The Conflict of Education

Education is what empowers many to break the cycle of material poverty and create a new life for themselves and their families. Schools serve as a platform for change. They are a place where children can come together and dream of a new tomorrow. They are a place where children feel safe, secure, and well fed. They are a place that lowers the chance of gang involvement, violence, and prostitution. Education is the very thing that will launch Haiti into a new future taking with it the lessons of the past, but this time, with hope. 

Unfortunately, education is also the very thing that drives many families into poverty. The world bank estimates only 8% of schools in Haiti are public, while approximately 92 percent were privately owned and financed, meaning they were tuition-based. This is certainly true for most of rural Haiti. In many cases parents are spending over 60% of their already limited income on their children’s education. 

The current political unrest has brought the majority of the economy to a halt, and schools are not immune to this present state of crisis. Most schools have closed due to the violence on the streets, and many have yet to even opened this year. At La Pointe Foundation we are committed to bridging these gaps. The seemingly impossible barriers that prevent growth and change and the very thing that fuel us. We believe the key already exists, we just need to put it in the right lock. 

Through community based solutions, our school of 350 children has stayed open during this time providing a safe refuge away from the widespread insecurity faced by the nation. Through this refuge of education, students are learning new ways to deal with conflict, solve problems, and learn to dream. By removing the financial burden of high tuition costs, parents are freed up to invest in their small business, boutiques, and farmland, helping to secure a more stable future for their family and the next generation.