Kozefò

To our sponsors, donors, and supporters, we have an important update from the Kozefò Board. We are so thankful for your understanding and support both now and for the last decade. 💚

Sponsors, Donors, and Supporters,

We are writing to you today with a heavy heart to share some difficult news regarding Kozefò and ANAC School. As you may know, Haiti has been facing a series of ongoing challenges, including political unrest, natural disasters, and violent crime. The continued unrest and gang violence in Port-au-Prince has made its way into the neighborhood of our school. Our staff made the responsible decision to delay the start of the school year because it was simply not safe for students and staff to leave their homes. Things have further escalated over the last two weeks. Armed gang members have taken over our building and much of the furniture, supplies, and technology have been stolen and our staff no longer have access to the school grounds.

After careful consideration, our board has made the difficult decision to temporarily pause operations at Kozefò as we are unable to fulfill the mission that we set out to do. This decision was not taken lightly, and we understand that it may raise concerns for our dedicated supporters.

As of December 1st, all student sponsorships and recurring donations will be suspended and recurring donations from November will be refunded. All remaining funds in the Kozefò account will stay untouched until we can determine next steps. We are hopeful that Haiti will return to a level of safety that will allow for us to reopen the school and continue with our original mission.

We want to assure you that we are committed to resuming operations as soon as it is safe and feasible to do so. We intend to maintain transparency with our supporters throughout this challenging period. Regular communication with our staff in Haiti remains a priority. Periodic updates will be provided regarding the situation in Haiti and the status of the school.

This is a difficult time for everyone and your continued support of Kozefò and the staff, students, and families of ANACS is greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions about your donation or our decision to pause operations, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

Sincerely,
The Kozefò Board of Directors

Let’s raise the flag with the impressive news that all twelve 9th graders passed their National exams!!!

We received this message from Mr. Baudelaire in Haiti tonight…

“We thank God first, the whole KOZEFÒ team, the ANACS team without forgetting our dear sponsors for their contributions to the success of this school year which has been so difficult. Our students have once again had 100% success in the official exams completing their end-of-basic studies cycle, thus ensuring 4 consecutive years of excellent results in these exams. In addition this year the success was 100% in all subjects.”

Congrats to Dr. Ella Johnson on the completion of her doctorate in occupational therapy. She presented her capstone project this evening, along with others in her program at St. Kate’s. This next generation of smart, talented, and empathetic individuals are doing their part to make the world a little better! Thanks for your work with Kozefò, Ella!

One of our newest Kozefo supporters rockin’ our kindness merch! We’ll be selling more shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and onsies very soon on our website - stay tuned!!

Kozefò and the ANACS staff in Haiti have had the incredible pleasure of working with Ella Johnson, Occupational Therapy Doctorate student at St. Catherine’s University, as our intern and partner. She is wrapping up her final qualitative data analysis in the weeks ahead, following months of research, staff surveys, development and presentation of training for the teachers at ANACS. Plans were revised and adapted to meet the needs of staff. Ella brought expertise and compassion to the project! Although she was unable to travel to Haiti at this time, given the current unrest, she recalled her time there years ago when she had the opportunity to connect with students and built on that experience with input from current staff to design an online training module. She provided information on inclusive education, understanding trauma, and implementing strategies in alignment with brain development and sensory needs. Seventeen teachers completed the training. The Kozefò board could not be more proud of her and the staff at ANACS. Shout out to Jonas Jean Baptiste, as well, for his collaboration in translation and support in this project! Thank you Ella! We cannot wait to celebrate your doctorate degree in a few weeks!

As schools in the US are wrapping up, we are still in session. Our ninth graders are busy preparing for their national exams. The neighborhood is still in danger with gangsters wreaking havoc with their threats and violence, but staff and students are taking risks to complete the school year which will be ending the second week of July. Yesterday was admissions day for the new students who would like to have their chance to be an ANACS student. Around 90 students were taking several tests (mathematics, French, etc....) so that they may be selected to attend in the next school year.

Board members Steve and Sara learning and feeling inspired about NGO governance! Thank you

We 💙 our students. Thank you for your continued support through the pandemic and civil unrest in Haiti. Education is the key to empowering and inspiring this next generation to make change!

Despite all the unrest happening around them, our students still find joy and a reason to smile when they’re at school! We’re thankful that they have a safe space to learn. Thank you to all our sponsors and supporters for your continued support of these students, this school, and our mission!

BRAVO! Check out these top students who obtained the 3 best marks in each class following the 1st test. We are so proud of them!