"Education is the Best!"

I am Rosegaële Alfred and I am a 7th grade student at the Haiti EcoVillage School. I am 14 years old and I live with my mother, Eliane Estenat and my 2 brothers and 4 sisters. We live in the small village of Beganabe so I walk about 10 minutes to get to my school in the EcoVillages.

Education is The Best! It is the key to changing the lives of little children like me from poverty to a better life. My mother is a sales woman by trade but in Haïti right now this is very challenging because of the violence and insecurity in our country.  My father is a policeman. Unfortunately, the police in Haïti are in grave danger from gangs that control parts of the country. And, my father finds it difficult to make enough money to meet the needs of his family. Even though my parents work very hard, there is often not enough for our family because life is so hard.

I take my studies at school very seriously because I hope to bring change to the life of my parents and my family and myself. My teachers tell me I am very intelligent. I work hard (like my parents) because I understand my parents fight for me to have a better tomorrow. 

I am very grateful to the Haiti EcoVillage School Partnership for helping the school. Ke Bondye beni gwoup la ak fanmi yo! (May God bless the group and all their families.)

Students Succeed at the EcoVillage School

Jessica Estin (left) and Shmiderlie Étienne (right) are two of our 9th graders who passed the National Proficiency Exam this year. Seventeen 9th graders took the exam; 14 received scores necessary to graduate from the fundamental school and continue to the next level of education in Haiti. Their successes demonstrate1` the quality of education at the Ecovillage School. 

Jessica was the top scorer on the exam.   She is the oldest child in her family and she lives in Ecovillage 1.  In an interview this summer, Jessica said that she performed very well on all of the exam but the physical science was a little bit difficult for her.  Jessica wishes to attend high school at St. Louis Joseph Janvier College in the city of Hinche.  Jessica is grateful to the Atlanta Partnership for how they support the school.  She acknowledged how the Partnership: has provided students with school materials to allow them to work better; has paid teachers, and has helped the most vulnerable by providing uniforms and shoes so they could attend. She says, “May God continue to protect your life, your family and always put money in your hand to continue supporting the school”.

Shmiderlie is another student who passed the official exams from the school. She lives in the nearby town of Beganabe with her mother, Eveline and her father, Kenson.  Shmiderlie plans to continue her studies at Lycee Dumarsais Estimé (a college prep high school) in Hinche. Shmiderlie gives the Atlanta Group a big thank you for supporting the school and the students, and she says, “may the almighty God always bless them and their entire family”.

With the political and economic turmoil in Haiti at this time, the progress of these students in their education is only possible because of the financial support of the Haiti Ecovillage School Partnership.

MPP in the News!

Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, founder of MPP and our partner in the Haiti EcoVillage School, works for food sovereignty for all people.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/08/local-is-better-battered-haiti-looks-to-empower-peasants-to-fight-climate-crisis

Beatrice in 2021

Her name is Béatrice Brunet, she has lived with her Aunt since the death of her mother in the earthquake on January 12, 2010. She lives in village #4 and just completed the 9th grade at the Ecovillage school. She described to us how she worked during the school year to prepare for the state exam: “We started the school year well even though I went a little late due to economic difficulties.  My aunt struggles because she already has 3 other children under her responsibilities.  We have teachers who come to work regularly every day and we have lessons that end around 2 p.m. Sometimes it is difficult for us because we are often very hungry.  There was hardly any food this year but we stayed to take all of our classes. ”

 When asked what she is going to do during these Holidays or what she would like to do she replied: “I have no plans for the summer, I do not know what my Aunt will give me as responsibility.  But if I had the possibility of going in training camps for young people, I could take advantage to recreate myself and also learn.  I would like to learn to sew, learn to use computers ... "

 We asked her "If you pass the grade 9 exams, which school would you like to go to continue with your classical studies?"  “I don’t know. College tempts me but I certainly won't be able to afford college. I will probably go to high school in Colladere or Hinche.”

