Grand Goal: To raise enough funds that teachers in 10 to 12 rural schools in Haiti can receive a living wage.
First Goal: To build a fund worth $200,000 to pay the teachers at the school in Savaan Brule, Haiti monthly from the dividends of the fund.
Back story: Hope in Haiti [a 501(c)(3) organization in Washington State] supports two schools in the region of Haiti, east and northeast of Dessalines. In those schools, the students receive education, books and some meals; teachers receive about $75 per month. The success and accreditation of these schools has encouraged the formation of twelve other elementary schools in the area where most students are the first people in their families to receive an education. Each of these schools meets in and is supported by a local church. In twelve of the schools, the teachers have not been paid for 5-6 years. Without income these teachers are subsisting on their backyard gardens, but, many will need to look elsewhere for income to support their families if they cannot be paid for their teaching. (The Need is huge!)
How much is needed? The average income for a teacher in Haiti is approximately $75.00 per month or $900.00 per year. Each of these schools has about 10 teachers. So, $10,000.00 would pay the salaries for one school for one year. The goal is to build a fund with enough capital to pay the teachers using the interest from this fund in perpetuity. We have established a fund at the Community Foundation of Snohomish County. They will invest the funds we send to them and, when we reach $200,000, will begin sending about $10,000 per year to pay the teachers and purchase supplies. Contributions will still go the Hope in Haiti and be tax deductible.
Why is this important?
According to Canada’s “Feed the Children” program:
- Education is the single-most important driver of economic empowerment for individuals and countries.
- Education and food security are directly connected: doubling primary school attendance among impoverished rural children can cut food insecurity by up to 25%.
- Women who are less educated are having more children, on average 2.5 children, over the course of their lifetime when compared to more educated women, on average 1.7 children.
According to the UN:
- In developing low-income countries, every additional year of education can increase a person’s future income by an average of 10% for girls, 15% for boys.
- No country has ever achieved rapid and continuous economic growth without at least a 40% literacy rate.
- Worldwide, 69 million children are not in school, 60% are girls.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
For a very specific example see the details about the School in Savaan Brule.