Haiti – Education : Tour of the President Martelly in Hinche

Michel Martelly, the President of the Republic, made this Wednesday, October 5, 2011, a tour in the commune of Hinche in the Central Plateau, where he visited some schools and made a distribution of school kits. He was accompanied, among others, by the Director General of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), Mr. Pierre Michel Laguerre, the Departmental Delegate, Mr. George Garnier, and the Education Advisor, Ms. Geneviève Douyon

The Head of State visited the School Notre Dame du Saint-Esprit of Hinche where he met with the director of the institution, Sr Roselore Accilus, and the Coordinator of Catholic Schools of the Centre, rev. Father Jethro Noel.

The President of the Republic has also announced that steps will be undertaken to subsidize the payment of teachers in order to reduce the annual school fees. “It is through the school that you will achieve your goals in life. You can count on your President. I started with the access to education. We will continue with other aspects, such as the retraining of teachers,” has assured the President Martelly, speaking to hundreds of schoolchildren. The welcome was warm.

The Head of State, who keeps his promise to guarantee free education for children, received a similar welcome at the Fundamental School of Application (EFA), a member of the EFACAP (Fundamental School of Application and Teaching Support Centre) of Hinche. He wished to visit each classroom to encourage students to prioritize their education in order to get the most.

The last step of the journey of the President of the Republic in Hinche has led him to the communal section of Juanaria in the town of Los Palis where he participated in the inauguration of the School Marie Educatrice. This school of 14 rooms is funded by the Canadian NGO Free the Children to the tune of $500,000 and is part of a set of four schools of the same type built in the region by Brother Franklin Armand of the Congregation of the Little Brothers and Little Sisters of the Incarnation.

On this occasion, the President martelly thanked the Brother Armand for his contribution to the development of communities. He also promised to the religious to accompany them in his efforts to allow local children to taste the bread of the instruction. For his part, Brother Franklin Armand has expressed his willingness to continue his work for the benefit of the population “This is not the lack of jurisdiction that is missing in the country, but the determination. We must all roll up our sleeves to change the country,” he argued.

The President of the Republic intends to hold firmly his pilgrim’s staff to inquire personally of the progress of his program to guarantee free education to all children of Haiti by the end of his term.