At the beginning of each academic year we sign accords with each of our six partner schools. These agreements are a critical part of our work with partner institutions. They set expectations, assure clear communication, and help us plan for the year and think through priorities together. They also help build trust, provide guidelines for potential conflict resolution, and help everyone to remain accountable. In short, they formally define our partnership.

The other side of these partnerships is informal. In most cases, we’ve known our partners for years – in some cases, decades. We’ve seen them develop as leaders and we have a strong foundation for trust. We work with them in Haitian Creole – Haiti’s mother tongue – and make great efforts to become familiar with and to respect the local culture and customs. We do our best to always bear in mind that we are there in a support role, helping them, as our mission states, to change Haiti.

Both these aspects of partnership, we feel, are vital to the long-term success of the work we do.

Click here to view a sample of one of our partner school accords.