 When we asked what she would like us to do to improve in school, she replied "I hope we can paint the school, build a computer room like I saw in a school in Hinche."

 Thank you very much for your support and your prayers.  The school was able to continue all of these programs despite this difficult year.  It is because nothing can stop our God!  Thank you for continuing to support my country through education.

- article contributed by Carlos Sinfinice (6/27/2021)

 Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10

The Pandora Papers and The EcoVillage School

The future for these children is jeopardized by people who steal from Haiti’s wealth.

A Haitian-Atlantan member of the Atlanta EcoVillage School Partnership steering committee gets upset when we say that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. He says “We are not the poorest. We have great wealth and natural resources.” How can this be true when all the statistics show that Haiti has the highest percentage of its people who are impoverished, illiterate and hungry? The Pandora Papers show how both these seemingly contradictory realities can be true.

To get the full story we refer you to this front page story in the Miami Herald:  “Pandora Papers: A mega wealthy man from the region’s poorest country — and his Miami palace”   A caution: it will make you angry or disheartened.

The Bigio’s are one of a handful of families that control Haiti’s business and wealth, traced back to the days when dictators gave them export/import monopolies in exchange for bribes. They extract wealth from Haiti and hide it in shell companies that invest in rich countries. Many rarely step foot in Haiti any more. Nicknamed MREs (Morally Repugnant Elite), they use their wealth to control the government and maintain their monopoly positions. Many Haitians believe that funding for the recent assassination of President Moise by Colombian mercenaries can be traced to his efforts to break up the electricity monopoly. Even though Moise was a beneficiary of the system – he was known as “Banana Man” – his disruptive efforts were viewed by the MREs as a threat to the system from which they have benefited so greatly.

How does all of this relate to us?

When we began the school project, we were asked by several donors why the costs of construction materials, such as concrete and rebar, were so high. The Bigio family controls the importation of those commodities. They took their slice of our contributions when we bought those materials to build the school.

Our original goal was to build a financially self-sufficient school. The path to local funding was to qualify as a national school, which the Haitian Constitution requires the government to fund. In our 5th year the school received certification and all of our teachers are nationally certified as well, which qualifies the school for government support. We achieved our side of the bargain within our 5-year window.

But the government has no funds to pay teacher salaries, which is the way the Haitian system is supposed to support its national schools. Why doesn’t the government have those funds to educate its children? MREs evade taxes with international banking mechanisms that are too sophisticated for the Haitian government to figure out. Half of Haitian kids never learn to read because the money for their schools is stolen by MREs. Morally Repugnant Elite, indeed. Since they are by far the most powerful entity in the country a weak, corrupt and incompetent government is in their interest.

The MREs could do so much for their country. They have the business skills, connections and resources to build up Haiti’s economy, to begin with creating an educated workforce. They could be the vital ingredient for a resurgent nation. They, too, participate in a bigger system in which their wealth is not unusual. Many poor countries around the world suffer similar dysfunctional systems. The Pandora Papers reveal the tip of an international iceberg of which Haiti is simply one of many. Solutions will take international cooperation and generations to fix. 

What are we supporters of a small school in rural Haiti to do? We know that we cannot fix Haiti or the international system in which it is trapped. The Atlanta EcoVillage School Partnership grappled with these very issues during a series of meetings this year to chart our future. We midwifed this school. We decided to work to keep it open for the 2021-2022 school year. Because of your support, we were able to fund the first semester which began in September and we will ask you to fund the winter semester, too. Fixing an inequitable international system is beyond our power. Providing opportunity for 280 country children seems to be within our grasp. That is what we will try to do. Thank you for joining us in that effort.

So, How are Families in the EcoVillages Doing?

If you follow the news at all, you know that the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated at his home on July 7th.   You may also know that 4 days prior to the assassination, Haiti was struck by Hurricane Elsa.  These events happened while the country was struggling with political crisis, economic hardships and the coronavirus pandemic.  My friends who know that I follow events in Haiti very closely have said "Boy, they just can't catch a break.  Can they?"

