Our Work
“We must have education so we can soar like a bird.”
Nuo dwe gen edukasyon poun ka vole tan kou zwazo
Our Education Programs
Lekol Pi Gwo Byen, GGI’s literacy focused school, serves children whose parents are too poor to send them to primary school and now are too old to enter the Haitian school system. Each year we are able to accept twenty-four new students—twelve girls and twelve boys. The average annual tuition per child on the island is $250. Our school provides a free equivalent primary school education so that the students are fully prepared to take the Sixth Grade National Matriculation Exam within a three year time frame. Pi Gwo Byen has a 9 year running 100% passing rate of the Sixth Grade Matriculation Exam which is respected greatly considering that the Haitian National average passing rate is a mere 20%.
A new focus for GGI is to provide total support to our secondary students, those who have graduated from our elementary program and enroll in Secondary Programs out in the greater community. In essence, we hope to offer full scholarships tailored to the individual student, to guarantee ALL students access to continued education and ultimately a high school diploma. And naturally, we are looking into how best we can support students who graduate from high school and would benefit from a university, vocational school or agricultural training. In addition we are looking into the creation of a mentoring program whereby our older students mentor younger students, building a cycle of community learning to help ensure that all achieve success.
Adult Literacy
October 2022, we kicked off our Adult Literacy classes. Adult literacy is a persistent problem in our community of Anse A Galets. The literacy rate for people over the age of 18 is 62% in Haiti. Many of the parents in the Pi Gwo Byen (aka Greater Good) school community do not know how to read. We address this by offering Adult Literacy classes two nights a week. Classes are held in our new Earthship Classrooms. We offer a beginning class as well as an intermediate class. Teachers from our school teach these classes. Literacy is fundamental to our work in Haiti. It has been the impetus for our very presence in Anse A Galets, on La Gonave, in Haiti. Adult Literacy is a must-do program and we are thrilled that Palo Alto Rotary has granted Greater Good International the funding to get this project going.
In addition to the literacy program, the school also provides:
A healthy hot meal every day promoting good nutrition, which in many cases is the student’s only meal of the day.
Lessons in healthy hygiene including best toilet, hand-washing, teeth-brushing and bathing practices.
Space for a dedicated community center to host events such as workshops, English classes, and community gatherings.
Practical experience in organic gardening, beach cleanup, and reforestation.
As a grassroots initiative we have seen immediate success. All the children we have graduated have taken and passed the National Matriculation Sixth Grade Exam. Nearly 70% students are currently enrolled in secondary education, 7th through 11th grade. We continue to support them financially and with academic tutoring, in their secondary education.
