The Voilà Foundation believes that education of our youth is the key to moving Haiti forward out of poverty and into a productive place that can generate economic growth and viability. Regarded as the largest corporate sponsor of primary school scholarships in Haiti, Voilà has a long standing tradition of supporting education initiatives. The Foundation is building on those accomplishments and continuing to invest in the country’s future leaders by working with organizations to re-build schools and partnering with well-regarded institutions to make education an attainable option for all Haitian families.

Proud to Support NetHope's Clinton Global Initiative Commitment - Scaling the Development of Young IT Professionals

NetHope launched its inaugural NetHope Academy class in Haiti in September 2010 after recognizing an acute shortage of local, qualified IT staff at NGOs working to help Haiti recover after the 2010 earthquake. The commitment to action at CGI represents a new and significant expansion in the size, scope and geographic reach of this program. During the next three years, NetHope Academy will train 1,000 interns and will establish internship projects in major urban centers near academic institutions in Latin America and Africa. NetHope and its partners will identify and screen promising college graduates or near-graduates, and will then facilitate IT vocational courses and coordinate in-country six-month internships focused on desktop support, network administration, cloud services and telecommunications. 

As a strategic extension to the ‘human element’ addressed by NetHope Academy, NetHope will also address the ‘infrastructure element’ through the use of cloud services. The NetHope Humanitarian and Development Assistance Cloud Initiative will both accelerate the shared access of proven cloud services as well as build a marketplace for these cloud solutions to become more readily available to the development community. This marketplace will provide essential information such as NGO ratings, case studies, technical requirements, pricing and service level agreements that would accelerate the use and re-use of key services.

   WATCH! NetHope Academy Intern Emmanuella Stimphat

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Voilà Foundation Extends Partnership with NetHope

   The Voilà Foundation contributed $50,000 to support NetHope Academy’s ICT Internship program. We were attracted to this project for a variety of reasons. We know first-hand that Haiti suffers from a lack of qualified IT technicians; yet a pool of such professionals is critical if Haiti is to attract the foreign investment that it so desperately needs. If the initial NetHope Academy is successful, it can be exported from Port au Prince to other Haitian towns, encouraging job growth in areas that are vital to Haiti’s future. Also, we are pleased to be working with NetHope a terrific partner.

Bernard Fils-Aime (left), the President of Voila Foundation, spoke at the ceremony and pledged the foundation’s continued support. “As members of the Haitian community, what we see is that many young people want to work, they want to contribute to Haiti’s progress. But they need opportunity. They need help to feel hopeful. The goal of the Voilà Foundation is to provide that hope through strong partnerships and meaningful programs that provide lasting benefits. The NetHope Academy is a glowing example. We are honored to work with you at the NetHope Academy and look forward to working with you on other projects that bring sustainable benefits to the Haitian people.”

Host Organizations

   This pilot program is creating full time job opportunities while providing the NGO community with much needed IT specialists. The following NGO’s hosted interns: NetHope members World Vision, Save the Children, Concern, Mercy Corps, International Rescue Committee, Canadian Red Cross, CHF International, Habitat for Humanity, Oxfam GB and Catholic Relief Services. Other host organizations include World Health Organization, World Food Programme, Haiti Technology Group, Multilink and Access Haiti. Nearly 300 students applied for the 39 coveted spots.

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Voilà Foundation Strengthens Commitment to HELP

   The Voilà Foundati   on is proud to support the Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP) - the largest university scholarship program in Haiti. For the 2010-11 school year, 20 of Haiti's best and brightest young adults are attending University in Haiti through a $100,000 grant from the Voilà Foundation, HELP's largest corporate scholarship sponsor. In a country where less than 1% attend university, over 80% of HELP scholarship recipients complete their degree and earn an average of $10,000 a year compared to Haiti’s GDP of $480, according to HELP. Importantly, more than 80% of HELP graduates work in Haiti, contributing to the economic growth and empowerment of their country.

Voilà’s CEO, Robin Padberg, presents check to HELP’s Country Director, Garry Delice and HELP recipients

Meet Marie-Michelle Montout

HELP Scholarship Recipient
      Class of 2011 Education

   Marie-Michelle chose to study education because she wants to improve Haiti’s education system from the ground up. After she graduates from Quisqueya University, her long-term goal is to create a network of kindergartens in rural areas. “Rural areas are most afflicted by illiteracy, because many kids never get to school,” explains the ambitious student, who believes a good education must start “at the base.” Making ends meet has always been difficult for Marie-Michelle and her family; her father is dead and her mother can no longer tend their land due to illness, often making Marie-Michelle’s HELP stipend the only source of steady income for her family. Marie-Michelle is determined to succeed so she studies “all the time,” managing only five or six hours of sleep a night. “Of course it’s a lot of work,” she says, but she knows that what she’s doing is essential to Haiti’s future. Other Voilà Foundation sponsored students are studying medicine, engineering, computer science, economics and accounting.

