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Ebelle Jeune
Ebelle Jeune is from the small town of Marain
in Haiti. She is twenty-eight years old and is the second of five children. Her mother and father both work the land, growing corn, beans, and tobacco. They earn less than $50 US a month.
Like many young Haitians, Ebelle had a long
trip to her elementary school, walking one and a half hours to and from school on rocky roads. Her journey to the University of Fondwa has also been long, but it has been helped by her intense desire to help transform her community.
Marain has no infrastructure. There are no paved
roads and no electricity. It takes two hours to reach the nearest hospital. Yet Ebelle finds hope in the people’s attitudes. She says that “people are interested in the development of the area, they are just lacking a way to put their hopes and dreams into action.”
Ebelle has been active in her community. She
sings in the choir, led a Catholic group called Kiwo, that works with children, and she has participated in a local peasant association.
Ebelle is delighted that she is attending classes
in four languages. “I can express myself wherever I go,” she says. No other university in Haiti teaches in four languages. She will receive her degree in Business Management and she will apply her skills to improving her community in Marain. She has received extensive training in administrating microcredit loans.
Ebelle Jeune is already on her way. The student
body at the University has chosen her to be their Student President.
Dumas Dominique
Dumas Dominique comes from a small town
called Platon Ramye, near the town of Jacmel. He has one brother and two sisters who are cared for by his mother. This has been difficult for her since his father died when he was five years old.
Dumas’ mother has struggled to care for her
family by buying and selling merchandise in Port au Prince and by growing and selling food at the market in Jacmel. She has even gone to the Dominican Republic to try and find work.
Dumas completed his primary studies at a
private school and then went on to a public high school. He was involved in theater and a church group in his parish. He became active in dance and choreography.
A religious sister told him about the University
of Fondwa. Dumas is passionate about studying agronomy. He always loved working with his mother in the fields, planting potatoes, collecting beans, and grinding corn. He always admired his mother for how hard she worked in the fields.
Dumas Dominique believes that he will be able
to implement a lot of what he is learning back in his home community. He will teach the people reforestation and soil conservation. He plans to start an agricultural store and work with the local peasant association in Platon Ramye.
Dumas possesses the knowledge and the passion
to succeed. Martha Lazarre Martha Lazarre was born December 27, 1985 in St. Jean du Sud in Haiti. She has two sisters and three brothers. Her parents were not able to care for the family. So at the age of five Martha was given to the Sisters at St. Anne in Okay du Sud to raise. She considers the Sisters to be her family since she has not seen her parents in many years.
Martha went to secondary school at l’Ecole
Fraternite in Fondwa. After high school she has continued her studies at the University of Fondwa.
Martha is studying Business Management.
She looks forward to graduating and then returning to her home community to help those who grew up in situations similar to her own.
During her time at the University, Martha
has had the opportunity to learn much outside of the classroom. She has worked with the women in the market who have had trouble selling their produce and making a profit.
Martha has done an internship with Fonkoze,
the organization in Haiti that does micro lending and micro finance. She was able to learn how a bank functions in poor rural areas and how it can assist the poor.
When asked about a personal dream she has
for herself beyond helping others with her business management skills, Martha said that someday in the distant future she would like to have her own boutique.
When you get to know Martha Lazarre,
you soon realize that she is a person who will make dreams come true.
Norma Mathias
Norma Mathias is 27 years old and comes from Hinche in Haiti’s Central Plateau. She is the 9th of her family’s 10 children. Her parents have been farmers all of their lives. Norma is the first member of her family to be able to attend a university, overcoming the many challenges of rural living.
Norma completed her primary and secondary
education in Hinche and was the president of the local youth group at her church. She has always dreamed of studying agronomy and helping her community. “Without nature, we can’t exist,” she says. “Continual deforestation, erosion, changing rain patterns, and the loss of vegetative cover are threatening the future of the peasant farmers.”
Norma would like to work as a project
facilitator and educator in Hinche to combat these trends by educating and working with the farmers. She hopes to teach her people the right approach.
Norma feels that her professors are making
sure that all the students fully understand what they are learning. Between academic sessions there is practical work for the students. “I have come to see the problems of my community more clearly, and I am trying to learn the means to change them,” she says.
