Evena is an 11-year-old 6th grader at the Haiti Partners Children’s Academy. Beyond being a great student, Evena is an aspiring entrepreneur. This is her above, proudly displaying the small business she started last year with just US$15.

While US$15 might seem like a small amount of money, in Haiti it isn’t, especially for a child at such a young age. But Evena seized a special opportunity three years ago when she and her classmates decided to start a Village Savings & Loan (VSL) group following, on a smaller scale, the example of the adult program we launched with their parents in the years previous.

Together with her classmates, Evena learned to save incrementally – nickel by nickel, dollar by dollar – until she had the capital she needed to start her first venture: a country roadside provisions shop, offering many of the things one might need as they return home on foot after a long day: snacks, sugar, bouillon cubes, and the like.

Smartly relying on the saving techniques she practiced in the VSL group, since starting up last year with only US$15, today Evena has grown the value of her small business to US$65. Her dream is to continue to grow until she can afford her own secure space and open up a proper “mini-mart.”

While Evena’s story is still evolving, it illustrates the importance of the kind of education that Haiti Partners aims to provide each day: an education that helps Haitians to harness their own creative potential to create better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

As ever, thank you for being together with us in this work to help Haitians change Haiti through education. We couldn’t do it without you!