It is true that political upheaval, bad weather events and economic hardship have been the story of Haiti for many years. It does seem like things have gotten a lot worse.  For me, this is personal because I have friends in Haiti.  Here in Atlanta, I have friends that have family in Haiti.  So, while the seemingly insurmountable problems in Haiti are real, my concern lies with how our friends are impacted by all that is happening.

It is too dangerous to travel to Haiti right now.  In fact, our friends tell us that it's too dangerous to travel in Haiti in many areas.   Gang violence is on the rise.  Kidnappings and murders are happening with little consequence to the perpetrators.  

We are still able to communicate to our friends in Haiti via email and text messages. We have made friends with some of the people we have met in the EcoVillages, and they can now provide first-hand testimony to the conditions in the villages. (Their photos are above.)

Heguel (pictured above with Pat Murphy & David Evans) lives in village 6.  He says, "Every day I speak to the people from EcoVillages where I live. Everything is going well in the countryside, most of the problems are in Port au Prince."

Carlos (pictured with his family, Jeanine, and myself) is a doctor living in Hinche.  His family lives in village 4.  He describes the situation as "the country is still in a very volatile calm".  He goes on to say "… everyone remains vigilant about not knowing what will happen."

Donald (pictured with his family and me in 2017) describes his attitude this way: "For things that concern politics in Haiti, this causes a lot of difficulty but despite everything I put everything in the hands of our savior Jesus Christ".

Germeil (pictured with his wife, his church and our mission group in 2017) is a pastor with whom we worshiped together on Easter Sunday.  He says "We are doing well and the gardens are going well with the grace of God. We hold the brethren of Atlanta firmly in memory of our prayers and thoughts."

The silver lining is that the people still have homes in the EcoVillages.  The rains have been plentiful so they should have a good year in their gardens.   These past 2 years have presented many setbacks, but life goes on in the villages.

The school is out for summer and will be in session this Fall.  With the strong, continued support of our donors and oversight by MPP, the children will learn and teachers will be paid.

If you want to hear first-hand testimony from a villager, you are in luck!  One of the villagers will be coming to Atlanta and you can meet him on August 1st.  Click here to see that invitation.

COVID and the Big Test at the Ecovillage School

COVID is peaking in Haiti and it is adding grief and loss to this country. And we just learned from a villager that our school in the EcoVIllage (along with all schools in Haiti) has been closed by the Ministry. We don’t know how long this will continue or how it will impact our class taking their exams.

This is an important year in the life of the School in the EcoVillages of Haiti.  For the first time ever, since opening eight years ago, our EcoVillage School has a ninth grade class! Like many countries around the world, Haiti issues a test at the end of the school year to determine if a child is able to attend high school.

The test is called the "9th AF Exam" and will be issued in July 12-14, 2021. There will be 15 children from the EcoVillage school taking the test. Four of those children have attended our school each of the 8 years it has been open.  We have profiled some of these children before and you can read their stories here:

 A Boy with a Future

 Meet Beatrice

 Haitian Students Love Math

  Please give generously to the Haiti Mission and "Give a Child a Chance"

A Chance for a Better Future for Each Child

Our mission in Haiti is a bold act in several ways.  We did not build a school. They did. We do not operate the school. They do. We provided the resources necessary to build the school and will continue to provide support until the school can sustain itself without our assistance.

It's a bold and unique plan.  Over 80% of school children in Haiti attend private school mostly run by foreign-based agencies. Our school is a public school, designed, built and operated by Haitian people. It received certification from the Ministry of Education in 2018 after proving the quality of instruction and organization.

Without the school, this fledgling community in the rural, central plateau would not be able to provide education for their children.  Without an education, these children would have no chance to escape the cycle of poverty that has plagued this small nation for decades.  Our school gives these children a chance and hope for a better future.

Matthew 25:31–46 calls us to actively engage in the world around us.  In response, the PCUSA encourages us to "act boldly and compassionately to serve people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor".

Please continue to give these children a chance. Donate here.