Norma says that she is trying to mobilize
all of her courage, effort, and intelligence to make her time at the University a success.
With all of her hard work and her dedication,
Norma Mathias will leave her mark on her home community and far beyond its borders.
Sterlise Fenelon
Sterlise Fenelon is 26 years old and comes from Maniche. She is the 7th of 8 children and her family is being cared for by an older brother. A priest who is a friend of the family made it possible for her to receive a secondary education as well as introduce her to the University of Fondwa.
During secondary school, Sterlise studied
information technology, sang in her church’s choir, organized a women’s soccer team, and supervised groups that cleaned the streets of the local neighborhood.
Sterlise appreciates that classes at the
University are taught in four languages and that the professors give individual attention to each of the students. She says, “It gives the students the idea to create similar initiatives in our own communities.”
After she finishes her studies, Sterlise has a
number of dreams that she would like to pursue. To go along with her skills as a manager, she would like to study her first love, medicine.
She says that in her home community of
Maniche there are many children who are in the streets, living a miserable existence. Her solution is to open an orphanage where she could be sure of their education and their health.
Sterlise has the abilty and the drive within
her to make her dreams a reality. Charles Edner Charles Edner is the son of peasant farmers from the northern town of Borgne in Haiti. His journey to apply to the University of Fondwa was over 300 miles. On foot he had to cross mountains, valleys, rivers, and almost impassable roads. It took him over two days of walking to reach the university.
Charles feels that his trip was well worth
the effort. The University of Fondwa is Haiti’s first and only rural university. Like Charles, the students come from all over Haiti. They hope to be able to return to their home communities to begin to solve the many problems that exist.
Because of his rural upbringing, Charles
finds that he has a close relationship with other peasants. This is of great benefit to him as a student of agronomy. Because the University of Fondwa is located in the countryside, the students have a lot of contact with farmers and their work. Charles feels that this is important. “When you go to Port au Prince or any city, you are disconnected from rural Haiti, which is the backbone of our country.”
Charles has done an internship in Limonade
in the northwestern part of Haiti with a well-known expert in farming. This has really improved his professional skills as a future agronomist.
The future for Charles Edner looks bright
as does his rural community of Borgne. Hopefully, Charles will not have to make the long journey home on foot. Dieules Mozard Dieules Mozard is one of five children, one girl and five boys. He is the oldest in his family.
Dieules did his primary studies at the
“Presbyteral Poggy” school near to his home. He left home for his secondary studies. He began his studies at the Educative Complex of St. Antoine and St. Augustine, staying at a home in the local community. He finished his secondary studies in Port au Prince.
Dieules is studying veterinary medicine at
the University of Fondwa. He sees how vital the health of the animals is, not only in the present, but also to the future of Haiti.
Some reports say that there are only ten
veterinarians in the entire country of Haiti. “When a donkey gets sick or dies, the entire family suffers,” Dieules commented. “The donkey provides needed transportation in our country where gasoline sells for $7.00 US a gallon. Many people depend upon their donkey to get their goods to the marketplace.”
Few people in Haiti were ever taught how
to properly raise and care for chickens, pigs, or goats. Disease is ever so common.
Dieules Mozard looks forward to the day
when he can devote himself to helping the poor in his community to better maintain their animals as well as produce healthier meat. He is determined to succeed. Josue Poliscar Josue Poliscar was destined to become an agronomist. “I’m a child of the land,” he says. Josue was born in Grand Goave. He was educated by the Sisters of St. Anthony. He showed great promise in secondary school, but his family did not have the means to finance a private university education. His high school principal helped him into Fondwa.
Josue found the University of Fondwa to be a
whole new world. Foreign professors taught in four languages, he was learning through the computer, and his classmates came from all over rural Haiti. He says, “that no other university in Haiti can offer all of these advantages.”
“When I think of my community at Grand
Goave,” he says, “I see our biggest problem is that there are no agronomists.” The state does not provide technical support to local peasants. Students from Grand Goave who have studied agronomy in Port au Prince have not returned to their home. Josue will. Josue has such a great love for Haitian farmers, that his fellow high school students nicknamed him “Agronomist Josue.”
Josue is passing all of his classes with high
marks since he feels he was born to be an agronomist so as to help his community. He already has had a summer internship in Grand Goave and one in Hinche.
