On October 10th, 2010, the first educational school, Institution Mixte de la Perfection de Viciere, was established in Timo, Fond d’Oies, to meet local educational needs. It was founded by a local teacher at the request of community leaders to meet the educational needs of local children. This community school currently includes 227 attending students and 12 teachers. The school is primarily housed in a 20x20 ft. Cana Vicière Baptist church facility . The structure is made of corrugated metal with no windows, poor ventilation, and a dirt floor. Tarps are used to separate classroom areas for various age groups. About 100 students attend school in the church, while the rest are spread across two shacks.  With no electricity or air conditioning, the facilities become unbearable in hot weather, forcing early dismissals. The only “restroom” is an outdoor open-pit latrine.

Original Community School

The interior of the current community school can be divided by tarps to form 6 classrooms. The first two rows of benches have planks to provide desktops. The seating behind those rows does not have that feature, so students use their laps for books and schoolwork.

Recognizing challenges like a cramped metal structure without proper ventilation or lighting, the community sought a permanent solution. In 2014, community leaders and school administrators expressed a strong desire to have a permanent school building from which to better serve the children of Timo and asked Haiti Health Initiative (HHI) to facilitate the construction of permanent and adequate structures essential for learning. In collaboration with Haiti Health Initiative and Arup, an international design firm plans were made for a modern, hurricane-resistant school building. 

At this writing, HHI plans to open the new Timo school the first week in January, 2025. To keep up with this and other news, follow our Haiti Health Initiative Facebook page. 

Front rendering of new school.

Hallway rendering:

Cross section of school:

Upon completion, scheduled for early January 2025 the school will feature:

• 6 classrooms
• 1 administration office
• 1 library
• Dry latrines with separate bathrooms for girls, boys and employees
• A cafeteria/dining room and kitchen
• Outdoor play areas with culturally appropriate equipment
• Facilities for physical education, agricultural education, and community activities
• Additional spaces for storage and extracurricular activities

The project aims to address critical educational and health needs, offering scholarships, school meals, and essential facilities to support teaching and learning in Timo and neighboring communities.

The school mission is to assist all children in the community to improve their educational and nutritional status. The school seeks to accomplish this mission through grade school education. The school guiding principle is a comprehensive education to the children of Timo and surrounding areas in academic, social, civic, health, religious, and cultural contexts. The Haitian Ministry of National Education and Professional Training has recognized and accredited the school. Since its genesis, the school has served children from the mountainous community of Timo and neighboring remote communities of Platon, Corail, K-matin and La Libète.

The proposed project is designed to provide a long-term solution to major education and health problems in Timo. The four components to this project are

1. Construction of a grade school
2. Scholarship program
3. School meal program
4. Financial support

Following the completion of the school buildings, children living in the above mentioned communities will be able receive (1) an adequate education in various areas, (2) scholarships to attend school, and (3) a balanced meal every school day. Teachers and staff will have the essential facilities, equipment and supplies for teaching, facilitating learning, promoting health and managing the school. 

Four age groups of children and their families will benefit from the construction project: 

1. Preschool/kindergarten (K1, K2, K3): Ages 2 to 5 ½ years
2. Elementary (1st Cycle: Grades 1-3):  Ages 5 to 9 years
3. Elementary (2nd Cycle: Grades 4-6): Ages 10 to 13 years
4. Junior High (*3rd Cycle: Grades 7-9): Ages 13 to 16 years

HHI aligns with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals aiming to impact education, economic growth, infrastructure, gender equality and poverty reduction. The new school project will make education accessible to an entire community, driving progress on these fronts. 

Education is a key catalyst for change. Through education, we hope to improve local residents’ overall health and quality of life. Our educational goals are expansive and include the following:

1. Raising the literacy rate 
2. Ensuring each person attains at least a primary education level
3. Teaching basic healthcare, especially preventative maintenance and nutrition
4. Training interested parties in technical health skills such as midwifery
5. Leaving knowledgeable individuals to maintain and elaborate on instituted systems such as gardens and water piping
6. Generally helping the people of Timo and the surrounding areas to continue to provide services after HHI volunteers leave

The US and Haitian leadership construction teams have been having weekly meetings via Zoom and Whatsapp for the past two years. The latrine block construction was completed in May of 2023. Construction of the new school was promptly commenced in June of 2023 by a local engineering company called GH Conceptions. Through many obstacles and hurdles, such as inflation in Haiti, gang violence, upheaval of the Haitian government and violence and dangerous conditions, the Haitian construction and engineering team pushed forward and managed these challenges with ingenious problem solving. Many of the project’s skilled workers moved from their homes in Port au Prince to the Timo community during construction so they would not have to travel the dangerous roads. The construction site employed many workers from the community for unskilled jobs, which has helped bring needed work and wages to local families. 

Due to the remote location of the school site and no roads into the valley, all of the tools and construction materials had to be carried by hand, mule or a pulley system. This is an hour and a half hike from the dropoff point down into the valley and then up to the school construction site.

These material included: 

6,300 –  30 cm (80 lbs each) concrete foundation blocks

11,700 – 15 cm. (40 lbs each) concrete blocks for the walls

3,200 - (90lbs.) bags of cement

315 - 2x4 steel framing bars

320 - Aluzinc metal sheets for the roof

Rebar

Construction equipment including a cement mixer, arc welder and soil compactor. 

Can you imagine carrying all of that with only human labor or mule transport? We `are constantly amazed by their ingenuity, persistence and dedication to this project. An example of problem solving was the construction of a pulley system from a high point to the valley floor. This pulley system was able to bring cement blocks and rebar down the mountain to a drop off point and then the items were hand carried to the construction site. 

The gravel used for the construction project has been hand crushed from local river rock.

The skilled workers are not native to Timo but have been provided with temporary accommodation in the Timo community during the construction project this past year. The skilled workers include carpenters who build formwork; ironworkers who install steel reinforcement; and masons who pour concrete. The day laborers, natives of Timo, assist the skilled workers in various ways, including transporting materials and mixing concrete.

Sixteen to twenty day laborers have been employed from the local community during the construction project.

All the trenches for the foundation were dug by hand.

Preparing rebar and forms for footings and foundations in hand-dug trenches.

Timo women and a donkey hauling cement blocks.

A heavy load carried down the rocky trail.

Because of regional termite infestation, the new school is built with 2”x4” steel rafters. These were arc cut and welded on-site after the steel beams were carried to their new building.

Steel rebar strengthens the building throughout the foundations, columns and blocks to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes. 

Later in the project, our engineer devised a pully system that significantly reduced the manual haul time and distance for cement blocks.

In the 2010 earthquake disaster, many concrete buildings collapsed, partly because of the lack of reinforcement bars (rebar) and the quality of cement used to build them. That quality was degraded by weak, porous gravel. The gravel for this school project is hand crushed from river rock. This worker is using a claw hammer to crush gravel from larger stones.

Donkeys and mules also carried blocks and cement for the project.

This areal view shows the completed dry latrine behind the school.

Fill soil is compacted using a gas-powered compactor prior to pouring concrete floors.

Corrugated metal roofing is installed above steel rafters after installation of the upper reinforced concrete beam. 

Concrete floors are hand mixed, poured and finished throughout the school.

A view from the perimeter after the walls were finished with smooth concrete and the roof had been installed.