MOVING DAY:
It was all hands on deck the last two weeks as our Haitian staff made the move from our large guesthouse in Williamson to a smaller, safer home just 15 minutes south of Williamson. Due to ongoing gang activity in our beloved community of Williamson, we were compelled to make the difficult decision to move out of the World Wide Village guesthouse. Disassembling and reassembling the generator, solar panels, batteries, bunk beds and cooking stoves was no small task, but teamwork made it possible!
While it’s heartbreaking to move out of a place with so many memories, our new location will be a great improvement for our staff in Haiti. This new home will allow our Haitian staff members to once again have a safe meeting space for monthly Zoom calls with our pastor’s coalition, monthly trainings for our microgrant recipients and weekly school collaboration meetings. It will also be a space to continue cooking school lunches for your sponsored students!
To celebrate our new beginnings we are surprising our Haitian staff with a housewarming party. We want to put together a video of memories from the guesthouse and remind them that they are not forgotten! If you traveled to Haiti with World Wide Village sometime in the last 10 years and spent time at the WWV guesthouse in Williamson, we need your help. Send your pictures or videos from the guesthouse to Kim Anderson at kanderson@worldwidevillage.org by next Tuesday, August 26. Thanks in advance!
Pictures of the new headquarters coming next month!
NATIONAL EXAMS:
Our sponsored students have just crossed an important milestone—completing their national exams after finishing 9th grade and their final year of high school. In Haiti, these rigorous exams are the key that unlocks the next chapter of education, opening doors to both high school and university.
For months, our students poured countless hours into their studies—burning the midnight oil, reviewing lessons, and preparing their hearts and minds for this challenge.
One of our dedicated World Wide Village staff members even had the unique opportunity to serve as a proctor during the exams, capturing a quick glimpse inside a testing room. It was a powerful reminder of the determination and hope that fill these young lives.
Now, as they wait for their results, we lift each of them up in prayer—trusting that their hard work, perseverance, and faith will carry them forward into the bright future ahead.
HEALTHCARE:
Haiti has the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the western hemisphere. Haiti also has a severe shortage of skilled health providers and only enough to provide 10% of Haiti’s population with full reproductive healthcare. Nearly all maternal and infant deaths in Haiti are preventable with access to a skilled birth attendant. Our mission at Sant Sante Espwa is to increase access to skilled maternity care – and you’re making it possible!
Meet the newest babies born at Sant Sante Espwa in August!
MAP OF WWV PROGRAMS:
With the ongoing gang violence in Williamson, many of our programs have relocated over the last two years, including the Williamson School, the Robin’s Nest Sewing Center, Sante Sante Espwa medical center and most recently the WWV headquarters. These new locations are enabling our amazing Haitian staff to continue serving the people in our area by providing access to education, healthcare, new vocations and more.
The solar-powered well and several schools in Luly also continue to operate with very little interruption. We are beyond grateful for your continued support of World Wide Village during these very difficult days. We simply couldn’t do it without you!