Reading Buddies!

Reading is very important to us at Center of Hope (Haiti), and we strive to foster a love of books in our students.  Over the last year, Will Frager has worked hard to build a library of over 100 children’s books in Haitian Creole.  Library time is now a much-loved part of every classroom day.

Books have also been a big part of our summer program.  Our rising fifth-graders were paired off with an incoming first-grader as reading buddies!  After learning a bit about each other, the pairs sat down together and the older child presented and read an illustrated storybook to the younger child.  It was a fun way to introduce the new students to school, build the older students’ confidence as they read aloud, and simply discover the joy of sharing a new book.

The new school building we expect to open next fall will have a larger library space and the classrooms for the younger students will have space for the students to sit on the floor for story time.

In Haiti, the literacy rate (defined as the percentage of individuals who can read and write by age 15) is a bleak 60%.  Many of our students come from homes where their parents cannot read.  Thanks to our hardworking teachers and staff in Haiti, our generous donors, and our dedicated students who come every day ready and eager to learn, the children at Center of Hope (Haiti) are not just another statistic.