Haitian Student Sponsorship Program
There is a Haitian Kreyol proverb that goes; "Pitit se riches maiere." It means: one's hope and riches lie in the future of one's children...
KONBIT lies at the heart of all we do at the St. Paul's Mission in Petit trou de Nippes, Haiti. Our mission is in one of the poorest and most remote areas of Haiti, where virtually all are desperately poor. In 1996, Colorado Haiti Project pioneer Marti O'Dell and Father Octave LaFontant began a fund raising drive among St. Paul's Mission friends and supporters in Colorado to start a primary school at the mission.
KONBIT was the name they adopted for the program to support the primary school, the hot lunch program, and basic health care. It is a traditional Haitian word that conveys "to gather together for a community project." The Konbit Program is a network of sponsors and volunteers partnering with the students of St. Paul's School and their families. Together we help sustain an environment in the midst of hopeless poverty, where hope for a better life is real, because the chance for a good education is real.
KONBIT sponsorships purchase books and supplies, uniforms, hot lunches, tuition aid, and salaries for a team of dedicated teachers, staff, and school nurse. In Haiti, all public and private schools charge tuition, and so the poor are barred from education. Thanks to Konbit sponsorship support for St. Paul's School, the poor of Petit trou de Nippes have an opportunity to send their children to one of the best elementary schools in the region.
For almost all St. Paul's students, the hot lunch at school is not just a supplement - it is the only meal they eat that day. This area of Haiti is so desperately poor that most children eat less than once a day - something that is hard to imagine for us in the U.S. In a very real sense, a Konbit sponsorship saves a child's life and sustains her with the knowledge that enough food will be there tomorrow. Her spirit is freed to learn and aim higher.
Please join our community of Konbit sponsors with your gift of $300 a year. Konbit sponsors and general donors to the school who give the equivalent of $300 per year receive a quarterly Konbit newsletter written by Konbit sponsors, enclosing current photos of events at St. Paul's School. Sponsorships come from individuals, families, clubs, youth groups, schools, church groups, and parishes. Parents and grandparents buy a sponsorship in the name of a child or grandchild, and with it goes a new experience of caring and compassion.
The Colorado Haiti Project, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) organization, #84-1330243. Your donation to Konbit is fully tax deductible.