AMSAI School, Haiti

Haiti is the poorest country of the Western Hemisphere, suffering from high unemployment, social unrest, natural disasters, sanitation and health problems, and endemic poverty. In 1996, under a tree in a field, the AMSAI School started classes with 35 children. Within a year, a plot of land was purchased and a large school building was constructed.

Today, Sunrise educates 230 students, from kindergarten to second grade. Regular free meals are offered to all students. The school works with local residents to develop comprehensive community services. A Food Relief Project provides impoverished families with weekly food supplies. A medical clinic offers free medical care to the surrounding communities. As a sustainable solution, a new solar oven project has provided approximately 80 families with ovens that are an economic and ecological alternative to conventional ovens.

A new continuing education school for women is currently being developed. It offers an adult literacy course for 70 students, a computer literacy course for 80 women, and sewing, crochet and knitting classes for 30 women. Other courses offered in the school are: pottery, karate, jewelry making, english courses, and cooking.

"This school is extremely valuable for us because if it didn't exist our children wouldn't have gone to school. Also, we, the mothers, never had opportunity in our lives to receive proper education and skills training. This school is a gift from God."

Anonymous Parent