WHY? P.W.P. made the decision to direct our humanitarian efforts to the empowering of women in Haiti as a result of listening to what they told us would truly help the children of Haiti. Our hearts are absolutely broken for the children who exist in one of the most primitive and cruel environments known to man. Haiti is one of the ten poorest countries in the whole world: it is the 4th poorest and 3rd hungriest country in the world. In the past we have done what most people feel compelled to do after visiting Haiti for the first time - build orphanages and start feeding programs. Although our hearts were in the right place, after six years we faced the fact these type of projects were not resulting in any constructive "long term" changes for the children. They mainly addressed the immediate crisis of hunger. I must interject here that we are aware of a few organizations that incorporate these types of programs in their greater vision and truly are making a difference. However, sadly they are not the norm. One Haitian lady summed it up for us by saying "orphanages are good for making big orphans." Other comments such as "my greatest failure is that I must tell my child he is an orphan so he can be in a feeding program to get food" or, "I am their mother. If you want to bless my children, you take my hand and let me hold theirs." Six years of watching, listening and learning have led us to the understanding that the Haitian women want the chance and the choice to care for their own children.

WHAT? Liberty School for Women will be a Christian school, offering literacy, vocational and life skills training as well as a micro-credit program. We aim to provide a well equipped, professional school with qualified staff. Tailoring and Sewing will be the vocation offered. There is a demand for this type of work in the city where the school will be located and the surrounding area. Other types of vocational classes will be considered as needs are investigated further. Over 80% of Haitians are illiterate, so literacy will be included in the overall program. Students will leave with job skills, and the ability to function in the market place with confidence. The life skills classes will address pre and post natal care, hygiene, nutrition and other aspects of child rearing with a focus on health issues specific to Haitian women such as safe home births. Our greater vision is to include a micro credit program for the graduating students. The school will have a Haitian board of directors including representatives from P.W.P.

WHERE? It is in keeping with P.W.P.'s philosophy that our projects be Haitian owned, operated and constructed. Finding and purchasing property in Haiti for a non-resident can be an arduous and intricate task. It can take up to four years to navigate one's way through the bureaucratic maze in the hope of purchasing property. However, we are in agreement that the nationals should be encouraged in every way to invest in their own nation. We are confident that the Haitian groups we are affiliated with will direct us in the best way to acquire the property for the school.

WHEN? Due to the sizable financial requirement, we have decided to address this project in three phases. The first and most costly is the construction phase. We need to purchase land and erect a ten foot concrete block fence around the entire property, a portion of which will double as the back wall for the school building first. The school itself will be a 3,000 square foot, two story concrete block structure. There will be also be a need for two smaller structures, one to house the generator and one for washrooms. The estimated cost for construction is $250,000 Canadian. Depending on how funding progresses, we may break the construction into phases as well. The next phase will be outfitting the school with furniture, school supplies, sewing machines, generator and all necessary items to ensure the school is able to operate with excellence. The estimated amount for this phase is $50,000 Canadian. The final phase will be amassing the financial requirement for one year of operating cost including the staff salaries. This amount is yet to be determined, depending on the qualifications of the staff hired. It is important when working in Haiti to have the finances to complete things before you start. We see far too many half finished, abandoned building projects. It is our goal to begin the Liberty School For Women project as soon as the finances are in place for phase one and to continue in this fashion with each phase. We would also consicer purchasing and renovating an existing building if the price was comparable or lower to the cost of constructing a new building.