Josue Poliscar can’t wait to move back to
his community and help the local farmers to improve their crops and the way they tend the soil. Josue can’t help but succeed. Serge Valescot Serge Valescot was born in 1978 in Jacmel, a town in the southeast of Haiti. He has six sisters and one brother. Serge attended the primary school of J.M. Hemifuz. For secondary school he attended the College of the Sacred Heart and finished at Pinchinot High School.
Serge is presently studying agronomy at
the University of Fondwa. He chose agriculture because it is the most valuable resource the Haitian people have. He says, “It is unfortunate that in Haiti the earth does not nourish the people because the farmers lack the agricultural techniques that would permit them to increase and enhance their output of produce.”
Serge goes on to say, “It pains me to see
how much deforestation ravages the arable land by washing it into the sea.”
After he completes his studies he would
like to go into the countryside to teach farmers who don’t use good techniques. He also wants to teach them how to combat pollution. He wants the people in his community near Jacmel to achieve a nice environment in which to live.
Serge hopes to help the people to
reforest the mountains to stop soil erosion. He wants them to learn how to prepare tree nurseries to supply the peasants with healthy trees and plants.
Serge Valescot looks forward to working
with the peasants to improve the way they farm and how they do their harvesting. With Serge guiding them, the coming harvests will be plentiful.
Herold Felix
Herold Felix is from Fondwa. He completed his primary school studies in Port au Prince.
For three years Herold was involved with the
Peasant Association of Fondwa, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2008. He is a member of one of the twenty groups that make up the Peasant Association called Ka Anri 1. Through the Peasant Association Herold has been very involved in literacy training and reforestation.
Herold has been a student of agronomy at
the University of Fondwa. The main reason he chose agronomy was the rural nature of the town of Fondwa where the peasants survive mostly through farming.
Herold says, “Agronomy will allow me to
share my knowledge with the local area residents. I want to help them with the technical assistance so that they might have more productive yields.”
He goes on to say: “My dream after I
graduate is to help Fondwa regain the lush vegetation that it had long ago.”
The town of Fondwa is very much
in need of sustainable development. The people feel blessed that the University is located in their back yard.
They are also blessed to have their own
Herold Felix to teach them the way to better provide for their families through new agricultural means. Jerome Chouloute Jerome Chouloute is thirty-seven years old. He is a religious brother from Petite Riviere de l’Artibonne which is located in Haiti’s Central Plateau.
Brother Jerome has two brothers and four
sisters and his parents are farmers. He went to grade school near his home and then went to Port au Prince for high school since there wasn’t one in his community. He was always active in the choir and in sports.
He heard about the University of Fondwa
through his religious community. He has chosen to study agronomy. Many would think this to be unusual for a religious brother to be studying farming.
Brother Jerome feels that even though Haiti
is an agricultural country, many of the people do not value the work that the peasants are doing in the fields. He says: “I want to work with the peasants to participate in the sustainable development of my country.”
He goes on to say, “I appreciate the quality of
the education I am receiving in Fondwa. I hope the University will be able to improve its facilities over the course of time.
“When I am finished with my studies, I will
return home to help the peasants increase their agricultural production in a way that is sensitive to the environment.”
Brother Jerome Chouloute has chosen a most
interesting way of living out his religious vocation. He certainly has a “calling within a calling” from the Lord. Wilson Catolin Wilson Catolin was born on August 1, 1975 in the town of Jacmel which is located in the southeast part of the country.
Wilson has five brothers and two sisters. He
completed his primary grade studies at the Evelina Levis School and went on to complete his high school training at Pinchinot High School.
He is studying agronomy at the University
of Fondwa. Haiti has always lived and died through the success or failure of its peasant farmers. Wilson sees first-hand the high cost of maintaining a farm. His parents are only able to make $50.00 US through farming even though they put in long days in the fields.
Wilson wants to bring sustainable
development back to his home community to improve their way of life. He is concerned not only for the current generation of farmers, but future generations as well.
When asked about marriage and family,
he responds, “I would someday like to be married and have a family. But for now it is my studies that are most important. My community and my country are my first concerns.
“I want my name to be imprinted in the
memory of all Haitians when they think of modern agricultural development.”
