Bèl Platon Community School
Bèl Platon Community School was founded in 2001 by a group of young teachers in response to the lack of primary education in their community. Its vision is to create a modern school which offers an alternative education based in respect and an appreciation for personal development. It uses participatory methods and hands-on learning techniques to provide a quality education for everyone involved, including parents, students and teachers.
Haiti Partners partnered with Bèl Platon Community School in September 2009 with the support of a grant by the Vista Hermosa Foundation. With the help from this grant, the school has constructed an additional 2-room school building, a latrine, a school garden, as well as implemented a 6-month teacher training program in participatory education methods.
On a site visit in November 2009, Bèl Platon community members explained that the nearest reliable water source was 3 hours away on foot. Recognizing the desperate need for water in this part of La Gonâve, Haiti Partners sought further support to build a cistern at the school. In response to a grant proposal, DAS, Inc. generously funded this project in January 2010 which will not only provide water to the community of Bèl Platon, but will also provide a modest source of ongoing revenue to the school.
Haiti Partners is very grateful both to Vista Hermosa and DAS, Inc. for making this great work possible. If you would like to support us in this partnership, please contact us at: info@haitipartners.org
- Location: Bèl Platon, La Gonâve (a remote island in the Gulf of Gonâve)
- School type: Kindergarten through 6th grade
- Principal: Jean-Thony Delus
- Staff: 8 teachers; 1 administrator; 2 custodians
- Students: 143
*For Bèl Platon Community School updates, click here.
*Pictures: before the earthquake; post-earthquake activities; cistern project.
*To read reports and partnership documents, click here.
