LiveBeyond Provides Haitian Children ‘First World’ Experience
Thomazeau, Haiti, Feb. 5, 2019 – Having just opened this past Fall, the new LiveBeyond School is working to transform Haiti by providing a world-class education to its children. Historically, education is beyond the financial means of most rural and poor Haitians, as they must cover the cost of school uniforms, supplies, books, classroom furniture and even teacher salaries. When families can’t even afford food to eat, education becomes a low priority.
In addition, for those who attend traditional Haitian schools, the curriculum is French-based – a language that most Haitians no longer speak – and focuses on rote memorization rather than encouraging students to think for themselves. Classrooms are over-crowded and teachers are not required to meet specific standards nor engage in professional development.
In its efforts to transform Haiti, LiveBeyond recognizes that sustainable change can only come from within. By educating students to compete in a world environment but to be proud of their nation and heritage, LiveBeyond hopes to halt the “brain drain,” and see Haitians pursue a higher education to benefit their own communities and the nation’s future.
Where most schools in Haiti don’t even have reliable electricity to keep the lights on, LiveBeyond has installed fiber-optic cables and wifi, with reliable electricity sourced through the non-profit’s own generators and solar energy. Access to this kind of technology is both innovative and transformative for nations like Haiti.
The LiveBeyond School classrooms are each equipped with apple TVs, projectors, and laptops. Both retired and active teachers, universities, and classrooms across America participate in skype sessions with the LiveBeyond students and teachers to aid in professional development, student enrichment, and cross-cultural and international bonds between classrooms.
“Through the use of technology, the LiveBeyond School has unlocked so many educational doors for both the teachers and the students,” said Courtney Stegall, LiveBeyond’s education director. “The LiveBeyond School will continue to implement technology in creative and purposeful ways as we prepare our students to become Haiti’s future leaders.”
For more information about the LiveBeyond School, please visit https://www.livebeyond.org/thriving-communities.
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LiveBeyond is a faith-based, humanitarian organization improving lives of the poor in Thomazeau, Haiti, with sustainable solutions in medical and maternal health care, clean water, education, and agricultural and economic development. It was founded by Dr. David Vanderpool, a trauma surgeon who has worked for more than 20 years responding to humanitarian disasters around the world. For more information, visit www.livebeyond.org.
Media Contacts:
Melany Ethridge
melany@alarryross.com
972.267.1111