School at Petit-Goave - Haïti

(Administrative team of Our Lady of Wisdom School, Petit-Gôave, Haiti.)

Our Lady of Wisdom School for abandoned children was founded in 1883 by the Daughters of Wisdom at Petit Gôave in Haiti.  Since its foundation, this school has always aimed to provide for these abandoned and generally neglected girls a high quality education at a minimum cost.

During its 132 years of existence, our school has continued to grow, offering classes from junior kindergarten to primary and secondary, including courses in tailoring, embroidering, cooking and pastry-making.

Our institution is a national school from grades one to six: all our classes are double-stream with a total of 555 pupils. Our secondary school is a private, non-profit institute serving 202 students from 12 to 20 years of age. For the moment, we have only one kindergarten for lack of space. Throughout the whole education process, we aim to give our students, from the youngest to the eldest, a religious, intellectual, civic and moral formation.

Most of the children come from poor areas, and some must walk a kilometer to come to school.

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Since the earthquake of January 12, 2010, seven of our classrooms are made of temporary materials and are very hot and uncomfortable. As Petit Gôave is 68 km from the capital, Port-au-Prince, Our Lady of Wisdom School has not benefitted from the reconstruction program. We have no room for science labs, neither for computer classes nor for a library.  This impedes on the functioning of the school and hinders the education we are trying to give our students.

In order for the school to carry out its work in educating these disadvantaged young girls, it is important that it have the required infrastructure, i.e.: new classrooms and more space to receive a growing number of students- all this to enable an adequate education for their benefit and that of their families and of society.