Wilson Catolin has set out to achieve the
loftiest of goals. But he possesses the drive and the enthusiasm to achieve them. Makinson Figaro Makinson Figaro was born in the southeastern section of Haiti in a town called Les Orangers. He did his primary studies at the National School of Orangers and he completed his High school studies at Pinchinot High School in Jacmel in 2003.
Both of his parents are peasant farmers and
farming has been a way of life in his family for as long as anyone can remember.
As a result of farming being in his DNA,
it is not unusual that Makinson has chosen to study agronomy at the University of Fondwa.
“For generation after generation,”
he says, “my family has tilled the soil, enduring the worst natural disasters. There is a great erosion of the soil. Today we have the means and the know how to improve our way of life. I am determined to change this downward cycle not only for my family, but for my community and for all of Haiti.
“The University of Fondwa is ‘one-of-a-
kind’. It teaches us to attack the root of the problems that we are facing. Our problems are overwhelming, but at least we are finally getting to the root of what needs to get done. What we are doing and learning in Fondwa will spread to all of Haiti in not too long of a time.”
Makinson Figaro is not afraid of great
challenges. He has begun to climb a very high mountain in Haiti and there will be many more for him to climb ahead. John Obed Pierre Even though John Obed Pierre was born in Port au Prince, he dreamed of studying agronomy. He wanted to leave his urban environment because both of his parents were born in rural areas. When he was not accepted in a public school of agronomy, he thought his dream was over.
Then John heard about the University of
Fondwa and he was accepted there due to his fine academic record and entrance exam.
Just as he discovered the roots of his parents
on his visits to their hometowns during his youth, now he is discovering the backbone of Haiti’s rural economy in his practical studies. He says, “that when I visit the peasant farmers in the fields, I am able to put my class work into practice. They help me to realize the realities of their daily lives.”
John speaks of the water shortages that
there are in Fondwa as well as not having enough light to study due to the high cost of power for the generators. His own family is trying to help him as much as they can. They try to provide rice and beans for some of the meals for the students.
Coming from Port au Prince, John Obed
Pierre is not sure where he will work as an agonomist when he finishes his studies. He says, “I want to be competent in my field, so I can participate in the development of my country. I feel that my country really needs what I have to offer.”
With an attitude like that, John Obed
Pierre cannot help but succeed. Manouche Douze Manouche Douze is 24 years old and comes from Mirebalais in Haiti’s Central Plateau. Her home town is Gran Boucan. Her parents are both farmers and she has five younger siblings.
Manouche says that the peasants of Gran
Boucan have many challenges to face. The area is lacking in infrastructure, schools, and health care. Simple necessities such as latrines and potable water are rare. “Still,” she says, “I feel called to participate in its development.”
Several years ago Manouche bought together
forty members of her community and formed a peasant association. Founding this association is just one step in her efforts to improve the conditions in her hometown that will continue after she receives her degree in agronomy.
Manuche appreciates the professional skills
she is learning at the University as well as studying in four languages. She says, “I come from a rural area. Peasants are the most unrepresented people in Haiti. It shouldn’t be like that.”
She enjoys interacting with the residents of
Fondwa. She feels that it is important for peasant farmers to interact with college students. “The students especially get a new vision of their work,” she says.
It is evident that Manouche knows where she
comes from and where she would like to go: “I’m a child of peasants, and it’s my mission in life to work with them.” She feels that it is important for women like herself to be involved in farming throughout all of Haiti.
Manouche is providing hope for the peasants
of Haiti, especially for the women. Genese Saintilus Genese Saintilus was born in the town of Carrefour Duffort in the western part of Haiti. She is the youngest of eight children, having five brothers and two sisters. Her parents have been farmers their whole lives. While her parents did not have a formal education they were able to make sacrifices so Genese could come to the University of Fondwa.
All of the children help in the fields with the
beans, plantains, and sugarcane while trying to go to school.
Genese has been active in her community,
participating in the youth group, cooking classes, and literacy projects. Because of her community involvement she was encouraged to apply to the University.
She is studying business management so
that she can help her community improve its social conditions. Carrefour Duffort does not have a high school so students must walk many miles each day over roads in disrepair. Potable water is scare.
