At the Saint Jean Baptiste de La Salle school in Port-de-Paix (Haiti), all begins with a hot meal

Sometimes the challenge of providing an education in vulnerable circumstances begins with something as simple as a hot meal. This is the case in Haiti, in the Caribbean – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – where one in two people suffers from food insecurity. 

The problems affecting Haitians are many and varied: political instability, unchecked violence, economic crisis and corruption, natural disasters, amongst many others. Even so, our Lasallian schools remain open. 

In Port-de-Paix, 350 boys and girls attend the Saint Jean Baptiste de La Salle school every day. For many of them, the meal they receive at school is the only one they have all day, as Brother Wisly Pierre, the school’s director explains: “These pupils come from disadvantaged families who struggle greatly to feed their children.”

In our Lasallian Educational Mission, providing a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment is the first step towards a dignified future. It all starts with a hot meal! 

“Before this feeding programme was launched, the children were unmotivated,” says Brother Wisly. “They found it hard to concentrate in class whilst the teacher was delivering their lessons. What’s more, they were performing poorly in their assessments.”

Ensuring a nutritious diet is essential to enabling a quality education. “The vision of this project is to enable these children to grow up healthier and to have the same learning opportunities as all other pupils in Port-de-Paix, as well as those studying at the schools of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Haiti,” says Brother Wisly.

Little by little, the food programme at the Saint Jean Baptiste de La Salle school has changed the lives of the children and the Lasallian community. “Seeing the children regain their smiles and concentrate in class to learn (…) motivates me even more,” asserts this De La Salle Brother. Furthermore, “it helps me to realise the importance of solidarity throughout the world and to rediscover the meaning of my vocation, the meaning of my commitment as a Brother of the Christian Schools,” he concludes.

* Content produced in partnership between the Office of  Lasallian Global Communication and the La Salle Foundation.