Rebuilding Haiti – Child by Child

Susan Whitcomb, a former resident of Ridgefield, was compelled to go to Haiti as a volunteer after that island country was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2010.  She went on to found Haitian Educational Initiatives (HEI), a not-for-profit organization.  The public Is invited to hear Ms. Whitcomb tell her inspiring HEI story on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m., at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church North Hall, 351 Main St.

For the last two years HEI has supported nearly 80 scholarships for impoverished children who would otherwise have no access to education. In the two years that HEI has been operating in the city of Jacmel, 99% of HEI-supported students have completed their school year and 85% have been promoted to the next grade. That’s a noteworthy achievement in a country where only half the children attend school and of those, most drop out by the 5th grade.

HEI also trains its Haitian partners to develop, consolidate, sustain and replicate their own successful models for leaders in other communities. “Together, we and our Haitian partners are slowly rebuilding Haiti, child by child,” said Ms. Whitcomb.