At the University Genese is learning skills
that will change the status quo in Carrefour Duffort. She says that by living in rural Fondwa, she is learning about Haiti’s rural economy and practical steps that need to be taken to improve the lives of both young and old.
Genese has already served an internship in
the nearby town of Leogane where she was not only able to learn, but she was able to apply all that she was learning in class. With her drive and her determination it is a certainty that Genese will make a lasting mark on her community and beyond. Monise Pierre Monise Pierre was born in Piyon. She is the youngest of seven children. Her primary education was at the National School of Piyon. For part of her high school training she went to a school in Hinch and then finished at the Piyon National High School.
At the age of eleven, Monise lost her father
and in 2004 her mother died. For three years after high school there was little for her to do as far as finding work to help support herself and her family.
The University of Fondwa gives Monise
the opportunity to study veterinary medicine. She loves working with animals. There are only a handful of people in Haiti who are skilled in the science of veterinary medicine.
Everyone is dependent on their donkeys
to get their produce and their goods to market in order to survive. When a donkey gets sick, the entire family suffers. When the pigs, the chickens, and the goats are not properly cared for, the entire family goes hungry.
Monise wants to be a good veterinarian
by the time she finishes her studies. She knows that the road ahead will be difficult for her. But she believes in the power of God to help her.
She says, “I know that the key to success
in life is education. With the education I am receiving at the University of Fondwa, I know that I can cross every barrier.” With her determination, God’s help, and the assistance of others, she will succeed. Moise Yraus Moise Yraus is one of six children whose parents are farmers. He grew up in Fondwa at a time when the local peasants were forming the Peasant Association. It is now twenty years old. It has been successful in helping to provide water, road repair, and education.
Moise was educated in Fondwa and his high
marks and community involvement opened the way for him to attend the University of Fondwa.
Moise is the first member of his family to
attend college. He has big dreams for the impact he can have with the education he receives. He was inspired to study business administration by the experience of his mother. She has been a market woman who has struggled to make ends meet in the local economy.
Moise says, “The University of Fondwa
offers me the chance to attack the country’s problems at their base. He firmly believes that he will be able to improve the living conditions of his family and the community with what he is learning.
Moise already has plans of how he can help:
“My dream is to open an agricultural store to allow the peasants to maximize the benefit from their work.”
Moise Yraus is a creative and a dynamic
student who will have a tremendous impact not only in Fondwa but the entire country as well. Syphroiner Evariste Syphroiner Evariste was born in Piyon in 1977 and he is one of seven children. When he was eleven years old he had to travel twenty miles each way to school, since that was the closest school to where he lived. He had to learn how to swim to cross the Canot River each day. For high school he also had to travel a great distance and swim across the Brouhaha River.
As a sophomore in high school he had no
money for tuition, so he began teaching in a primary school to pay for his education.
Since Syphroiner did not have the money to
go to a university after high school, he learned how to act and do theater for which he was paid a small amount of money. He has written and produced his own play for the people of Piyon.
Before enrolling in the University of Fondwa,
Syphroiner studied education at a university in Hinch.
In 2006 he was a candidate for Magistrate of
Piyon. But he did not have sufficient funds to win the election.
When Syphroiner heard about the University
of Fondwa, he could not wait to enroll. He was able to raise the initial $500 US registration fee, but has not been able to raise any money since then. He is concerned about being able to finish his studies.
He is studying business management and
plans on using his many skills to assist the peasants in Piyon to find a better life. Syphroiner cannot wait to graduate and find new rivers and new challenges to conquer. Moussanto Dantil Moussanto Dantil is 26 years old and comes from Pignon in the northern part of Haiti. He has four brothers and two sisters. His mother is a seamstress and his father is a health worker for the state.
Moussanto attended Don Bosco Primary
School and the national high school in Pignon. Besides his studies he was active in theater production, a church choir, and soccer.
Moussanto was attracted to the University
of Fondwa because of its philosophy to return to work in his own community. He was also attracted to it because it was the only university that offered veterinary medicine.
He greatly appreciates the professors who
come from many different countries to teach in four different languages.
Moussanto says that in his hometown the
peasants have many problems raising their animals. They do not have anyplace to buy medicine or to get vaccinations. Peasants treat their animals poorly and the meat that they produce is very bad.
