Razoo Causes: Education In Bayonnais, Haiti

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Cause Last Updated:
November 05, 2008

Tags:
Education, haiti, Human Rights, poverty

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For nearly two centuries, subsistence farming has characterized the livelihood of 80,000 people in rural Bayonnais, Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Following colonial independence in 1804, former slaves exercised newfound freedom by cultivating their own land in the countryside. Today, OFCB (Organization of the Christian Force of Bayonnais), a ministry founded in 1993 through the vision of five inspired individuals, provides this generation with a new opportunity: education. Subjects such as history, biology, language arts, social science, philosophy, and visual art are now available to this community for the first time. Enrollment of adults and children has grown fr...

For nearly two centuries, subsistence farming has characterized the livelihood of 80,000 people in rural Bayonnais, Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

Following colonial independence in 1804, former slaves exercised newfound freedom by cultivating their own land in the countryside. Today, OFCB (Organization of the Christian Force of Bayonnais), a ministry founded in 1993 through the vision of five inspired individuals, provides this generation with a new opportunity: education.

Subjects such as history, biology, language arts, social science, philosophy, and visual art are now available to this community for the first time. Enrollment of adults and children has grown from 103 to 1460, and for many, the rice and beans served at lunch may be the only substantial meal they eat all day. Not only have national exam scores been some of the highest in the country, OFCB has sent 20 students to Haitian colleges!

In an effort to stimulate long-term development, the college scholarship program stipulates that each student return to OFCB upon graduation to serve the community for 10 to 15 years, depending upon the field of study. One college graduate has become a doctor, currently in residency, and will return to start Bayonnais' first health clinic! Deep in the heart of a country plagued by extreme poverty, political violence and corruption, the people of Bayonnais are finding new hope.

However, this hope is being challenged. Of the nine students who graduated in 2006, having passed the national exam, none were able to continue to higher education in order to pursue a specific field of study. The funding simply was not there: a $3,000 to $6,000 annual cost does not factor into a farmer's budget, one lucky to accommodate $100 per year. Trapped in a post-graduate limbo, these nine students spent a discouraging year, questioning the value of education and surely inviting similar questions from their younger peers. Due to the generosity of US benefactors, three students have been sponsored and will continue their education in the fall of 2007. Please assist us in sponsoring the remaining six students of the class of 2006.

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