The Power of Cooperation
The Ravine Sèche Reading Center began in 2014 after a Livres en Folie fair book donation. The Foundation Lise Antoine Saint-Natus (Flassef); Foundation Lucienne Deschamps, and Foundation Odette Roy Fombrun donated more books to create the original collection. The center serves 150 houses in a tiny historic Artibonite village built completely by Food for the Poor.
PILH met Michäëlle Saint-Natus, the Reading Center’s Mentor in 2019 when she volunteered to be the Kreyòl translator of our book collection. In 2020 PILH reciprocated by donating funds for new books for Ravine Sèche. It also arranged for library worker training for Edson Fanfan, Ravine Seche’s dedicated library worker and teacher. Edson was trained by Besley Belzaire at the Deschappelles Library for three days participating in the Library Management training. Upon his return, Edson immediately began cataloguing the center’s books and planning library contests for the children.
According to Gary Cassamajor, the Ravine Sèche village site supervisor, today, as soon as the Reading Center opens, kids stream in. Now, children are reading and then retelling the stories to one another. To build further momentum, PILH recently donated funds for concept and board books for young children.
Ravine Sèche is a successful community library center growing due to multiple funders and teamwork. This kind of cooperation is needed throughout Haiti in strengthening rural libraries. Michäëlle Saint-Natus is a thoughtful collaborator who cares deeply about Haiti’s literacy progress, and PILH is grateful that she generously shares her expertise with us.
PEPA Education Grand Finale
The PEPA Education Agency is an educational agency created in Haiti by Geraldine Pepe, with the objective of stimulating a love of reading awareness and developing a sense of self-determination among young Haitians. The founder is a 25-year-old woman born, raised, and living in Cité Soleil, the largest slum in Port-au-Prince. As a teenager, Geraldine who is an avid reader wanted to join her high school Reading Club, but it denied her entry because the stigma associated with Cité Soleil. At 17, she decided to create her own reading club which she developed a few years later into the PEPA Education Agency. It now holds numerous reading contests and workshops. Geraldine was recognized in 2020 as one of the 25 best young leaders in the country.
On June 12th, 2022, the PEPA Education Agency National Read Aloud Contest held its Grand Finale at the El Rancho Hotel in Petion-ville. Along with excited contestants and their families, more than 200 supporters packed the banquet room. From nearly 96 original contestants, 3 were judged winners. The first-place winner is the 2022-23 PEPA Ambassador promoting the contest nationally.
Because Partners in Literacy Haiti (PILH) was a significant event funder, its Outreach and Training Manager consultant Brulan Jean-Michel was an event keynote speaker. PILH was pleased to support Geraldine, an energetic young leader who continues today to champion literacy.