How Terre  Sel Kept Children in School

by David-Kensley Saintil Saintilus | Jun 27, 2025 | Education, Haiti

March in Terre Sel, Haiti, often brings a painful reality for families. As the school year advances, children are often pulled from class—not due to a lack of motivation, but because parents can’t afford the fees. It’s a heartbreaking situation that disrupts learning, dims futures, and leaves families feeling powerless.

Since early 2024, Haiti has experienced a surge in gang-related violence leading to the internal displacement of more than 1.3 million people—many of them children—especially in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas (apnews.com). Gangs now control nearly 85% of the capital, and attacks have forced schools to close, leaving students vulnerable to extortion, recruitment and disrupted education (ap.org). It is a daily struggle in Terre Sel simply to survive, let alone focus on a good education.

But this year, thanks to a targeted scholarship and fee-assistance program, almost every child remained enrolled. Nearly full classrooms burst with curiosity, quiet hallways hummed with purposeful footsteps—and the sound of learning reclaimed March.

One parent, echoing relief felt by many, said, “March used to bring dread. Now, it’s a month of calm and joy. It feels like a blessing.” What once triggered fear is now a season of possibility, as families celebrate school rather than mourn it.

World Hope International and local church partners worked together to sponsor fees in full, ensuring that travel restrictions and gang crime no longer held children back. They also provided supplemental support—backpacks, uniforms, and materials—so that families weren’t forced to choose between daily needs and education.

To be a child in Haiti today means facing impossible circumstances: armed gangs at neighborhood borders, state of emergency decrees, and skyrocketing displacement, with over 300,000 children uprooted by violence since last year alone.

Staying in school in Haiti isn’t just about academics—it’s an act of courage and a step toward breaking the cycle of despair.

And in Terre Sel, every day a child makes it to class they make a statement: “I matter. My future is worth fighting for.”

This isn’t just a local success—it’s a message to all Haitians and partners worldwide: with faith, community, and strategic action, no external crisis is too great to overcome. With the help of amazing donors and church partners, we will continue to support these children and turn a cycle of despair into stories of triumph.