Thanks to new funding of USD 4 million from the US Agency for
International Development (USAID), IOM is intensifying its school
rehabilitation work in time for the new school year.

The new funding, part of USAID's assistance to the Haitian
Ministry of Education to improve the learning environment of
Haitian students, will allow the rehabilitation of 37 schools in
IOM's six regions of intervention (Port-au-Prince, Cap
Haïtien, Gonaives, Les Cayes, Petit Goâve, and Saint
Marc) and will benefit more than 20,000 students.

Thirty per cent of the schools are expected to be completed
before the beginning of the school year scheduled for the 7th of
September.

School constructions are designed according to Ministry of
Education standards in collaboration with its engineering
department. 

The Minister of Education, Joel Desrosier Jean Pierre said, "The
Ministry of Education is very pleased with these interventions in
state schools as well as the positive partnership developed with
the Ministry."

Many students, at the sight of their new and modern school
facilities, are anticipating a successful school year. "Until now,
dozens of us were crowded into tiny classrooms," said a young
student in Coteaux, a rural area in southern Haiti where
dilapidated school buildings were further damaged by last year's
series of hurricanes and tropical storms. "These improvements will
help us learn so we can all have a better future."

According to UNICEF Haiti, only about 50 per cent of school-aged
Haitians attend primary school, and most of them do not reach the
fifth grade.  Most schools in the country are private, and
although the fees can be as low as USD 50 a year per child, even
this can be a burden on people living on less than USD 2 a day.

Over the past five years, IOM has been instrumental in
rehabilitating school infrastructures throughout the country.
Between 2004 and 2007, the IOM programme rehabilitated 42 schools
and provided school benches and other equipment to over 50
others.  In 2008, 18 schools were rehabilitated and an
additional 34 were equipped.

"This IOM programme has a direct positive impact on the lives of
thousands of children, in the lead-up to September, which is
traditionally a difficult time in Haiti when many are struggling to
meet the costs of the ‘back to school' period, " explains
Rodney Babe, IOM Programme Manager.

In 2009, school assistance implemented by IOM has increased
dramatically. Currently, 74 school buildings are under construction
in the six regions; 40 per cent of these schools are located in
Gonaives, the area most devastated by last year's storms and
hurricanes.

For more information please contact:

Frislain Isidor

IOM Port-au-Prince

Tel: +509.244.1247 ext. 118

E-mail: "mailto:fisidor@iom.int">fisidor@iom.int