Illiteracy and Extreme Poverty

The poorest half of Haiti’s population struggles for survival on incomes that average 44 cents a day (IMF, 2007). The great majority of these people are illiterate. Only about half of Haiti’s children attend school at all, and very few are able to complete elementary school.

Upstream: Illiteracy is both a cause and consequence of poverty in Haiti. One reinforces the other. Many rural communities have no schools. And four out of five schools charge tuition. Even when this tuition is very modest, it puts education out of reach of the poorest children.

Our Work: Beyond Borders invests in schools and literacy centers that break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty.  We do so in ways that empower communities to eventually both support and run their local schools with very limited or no outside support.

These are a few of the hundreds of children in the rural community of Bedwet who have never attended school. The closest school is too far away to reach by foot. Beyond Borders in association with Concern International is working with community leaders to start a new school here to provide new hope, improve the quality of life, and reduce the number of children sent into servitude.