- Posted by Inveneo on August 22, 2012 in the categories: Education, News, Projects
In June, the Inveneo team in Haiti, Sybille Fleischmann, Michelet Guerrier, and Ronald Benjamin took a trip to Ouanaminthe to visit two schools where we deployed computer labs and trained teachers. This initiative was sponsored by Digicel Foundation and Kellogg Foundation.
One of these two schools, Ecole Nationale Ti Laurier, was a concern for us. I am Michelet Guerrier, project manager for the Haiti Connected Schools Program, and I worried about the management of the computer lab, but I was happily relieved. When Ronald and I went to Ecole Nationale Ti Laurier, our visit intended to surprise them, but they surprised us. When I looked at the door and the walls of the lab, there were lots of decorations made by the teachers posted almost everywhere. It was clear to any visitor that it is a well-operated computer lab.
We found Arold Phanord, one of the teachers we had trained in February, deep in a teaching context. Students were being guided and each student in the lab was working on a different program on the computers. A 20-year old 6th grader was on Google searching for information about Jean-Jacques Dessalines and when I interviewed him, he said:
“I did not even know the word ‘òdinatè‘ (‘computer’ in French Creole) before the school received these computers. But now, I have learned so many things in two months, I think I will be smarter from day to day.”
A lot more positive things can be expected from this school. And I hope we can use it as a model to inspire other schools, like those in the Haiti Connected Schools Program.
- Posted by Inveneo on April 16, 2012 in the categories: Education, News, Projects
March 2012, Haiti. Centre D’Etudes Gamaliel Beraud, a rural primary school in the South of Haiti, received a solar-powered computer lab, connectivity and computer training for teachers from Digicel Foundation and Kellogg Foundation. Inveneo installed the lab, trained the teachers and worked with Enersa for a theft proof solar installation,and local partner Transversal and Talkpool to connect the school to the Internet. Many of the teachers who participated in the computer training had never touched a computer before and were excited to explore the new resources. www.inveneo.org
Video by Developing Pictures
- Posted by Inveneo on June 17, 2011 in the categories: Education, News, Projects
Three years ago, the Digicel Foundation rebuilt a school in Saut D’Eau, Haiti, replacing a simple shack with a real school building. This effort was one of many projects by Digicel Foundation to build communities and the community spirit in Haiti.
The Digicel Foundation has built 37 schools in Haiti since 2007 with a further 22 schools under construction. The Digicel Foundation aims to complete 50 schools in time for the new school year in September.
The children of the Saut D’Eau school are also building their own education, with technology. Inveneo and Digicel Foundation installed a modern computer lab with Inveneo High Performance Computing Stations and Internet access through a donation from the friends and family of Digicel colleague Jean- Marc Le Hir who died on 12 January 2010.
The computer lab has changed the lives of the 300 students at the school and their community. The school director says:
“The community of Saut d’Eau is proud to have its own computer lab. Indeed, it is the only one that exists throughout the area. Also, we offer the opportunity, not only to our students, but also to the youth from other schools of Saut d’Eau to benefit from this facility.
Our students used to see computers in the books; some directors did not even know how to open a computer. But thanks to the Digicel Foundation they can actually see, touch, learn to use it and do research. This is an important step in improving the quality of education in Saut d’Eau.”
This computer lab is also another step in Inveneo’s efforts to build Haiti back better. We are working with organizations like Digicel Foundation to increase the educational experience of Haiti’s children, arguably some of the most underserved in the Western Hemisphere.
