safety.”

There is still much work to be done in Haiti. Half of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, 500,000 people are homeless and 90 percent of children have water-related diseases. The country is still struggling with a cholera epidemic as well as an economic crisis.

The Salesians remain focused on recovery efforts in Haiti, rebuilding the country and educating its youth.

To help, go to the Donate Now page on SalesianMissions.org and select “Haiti Recovery Fund.”

For more information about Salesian Missions and its work in Haiti, download a special 2-year report on progress in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake.

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Sources:

ANS – Haiti – Children return to school

Salesian Missions – World Teacher’s Day: Salesian Missions Remembers Bright Youth Killed in Haiti Earthquake While in Class Studying to Become Teachers

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