Our work in constructing new schools (see Building Classrooms) and renovating classrooms complements our commitment to fund both teacher sponsorships and teacher scholarships.
With teacher sponsorships, HBHH steps in and pays teacher salaries when the village school cannot do so in a consistent manner. The yearly salary for teachers in these rural areas is approximately US $1500/year. For teacher scholarships, HBHH pays the college tuition of US $1200/year for promising young adults who will commit to teaching in the villages after graduation.
As we all know from our personal school experiences, one of the most important factors in educational success is the teacher at the front of the classroom.
In the villages, the local parish often subsidizes the school so that it does not have to keep tuition rates high enough to cover all expenses. As the photos show, these schools and classrooms do not contain any 'extras", so any shortfall at the parish level can make it difficult for the school to pay its teachers.
When HBHH started helping the village of St. Suzanne, the school administrators had been struggling for over a year to pay their teachers on a regular basis. Beyond the simple justice of paying a person promptly for their work, certified teachers are in demand throughout Haiti, so it is to be expected that good teachers will leave if salaries cannot be honored on time. Currently we are sponsoring the US $1500/year salaries of 15 teachers within the schools of St. Suzanne.
In order to effect a long term solution to this situation, HBHH is also providing US $1200/year scholarships so that 6 promising students can go to college in Fort Liberte and receive their teaching certificates.
In exchange for this scholarship money, each student has committed to return and teach in the villages at a reduced salary for a period of five years.