Meet Beatrice

Beatrice is 16 years old and in the 8th grade class at the EcoVillage School (aka Ecole Nationale St Jean Bapiste de Beganabe). She has attended the school all six years that it has been open. I had the opportunity to interview her during our trip to Haiti in April 2019.

She grew up in the town of Jacmel in the southern part of Haiti. She has 3 brothers. In 2010, the earthquake that devastated Haiti destroyed her home. Both of her parents died. She moved in with her aunt and continued to live in Jacmel for a while but life was difficult there in the aftermath of the earthquake.

When given the opportunity to move to the Central Plateau, she moved with her aunt’s family to the EcoVillages. There she was able to have a home, healthy food to eat and to go to school. She lost a couple of years of schooling because of the earthquake but the school in the EcoVillages has given her the opportunity to continue her education.

Beatrice told me about how much she loves her school, her teachers and her principal. She is able to have an opportunity for a better future through education because of the dedication of MPP to make the school a reality and the donations of the Americans who support their efforts.

submitted by C. Calia

Beatrice in the 5th grade. Photo taken during our trip in April, 2017.

Beatrice in 2017 with Artwork describing herself

First Class of Ninth Graders at Haiti EcoVillage School!

This is a critical year for the 9th graders at the Haiti EcoVillage School. They must complete the required curriculum and pass the Haitian National Performance Examination. Passing the exam opens the possibilities of further education and a vision for the future. They are working hard now to meet this challenge and to surpass expectations!

As they work in their studies, the Haiti EcoVillage School Partnership is working to find funding to keep the school open. Our teachers and our students are depending on our success so they have choices for their futures.

You can help. Click here to donate so we all surpass our goals!

“We are living a disaster.”

Chavannes leads protests in the streets of Hinche.

Perhaps you remember Chavannes, founder of the EcoVillages in rural Haiti, as the grandfatherly gentleman who visited Atlanta last year. He thanked us for building the EcoVillage School and asked us to help finish the project.  

Today, he is more Jeremiah than grandpa, prophetically calling on the President and his wealthy supporters to mend their ways.  He is helping lead the nationwide, peaceful rebellion against corruption in government and oppression of Haiti’s poor.  

Haiti is in crisis. What began months ago as occasional demonstrations has escalated into a full-fledged effort to shut down the country until the government falls. Schools, government functions, ports and banks are closed. President Moise refuses to resign, with the support of the U.S. government. (To learn more about the backstory of the people’s revolt read “ ’There Is No Hope’: Crisis Pushes Haiti to Brink of Collapse,” New York Times, October 21  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/world/americas/Haiti-crisis-violence.html )

The unrest, which in the first months was concentrated in the capitol Port-au-Prince, has now reached our friends in the Central Plateau. 

Pressure and threats to join the nationwide shutdown led to the closing of the EcoVillage School in October. A few days ago, Director Ramain and the parents courageously reopened the school, watching to see if it will be safe. Almost all of the other schools in the country are closed.

Our friends in the EcoVillages are fortunate to have their own food.  They can subsist, but many others are in trouble. 60% of Haiti’s food comes from imports.  NGOs report that as many as 3.5 million people need emergency food assistance now. (To learn more about the current food crisis read, NGOs warn about deterioration of food security in Haiti,” ReliefWeb, November 21 https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/ngos-warn-about-deterioration-food-security-haiti-more-35-million-people-need-emergency )

The Atlanta EcoVillage School Partnership will keep you informed about events.  Haiti was in the news on January 12, the 10th anniversary of the greatest natural disaster in the history of the Western Hemisphere, in which as many as 250,000 people died.  Please keep the Haitian people in your prayers.

Searching for that meaningful (affordable) gift for a special teacher?

Consider making a donation to the Haiti EcoVillage School to honor the teachers in your life today. We will mail you the card for your child to present, or we will mail the card to the teacher you are honoring. Donate here and email the number of cards you need and your instructions for mailing. Thank you for supporting and affirming learning!

