2022 Vocational Training for Families

Even bigger steps. Despite political unrest and lockdowns, we’ve been making progress, while still finding time to celebrate our accomplishments.

Celebrating success, hard work, and dedication

Daniel* and Evens* hesitantly joined a LFBS mentorship and personal development youth group in 2019. Working for odd jobs and begging on the streets, neither young man had completed primary school and both of them had lost their parents. They had been in conflict with the law, and both had become teen parents. We enrolled Daniel and Evens in a construction apprenticeship and paid a local construction site manager to train them. In December 2020, we had a celebration for these young men as they completed their apprenticeship and congratulated them on some great news: the construction site manager who trained the boys had decided to keep them on staff – as workers now, no longer as apprentices! With the income from their new jobs, Daniel and Evens are now able to support themselves and their families, and are excited for their futures.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of our beneficiaries

Fransnel is a former LFBS beneficiary who we assisted in undertaking an apprenticeship with a photographer in 2019. We were so impressed with the talent and skills Fransnel obtained during his apprenticeship that we hired him to take pictures for LFBS. In fact, all of the photos you see in this update are taken by Fransnel.

Stories like these show us that our hard work results in impactful, sustainable change. Thank you for supporting us to make this happen!

Our holistic approach

In February, LFBS staff were approached by a single mother who couldn't afford school fees for her two children.The annual school fee for these children was less than $60 CAD each. Not only did LFBS respond to ensure these children had access to an education, but we also entered their mother in our business start up program to empower her to be able to provide for her children without our help in the future. Additionally, our nurse identified that one of the children was unwell, and accompanied her to the hospital where she was treated for typhoid fever. The child has received treatment and is recovering, and both children are now in school while their mother develops her business.

Protecting vulnerable children means empowering families and communities to take care of each other. This is just one example of the ways in which our outreach program helps Haitian families with the training and resources they need to preserve the family unit and pursue self-sufficiency. Thank you for being a partner in this work!

Our medical outreach, prevention and advocacy services continue to play a pivotal role

February was a busy month for LFBS, despite most of the country being in lockdown due to political unrest. In addition to the usual volume of medical evaluations and accompaniments that we provide, we handled several urgent and critical cases.

In late February, a surgeon at a local hospital contacted our staff regarding a girl with disabilities who had fallen and broken her leg. The surgeon was willing to operate on the girl’s leg pro-bono but needed funds for the surgical materials, which her family did not have. Thanks to our incredible supporters, we were able to intervene and provide financial assistance for her surgery. Our staff took the girl and her mother home following the surgery, and we have been following up with nutritional support, aftercare, as well as assessing and developing a plan to address the family’s overall state of vulnerability.

Thank you 

You, our visionary supporters and donors, are a catalyst for change in Haiti and your interest, caring, and support makes a difference every day in the lives of our beneficiaries. Because of you, we have touched the lives of thousands of people in Haiti. We now work in 45 communities throughout 9 departments, and continue to grow every day. Thanks to you, we are empowering children, families, and communities to take even bigger steps!