The Alphabet School – A Literacy School for Adult Education

Five years ago, we first wrote about the “education triangle”, and we updated the original post in 2022 when we opened The Barefoot School. Speaking from experience, Mrs. tVM and I spent countless hours at the kitchen table helping our children with their schoolwork and encouraging them to complete it.   I say with 100% certainty …

The Children Are in School

Despite the gunfire and gang violence, we managed to complete semester testing at the Barefoot School in Cité Soleil in February.  I received the report cards for 149 students this week.  Regardless of performance, THESE CHILDREN ARE IN SCHOOL and are trying.  That is MOST important:  THEY ARE IN SCHOOL, which is a major accomplishment …

Humbled by a Homeless Child

In Haiti, most children have a single set of clothes.  IF a child attends school, a uniform is a requirement.  Because the Barefoot School is open to everyone, we do not strictly enforce that requirement. As we prepared for the school year last summer, Justin’s budget included $4,500 for ‘uniform cloth.’  I was resistant to …

I Had the Blues

According to a recent report on Haiti from the World Bank – November 2022 – Haiti remains the poorest country in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region and among the poorest countries in the world. In 2021, Haiti had a GNI [gross national income] per capita of US$1,420, the lowest in the LAC …

The Children Need Your Help

After a brutal summer characterized by unparalleled gang violence and delays mandated by the Haitian Ministry of Education, we opened the doors to the Barefoot School in Cité Soleil, Haiti last week.  This will be our second scholastic year.  Our relationship with the Guepard Boxing Club of Cité Soleil [GBCCS] which operates the school goes …

New School Year to Begin in Haiti

The Haitian Ministry of Education has delayed the start of the next school year for one month, until October 3. I have the budget for our Barefoot School in Haiti for the upcoming school year, now October 3, 2022, through July 2023.  The total budget to operate the school for 10 months is $37,972.25.  Our …

“One of Our Students Was Shot Last Night”

Yesterday evening, Justin informed me that we successfully concluded our summer camp.  “Today we are surrounded by happiness,” he writes.  “During the camp, the children play with each other, eat together, tell jokes, learn about their culture, and history, and learn things that can be useful to make a little money in the future, like …

The Education Triangle Revisited

This post is updated from a post we published four years ago in May 2018.  The ‘Education Triangle’ is a universal truth.  What was true in 2018 remains true today, and it is the same truth that existed at Plato’s Academy in 387 B.C., and it will be true as we colonize Mars in the …

Keep the Faith

The Book of Job is the 18th book of the Hebrew Bible.  It is considered the first of five books of poetry in the Old Testament: Job – teaches us how to suffer Psalms – teach us how to pray Proverbs – teach us how to act Ecclesiastes – teaches us how to enjoy life …

Good Child Today… Good Person Tomorrow

As we complete the second full month of the Barefoot School in Cité Soleil, Haiti, our staff administers tests – midterms, if you will – to the hundreds of students who comprise our student body.  The original 100 children we planned to serve has swelled to as many as 300 and we keep our doors …