As we mark one year since the traumatizing 7.2 magnitude earthquake, we have seen both recovery and despair.  Many families are still struggling to meet the needs of their children. Add to that generations of poverty and lack of access to educational opportunities, and it’s very apparent that these children are in significant need of access to a stable, consistent education.

Education is at the heart of our Social Support Model and Haiti's future hinges on its youth of today.  Monthly donations, no matter the size, will fuel our ability to meet the need for scholarships, teacher training and more.  Please prayerfully consider a monthly donation today!

One of the most difficult challenges for parents is being able to provide their children with the opportunity for education. The majority of schools in Haiti are private because the public schools are few, overcrowded and not accessible to most families. But even in public schools, parents are required to pay fees and purchase supplies. For families desperate to meet the mere basic needs of their children, they must seek solutions that often lead to the separation of the family.

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Overture International is committed to providing thousands of students with the opportunity to attend school and experience the transforming power of education. Just $500 per student per year covers the cost of a scholarship that includes tuition and supplies for a vulnerable child in the regions we serve.

Thanks to the generosity of Overture supporters, our teams have been able to build up a strong educational foundation in Southern Haiti: 

24+

communities

impacted

150

teachers trained

& employed

148

schools

empowered

2070

full or partial

scholarships

The Power Three

Three years can dramatically change the trajectory of an individual, family and community in Haiti.

When we began reuniting children with their families as ESPWA was transforming from an orphanage into a child development center, we developed three-year support plans for each family based on their individual goals. These support plans were designed to equip community members with the knowledge, skills and resources they needed to make major strides toward independence and self-sufficiency.

Our evaluations show that in just three years, families have moved from a life in crisis to a more stable place within each of the five pillars of the Overture Social Support Model - Education, Healthcare, Empowerment, Housing and Nutrition. This is how we know that walking beside families for three years can make a significant impact.

Now it’s your turn.

Making a three-year commitment to provide a child with education means building a strong foundation to continue their education and gain fundamental skills for success in life. Over the past year since the earthquake, we have seen both recovery and despair. Many families are still struggling to meet the needs of their children. Add to that generations of poverty and lack of access to educational opportunities, and it’s very apparent that these children are in significant need of access to a stable, consistent education.

Lorencia Lives, Loves, Laughs

Like many families in Haiti, the Timeau family faced an agonizing choice after losing their income in the aftermath of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake. They could keep their family together, but no income meant no school for their four year-old Lorencia. Or they could send Lorencia to an orphanage where she could attend school but run the risk of being exposed to abuse, neglect and other horrible outcomes.

This is the unimaginable choice so many parents in southern Haiti must face each day. Fortunately, because of Overture’s donors, the Timeau’s didn’t have to choose between an education or keeping Lorencia at home. They were able to leverage a scholarship provided through Overture to cover the cost of school for one year. Now, Lorencia is coming into her own at school and at home. In addition to doing very well in her studies, she’s becoming quite the comedian, constantly making her family, school friends and teachers smile and laugh at her antics and jokes.

The Timeau family is counting on you and Overture to invest in Lorencia’s education until they get back on their feet and gain the stability they lost due to the earthquake’s devastation.

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A three-year commitment to Lorencia’s education means her parents no longer have to choose between an orphanage, an education or Lorencia’s safety. And it means an opportunity for her parents to experience Lorencia’s laughter and joy each day as they watch her grow into an independent, self-sufficient Haitian woman putting her education to work for herself and her family.

Because Education Means Life in Haiti, together we have an opportunity to invest in the future of thousands of children just like Lorencia who can become agents of change for their families, communities and country.