Learning is a Gift

It brings me great joy to see the pensive look and ready hand of this girl.  She does not know that she lives in a country abandoned by her own government and disparaged by foreigners.  What she does know is that today she has the opportunity to learn and be all that she can be.

As I review the photos and travel logs from our most recent mission team trip to the EcoVillages in Haiti, I find myself reflecting on all they have accomplished.  Sure, the people could not have gotten the school built without our help.  But we did not construct the building, hire staff, and manage the budget.  We do not oversee day to day operations.  THEY DO.  It's their school and what a marvelous job they are doing with the gift they have been given.

It started with the simple question "how can we help?" and the principle that we wouldn't do for others what they can do for themselves.  The result is something that exceeds our expectations and demonstrates what is possible.  As our friend, Mark Hare, put it "I don't know if there's hope for Haiti but there is hope in Haiti".  Despite all the disadvantages and lack of opportunity, the people are eager to work and the children are eager to learn.

Chris Calia

Thanksgiving in The EcoVillages

As we gather with our families and friends to express gratitude for our blessings, a different kind of “thanks” giving emanates from the people of the EcoVillages.  This Haitian version of gratitude is directed towards YOU.

They are thankful for your gift of learning.  You have helped provide the classroom, the workbook, the teacher and the full belly for this child to learn.  And 266 other kids like him.  When we visited in October, parents and children asked us to deliver this message to you.  “Mesi!”

They are thankful for your gift of community. The school has become the center of community life.  People collaborate to raise the food that feeds the kids so they can learn.  “Mesi.”

They are thankful for the gift of optimism.  For people who are rebuilding their lives from the personal devastation of earthquake, from the uncertainty of endless days in tent cities and from the hungry months of drought in their new homes, optimism is an incredible contrast.  Make no mistake.  It has been and still is hard, requiring enormous resilience just to keep going. They have done the backbreaking work required to scratch a living from fallow soil.  They have had to adapt to living among people who were strangers in the beginning.  But now they can see the results.  The EcoVillages are lush with growing food.  Children play with abandon like children are supposed to play.  Parents see the possibility of a more prosperous life where there is something left over after the family has eaten.  They are optimistic that they will control their own destiny soon and that their own efforts will sustain their school. 

They want you to know how they feel about your support:  “Mesi. Mesi anpil.”

On this Thanksgiving as you express your gratitude for the ways others have enriched your life, hear the voices of your unseen friends. You have done a good thing.  Let their Mesi brighten your holiday.

Life Improves in the EcoVillages

Education. Enrollment at the school has grown from 170 last year to 267 this year. A new 7th grade classroom was added. 

The thirst for learning is contagious. Parents are now clamoring for adult literacy classes so that they can learn to read and help their kids in school.

Electricity.  It doesn’t look like much, but a pole can be a beautiful thing.  Our partners at the Unitarian-Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) in Boston approved a grant to bring electricity to the six EcoVillages this year.  The power is now on! There is a pole next to the community center building in each village which provides light at night.  Residents must buy a meter to bring power to their own homes, which some have already done.  Residents are already imagining how their lives might change.

Water. Wells in two of the villages were broken last year. UUSC paid to have them fixed.  Now there is nearby water for everyone. Clean clothes feel good.

Food. Everywhere you look there is food: congo beans, cassava, plantains, papaya, bananas, peppers, cabbage, squash.  You even hear chickens peck and goats bleat and an occasional pig grunt.  The days of empty pots and lean harvests are behind them – at least for now. 

Collaboration.  Parents understand that they must coordinate their efforts to grow food for school lunches.  Thanks in part to a grant from PATH (Atlanta’s Presbyterian Answer to Hunger) new school gardens have been planted, expanding their contribution dramatically. Hot, organic meals are served to the students every day of the week. Cassava came in this month, cabbage next week and squash in November.  As a result, the school budget for food has been slashed so that precious funds can be allocated elsewhere.

When asked about his life in the village, one man replied matter-of-factly, “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not.” In other words, for many life has returned to familiar routines.  The struggle for basics -- survival and safety and a place to belong – is being replaced by the struggle to get ahead.  You know -- normalcy. 

