The Partners
The Haiti EcoVillage School Partnership
Members of three Presbyterian churches* initiated this project for one purpose: to educate children in Haiti.
Partnership decisions are made by a Steering Committee composed of volunteers from the three church communities and Haitian-Americans who have joined our project, providing translation, cultural and financial support. We are a true cross-cultural partnership. We invite others to join our mission.
100% of all individual donations go directly to fund the school. No one in Atlanta is paid. North Decatur Presbyterian Church acts as fiscal partner, providing banking services and tax credit for donations.
This website is created and sponsored by the Haiti EcoVillage School Partnership. *Our three churches: North Decatur Presbyterian Church, Emory Presbyterian Church, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
Statement of Principles from the Atlanta EcoVillage School Partnership
1. Haitians control the project.
2. Our role is to empower them.
3. We won’t do anything that Haitians can do for themselves.
4. We will not create long-term dependency on us.
5. We will connect with the Haitian people, not just send money.
6. We will build connections in Atlanta while we are building a school in Haiti.
Initial (2014) Goals for the Atlanta EcoVillage School Partnership
1. Build the school. (achieved)
2. Provide quality education that achieves accreditation by the Ministry of Education (achieved)
3. Help the school become financially-self-sufficient (not yet!)
Supporters gathered to meet Heguel Mesidor, resident of the EcoVIllages, and to learn more about the crises in Haiti.
Staff and Parents of the National EcoVillage School
Directeur. Ramin Estil has been principal of the school since its founding. He holds a law degree and vital connections with the Ministry of Education and other schools in the region. Ramin’s leadership brought the school national certification in 2018. His leadership has provided a stable faculty and strong connections to the community.
Teachers. Teachers have been the heroes of the EcoVillage School for years. Though they live in Hinche, 5 miles away, they commute daily by bike or walking, showing up on time and ready to teach poor kids in a classroom without electricity, many books or modern tools of the profession. Through their passion, they have provided quality education that sends their graduates on to local high schools.
In the Haitian educational system, teachers at national schools are hired by the school but paid by the Ministry of Education. All of the teachers in the EcoVillage School are certified by the Ministry and, therefore, qualify to be paid by the Ministry. Until that happens, their salaries are being provided by the support of the Haiti EcoVillage School Partnership. As the school struggles to find financial self-sufficiency, the support and creativity of the professional staff is vital to finding the resources.
Mouvman Peyizan Papay, Haiti (MPP)
MPP is a founding partner of the school, providing on-going governance of the school, progress reports, financial reporting, budgets and banking.
Its involvement in the school is almost an accident. For 50 years MPP’s mission has been to help its 40,000 small Haitian farmers learn to thrive through sustainable agricultural practices. After the massive 2010 earthquake, thousands turned to MPP for help. MPP created the EcoVillages to resettle earthquake survivors on land in the Central Plateau ceded to MPP by the government. When EcoVillage parents asked for a school, MPP and Atlanta churches formed a partnership in 2014.
Finding a trustworthy Haitian partner is vital to successful projects. Through the 50-year leadership of Chavannes Jean-Baptist and Executive Director Verona Val, MPP is such a partner. In this period of chaos and governmental dysfunction, Chavannes and MPP are playing a central role to influence the formation of a new government to respond to the needs of the nation’s poor farmers, who are the majority of the population.
Representatives from the Atlanta Partnership meet with MPP and school leadership each year to collaborate and plan. These regular meetings have led to a strong bond of friendship and trust.