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ProDev: A Model Partnership Expands

   After the January 12, 2010 earthquake, the Voila Foundation supported the profound efforts of ProDev with $70,000 to help get the children of Haiti back into schools. Within 3 months after the earthquake, ProDev was running 14 schools and 8 kindergartens in various camps for displaced people around the Port-au-Prince area, ultimately catering to 3,000 children. The tent-schools provided children not only education, but also psychosocial support and a sense of order and continuity in a world that was otherwise turned up-side-down.

ProDev continued efforts, and in October 2010, launched two permanent schools that will serve as a pilot for building a network of schools around Haiti. One of those schools is Ecole Nouvelle Zoranje, built and funded in collaboration with the Voila Foundation as part of a $500,000 grant.

Zoranje: School of Opportunity

North of Port-au-Prince, the village Zoranje was decimated by flooding. Today the villagers live in tents but their kids now have a sturdily built, colorful new school - Ecole Nouvelle Zoranje, named after the development where it’s located. Voila is collaborating with Prodev to create what is hoped to be a model community for the reconstruction of Haiti. The Zoranje community is being developed on a coordinated basis, with housing, education, support services and job creation being addressed in a common plan. We think this approach can be a model for the new communities that are critical to decentralizing an overcrowded Port au Prince.

The Voilà Foundation awarded ProDev a grant of $500,000 over two years to fund teacher training, education and infrastructure development to meet the educational, emotional, and social needs of the children who range in age from 4 - 14. The kindergarten, which opened last October, is part of a new education complex that currently services over 100 students. Construction of a middle school will be completed in the next several months. Most recently, a new community center was inagurated which hosts a library, A Voilà retail store, a Cyber cafe and computer rooms for adult and children training programs.

A Day of Celebration in Zoranje   

On Sunday September 18, some 2,000 residents and community leaders made their way to the newly built community center in Zoranje for a day of celebration hosted by the Voilà Foundation in partnership with PRODEV. Villagers gathered to collect a brand new photo identification cards and a Voilà phone, and to enjoy a light meal. Some thirty Voilà staff also volunteered to land a hand on the day, making this a team building event of a special kind. 

Site of the housing expo, Zoranje is one of the first communities to be rebuilt following anti-seismic standards. Voilà has supported the building of 2 schools and a community center, which boasts a state-of-the-art computer lab offering computer literacy training, and a cyber café. A wing of the center hosts maternal health facilities to support mothers-to-be throughout their pregnancy and provide follow-up check ups for up to two years after their baby is born. A public library with plentiful supply of books and educational material can also be found on site, as well as a community meeting room for public gatherings. 

Fred Montaigne Acceus is a 24 year-old student. Commenting on the day he said “I am happy that Voilà has done so much to improve life in the community like building the schools. I want to continue to live here and so we need these types of [infrastructure]. I really would like to thank Voilà, it’s really good”

For Adrien Brisson, Director of the Voilà Foundation, the event “is a true example of a company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. Volunteers from Voilà, from Zoranje and from PROVDEV joined forces to bring to life this initiative that gives residents access to real development tools: discounted internet and call rates, health and education services and in the process, this is building a stronger community spirit.”

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L'Athletique d'Haiti: Going for the Goal

   In 2007, Boby Duval was named a CNN hero for providing athletic training for kids from Haiti's poorest slums. Duval's free program, L'Athletique d'Haiti (LADH), gave kids a safe place to go, a chance to build character and a much-needed meal.

The Haiti earthquake gave a startling setback to the successful youth program. The new wall around his athletic center collapsed and his soccer field became a shelter for families with nowhere else to go. Undaunted, today he continues to expand his program with the help of partners like the Voilà Foundation L'Athletique d'Haiti's largest funder.    LADH now employs 23 soccer coaches and serves more than 2,000 participants ages 6- 20 daily in five locations, including Port-au-Prince and the town of Cité Soleil, one of Haiti's poorest areas. In addition to sports training, they receive tutoring and social training. Participants in the program have the opportunity to play in international competiti ons providing competitive motivation and leadership roles. Through sport and education, LADH is helping prepare Haitian youth with the knowledge, skills and tools to become productive citizens.

   "Duval has turned a patch of dirt on a the outskirts of an industrial area into a rare sight here in Haiti's capital: a wide-open space with lockers, showers and equipment usually unavailable even in the nation's biggest athletic club," writes David Gonzalez from The New York Times. Boby, a former college soccer star, dreams of serving 5,000 kids some day, expanding the program across the Caribbean and even starting an official Haitian soccer league. In the meantime, when he's not training kids, he's helping maintain safe conditions for the families who live on his field some in makeshift tents supported by goalposts. "You've got to save and you've got to serve," he says.

Photo: Robert Duval, Founder & Director of L’Athlétique d’Haïti.

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