Building from Bricks to Business Development

As we begin our fifth year with our school project, we celebrate the accomplishments and the beautiful school that is central to the lives of the EcoVillages.

We also recognize the impact of the crippling poverty on these families.  They work hard and struggle to find ways to provide income for themselves and for supporting the school.

We realize the key to the future of the school is the ability of the families to become self-sufficient.  We need business-minded friends to share their ideas and expertise with us as we search for ways to support the work of the families.

Gather with others to share food, friendship and your ideas.  Join us to apply what you know to the challenging situation facing the people of the EcoVillages.

Dinner and Brainstorming, Saturday, January 20, 2018, 7:00p-8:30pm

For more info or to RSVP: sowseedsofhope@gmail.com by Jan. 17

Give a gift to Tanisha and Djemima and all our friends in School in Haiti

Today please remember our special friends and partners in Haiti.  The children who now attend school are relying on your help to continue in their studies and create productive, meaningful lives. They have hope and faith because you have helped them.  Won't you help them today?

Bracing for Irma

My brother Sam French and his family have lived near the beach in Puerto Rico for 45 years.  Many hurricanes have passed over.  For the first time, they may face an evacuation order today as Irma bears down. There is fear in PR.  My extended family is full of anxiety for their safety. 

After Puerto Rico, Irma will visit Hispaniola. 

The EcoVillages of the central plateau of Haiti are about to be hit if current projections bear out.  The good news is that the 60 families should be safe in their reinforced concrete homes.  They have a school that opened this week for the new year.  Now, every grade has their own classroom.  The Haiti EcoVillage School Partnership has partnered with them to improve their lives in this way.

The news may not be so good for their livelihoods.  Families live garden-to-mouth from the food they grow in the ½ acre outside their front doors.  Mark Hare describes their gardens as “their grocery store, pantry and refrigerator combined.”

In addition, each village has planted new cash crops of moringa or cassava & peanuts, while 3 villages have built enclosures and bought goats to raise funds to support the school.  Our partnership has funded these cash crops by providing loans through their credit union. 

When hurricane Mathew devastated the western part of Haiti 10 months ago, winds were strong enough in the central plateau to disturb their gardens and make it harder to feed their families.  Irma is on a more direct path.  I can only imagine the fear in Haiti, too.  I feel anxiety for their well-being.

In April we met all of the women of the EcoVillage households as Jeanine Calia shook hands with each as she passed out gift boxes sent from women in Atlanta.  Everyone of village women is a survivor of the 2010 earthquake (and years in tent cities) that deprived them of everything they had.  Their faces show the strain from living always on the edge. They are tough. They are resilient. They will survive Irma, too.  The unknown is what toll it will take on them.

I invite you, as you go through your day, to think of these friends.  See their faces in your mind. Embrace their fear with them. I admire their toughness, their resilience. I will accompany them as best I can from the comforts of my home.  And, when the storm moves on toward our homeland and we feel the fear and anxiety for ourselves, I will remember them.  I hope you will, too.

Gordon French

Imagine

Uploaded by None on 2017-06-08.

Examining the cost of poverty

“I am reluctant to do work in Haiti.  Our congregation's mission project there failed because Haitians would not sustain it.” 

We heard this sentiment expressed at our first meeting in July 2013. We determined at the beginning of this project that this school must be self-sustaining.

Now in our fourth year, we have been successful in almost every way.  We have met our fundraising goals.  We are on track to complete classroom construction next year. The school consistently meets the requirements of the Ministry of Education. We have connected with the families and children, and we hear their passionate gratitude and determination. We have formed strong bonds with our partners at UUSC and MPP.  MPP has been a reliable project manager. We have built loving relationships among members of our three congregations in Atlanta.

Sustainability remains elusive.

