We hope that you and your families are staying safe, healthy, and happy during quarantine. None of us expected this time of isolation to last this long and we know that this is a difficult time to navigate through. Just as many other countries, Haiti is experiencing the on-going affliction of the Coronavirus. The ministry of Education in Haiti took the decision that it was necessary to close schools in order to curb the virus. This decision, although necessary, has put our students who already live in extreme poverty in a very vulnerable position. In response to the needs of our students at this time, the Lumen Vitae team in Haiti has launched a public health initiative called “Pwoje Bon Vwazen” (The Good Neighbor Project) to help our families battle the threat of Corona.
The project has 3 main objectives:
- Train and equip a team of community healthcare workers who can educate others in the community. This education involves: how to limit the spread, proper hygiene and sanitation, and assistance in gaining access to health facilities.
- Create masks for subsidized distribution. In many parts of Haiti, masks are being sold upwards of $5, making it unaffordable for a common Haitian to obtain.
- Provide basic hygiene products such as soap and hand sanitizer.
Since the launch of our learning center has been delayed, we are also providing a range of online classes for them through WhatsApp. By utilizing the hundreds of French-to-English video lessons, electronic books, audios, and pictures we can use these to help students learn english without having to rely on direct access to a laptop.
We are very proud of the efforts that our Haiti team is putting forth and none of this would be possible without your help and prayers, thank you so much for helping us through this difficult time. Our prayers are with you and together we will get through this! If anyone feels inspired to help donate to our Good Neighbor Project, please contact Brian at brian@lumenvitae.us for more details.
