While grassroots democracy isn’t the most exciting of things, if you want people to really invest in something, we believe it’s the best way to go. With this in mind, since even before The Children’s Academy was opened, we established bi-weekly open community meetings. These meetings are open to anyone that wishes to participate and allows for direct communication between the school, the people it serves, and the neighboring community.

Last Sunday over 350 parents and community members attended one of these meetings. It focused on the community’s well-being and included reflections on the sustainability of The Children’s Academy in light of severe funding challenges.

Discussions focused on the importance of shared responsibility (konbit), including encouraging parents to contribute more in  school fees to help cover operational costs and support children without parental care. This conversation comes at a time when the country is experiencing heightened gang violence, and international foundations are significantly reducing their support for Haiti as a result of the instability.