On 12 January it was two years since the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that killed over 220,000 Haitians and left 1.5 million injured. In the aftermath of the disaster, sectors like education were seriously affected and it has been recorded that 80% of schools in the western region of the country were destroyed or suffered serious damage to their infrastructure. Therefore, social partners and various international bodies all agreed to point education out as a priority for the country's recovery.
In this sense, Food For The Poor and Fundación del Valle join together to back up their commitment to Haiti by putting in place a project, subsidiesd by the Villaviciosa de Odón City Council (Madrid), whose objective is to contribute to the access and improvement of education and health in the Petit-Goave School, situated in the Leogane district, in the Ouest department.
The project, that will benefit more than 600 people, promotes the construction of a canteen, a clinic and a multipurpose room in the school, as well as a hygienic area for food preparation. In addition, another of the project's components contemplates installing solar light electricity, an initiative that will allow a number of night classes and courses to be put on, so more people can attend. Each family will receive, in addition, a portable solar lamp that will make it easier for the student to study at home when natural light is unavailable.
Food For The Poor has worked in Haiti since 1986 and has completed over 400 projects in the area. Currently it has 121 initiatives in place covering a variety of sectors such as agriculture, farming, agricultural development, supporting orphan projects, living, sanitation, community development, improving water, school construction and introducing alternative energy sources, among other actions.