Oh, we’ve had a reasonable plan all along.  We will meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education which, by law, is required to pay the teachers.  We know this works because the school we visited at Basin Zim, in a rural area about 10 miles away, has been a “national school” for 30 years.  So, if/when the MOE nationalizes the EcoVillage school, it will have the financing it needs.  But the government of Haiti is short on resources.  It is behind in supporting the schools it has already nationalized, set back by the year-long period when there was no president or functioning government.  Furthermore, the whole process of nationalizing a school is fraught with local politics and cronyism.

The second long-term resource requirement is food, which the government does not subsidize.  Again, there has been a plan.  The school has been assigned a large field where parent volunteers could raise food.  This has worked with a smaller-scale kitchen garden that puts vegetables on the children’s lunch table now.  But this, too, has been plagued by problems of organization and drought and the cost of fencing to provide security--animals and people are hungry.

The underlying problem is clear: The villagers are very poor.  The region they inhabit is very poor. They have few sources of income.  Now that they have shelter and can grow food to feed themselves, they can ask the next question: how do I improve my life for myself and my family?  Sending children to school is part of the answer.  Can they earn income too?

Chavannes and MPP met in an assembly of the villagers after our visit in April.  They proposed options for ways that villagers can both earn income and support the school.  After deliberations, each village agreed to create one or more agribusiness cooperatives, allowing each village to borrow from the EcoVillage credit union based on a business plan developed within the village.  Proceeds from the businesses will be split between people in the villages and the school. Here is what villagers have agreed to.

1. Raise goats.  For the past 3 years the goat program – launched by ACG -- has provided a goat for each family to raise, with the goat belonging to the school.  It has raised some money for the school .  Three villages have agreed to launch full-scale goat production, which includes building an enclosure, consolidating the existing goats and buying more, raising forage, tending the goats, and taking them to market.

2. Cultivate moringa. Every family in the EcoVillages grows their own moringa plants to increase the nutrition of their meals.  Four villages have agreed to farm moringa for the market.  Each will cultivate ½ hectare (about an acre) and MPP will farm an additional 2 hectares.  Parents who live in the community outside the EcoVillages will be offered the opportunity to participate in this project.

3. Cultivate cassava and peanuts.  Recent El Nino drought has raised awareness of the impact of global warming and the need for drought resistant crops.  Cassava (also called manioc) and peanuts are companion crops that are drought resistant. Three villages have committed to raising these crops on community land and all of the villages have expressed some interest.

These projects require a capital investment of $18,730, which is the total amount that will be borrowed by the villagers.  Loans will be repaid in 4 years.  ACG, UUSC and MPP agreed to divert $16,000 earmarked for fencing the school farm.  ACG has agreed to send an additional $2730 to fully fund the projects.  Repayment of the loans will allow the credit union to reinvest in future development.

After the loans are repaid, the projected annual net profit for all the EcoVillage agribusinesses will be about $11,000.  60% of the profits will go to the school and 40% to the 60 families in the villages.

We are encouraged that the villagers – all of whom are parents to school children – have agreed to take on this effort.  It gives them something tangible to do for the future of their families which determines the future of the school. If successful, this step begins to provide a financial foundation for the school. This is the reason that the partners have chosen to fund the effort.

Now, stop for a moment and look at the numbers and what they say about poverty.  Even after 5 years of effort, this plan accounts for about 1/3 of the annual cost for feeding 160 children.  And take home pay for families? An average of $75 per year per family.

In the end, will our school project prove to be unsustainable? If so, it won’t be because the villagers haven’t worked hard and tried their best. It won’t be because we at ACG are not creative enough or persistent enough.  It won’t be because MPP was an unreliable partner or has given up on the people.  It will be because of the intractable poverty.  Poverty: the reason we took on this project in the first place. We were determined to give kids a chance in the face of the poverty. We knew school was the chance to break the cycle of poverty begetting more poverty.  Do these children deserve a chance to break out of this poverty? 

And so, we come full circle.

Should we build a school? Yes.

Should we try to make it sustainable? Yes.

Is success guaranteed? No.

Pray for them and us.  We all need it.