HAITI LIFE CENTER - PANDEMIC UPDATE

Haiti has a rich history and resilient people, but corruption and political turmoil have been ongoing challenges for Haiti's people.  Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Haiti had been experiencing a severe political and economic crisis sparked by a scandal centering around a government program called Petrocaribe, where $2 billion dollars which were supposed to go into social programs went missing.

This scandal caused the country to erupt in mass protests which caused schools and hospitals to shut down, the disintegration of public services and food and gas shortages everywhere.  Life, which was already difficult, became even more so.

It was in the midst of this crisis that WCF launched an ESL and Computer Life Center in Port-au-Prince in January 2019 using local teachers and staff. Our goal was to provide practical job skills for Haitians who lacked the skills needed to get a typical office job - such as conversational English and Microsoft Office skills. WCF created a custom ESL and Computer curriculum that was adapted to the job market in Haiti. For example, most Haitian businesses and government offices use older versions of Microsoft software. By the end of 2019, we had 161 registered students in our ESL and Computer classes.

However, the newest crisis came in March 2020 with the global COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns.  The lockdowns affected Haiti just as it did every other country in the world, but due to its much greater poverty levels and lack of governmental resources or infrastructure, its effects have been much more severe for the average Haitian.  There's a lack of electricity, little and expensive access to the Internet and no social net.  All schools were shut down as were most businesses and other services. 

The Haiti Life Center had to shut down as well.  We did a COVID-19 Food and Hygiene care package for our students to do our part to help.  In the summer, we implemented a remote learning system using Google Classrooms and pre-recorded lessons.  However, most of our students lacked computers or internet access so this was of limited help.

In August, we were finally able to re-open the Life Center and we've quickly restarted our classes.  We had to make many adjustments, especially with new social distancing rules, limiting the size of the classes and other procedures, but we currently have 83 students back in class with a growing waiting list.

We thank you for your support of our Haiti Life Center during these uncertain times and ask that you continue to help us maintain our ability to serve the Haitian community in Port-au-Prince through your sacrificial giving.

WCF Team