With his education Moussanto plans to open
a veterinary pharmacy in Pignon. This way the peasants will be better able to care for their animals. He will also train them in how to better care for their animals.
He has made a commitment to his community
and to his country. Moussanto cannot wait to finish his studies and begin his life’s work. There is little doubt that he will succeed. Willia Duroc Willia Duroc was born on October 14, 1985. She has three sisters and four brothers. She is the oldest child in the family.
Willia went to primary school at the National
School of Les Orangers. She then went to secondary school in Jacmel.
She had to spend a year off from school
because her father was ill and her mother did not have any work. She only had odd jobs to do at church.
Willia has been active in her church. She is a
member of the Justice and Peace committee as well as a youth group. She took an introduction to computer science class at the Peasant’s Group for the Advancement of Women. She also learned art and to do embroidery there.
Willia began her university studies in Jacmel
but had to leave because she could not pay the tuition or the transportation costs. She is in a similar difficult situation at the University of Fondwa. She very much wants to be able to finish her schooling and apply her business management training to helping the people in her community.
For now Willia is trusting in God, hoping and
praying that God will help her to find her way.
Willia has many talents and skills to be shared.
She hopes to be able to finish her education and to go on to make her community and her country a better place in which to live. Ruth Confident Ruth Confident was born in Grand Goave on July 1, 1983. Her father is an electrician. Her mother is a farmer. Her mother has also worked for St. Francis of Assisi School for fifteen years. Ruth has two sisters and a brother.
Ruth did her primary grade studies at a convent.
For her secondary education she went to the Classis Center College of Grand Goave for four years. She learned how to do embroidery and macramé while she was studying at the convent school.
Even though Ruth took the entrance exam for
the University of Fondwa in 2004, she had to wait two years before she was admitted. In the interim she took a computer science class and a French class at the French Institute of Haiti.
Ruth enjoys music and studying. She has
participated in many seminars on health at the hospital in Grand Goave.
Ruth entered the University in September of
2006. She is studying business management. Once she graduates she plans to return home to begin to improve the situation of the people in Grand Goave, especially in their commercial affairs.
Ruth finds that she is learning a broad
spectrum at the University of Fondwa since the professors come from all over the world and teach in four languages.
In life, Ruth Confident takes after her last
name. She is most confident that she will succeed in transforming her community. Guerline Jeannithe Guerline Jeannithe was born on January 24, 1984 in the town of Au Cap in the northern part of Haiti. Her father is a carpenter.
When Guerline was four years old her mother
died. She also has one brother and three step-
brothers and two step-sisters from her father’s second marriage. She is the oldest in her family.
Guerline attended primary school from
1989 to 1996 and secondary school from 1996 to 2003 at Etzer Vilaire College. She went on to a university in 2003 but was forced to drop out due to financial difficulties.
This did not hold her back. She applied,
took the entrance exam, and was accepted at the University of Fondwa for business management. Guerline hopes and prays for the financial resources to appear so that she might finish her studies and return to her home community to assist in its development.
Guerline believes that her education is the
best tool she has to be successful in life. She has faith in God that God will help to see her through the University and on to her future life in Haiti.
If there was ever a person determined to
succeed, it is Guerline Jeannithe. Wilkens Oscar Wilkens Oscar was born in Fondwa, Haiti. He is 26 years old. His primary education was at the public school in Fondwa. Wilkens graduated from Anacaona High School in Leogane.
Wilkens has three sisters and he is the oldest.
His father is a farmer and he also works at a coffee factory in Fondwa. His mother is a merchant in the Fondwa market selling rice, oil, hand made soap and toiletries.
Wilkens has done farming himself, raising
corn, beans, and vegetables in his garden. On weekends he has studied computers as well as English.
He says that he has a great sense of pride
to study at a University in his own hometown community.
Wilkens is studying business management
so that he can help to develop the economy in Fondwa. Fonkoze is the micro lending organization in the community. He very much wants to work with those who are running Fonkoze to help oversee the loans that are being given. He wants to expand the operation in order to reach more people who want to begin a business or to expand their present business.
The people in Wilkens’ community are
pulling for him to finish his studies. They are hoping that he will be the “hometown boy who does well”. Given Wilkens easy going personality and determination, he will no doubt live up to their expectations. |
