Tuesday in Kenscoff, the US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Haitian government announced a new national project, which will run over 4 school years. Designed and developed in partnership with the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), the project "An n Aprann Li ak Ekri" or "Ann ALE" will serve as the foundation for the basic quality education for young Haitians from the 1st to the 4th Fundamental Years.

In his remarks for the occasion, Jock Conly, Acting Director of the USAID Mission in Haiti, stressed "Strong reading skills allow girls and boys to learn and lead productive lives. Education is the engine of development, the safest investment a people can make in its future."

"Ann ALE" will focus on improvement of reading and writing skills and should reach more than 550 schools, 2,500 teachers and 100,000 students over the life of the project, estimated at over 33 million US dollars.

Thanks to a close collaboration between donors and international partners, under the direction of MENFP, the impact of "Ann ALE" will extend well beyond the main areas of implementation of USAID projects in Port-au -Prince, St. Marc and Cap-Haitien. The approach of "Ann ALE" will also be used throughout the country in schools supported by partners in education, among others, the World Bank, Concern Worldwide and Save the Children.

The unique approach and verified of "Ann ALE" aims to :

• Extending the methodology "M ap Li Nèt Ale" for early reading and writing in Haitian Creole and French for the 1st to the 4th year fundamental ;

• Train school principals, inspectors, trainers and supervisors to support teachers ;

• Training teachers to proven methodologies that increase enthusiasm for learning ;

• Providing teacher guides, reading books for students, workbooks and class libraries ;

• Encourage parents to participate effectively in the education of their children ;

• Empower MENFP to work more effectively through new learning approaches ;

• Strengthen the capacity of MENFP to provide quality basic education for all children.

FHI 360, a non-profit US organization with a long and solid experience in education internationally, will lead the implementation of "Ann ALE" in cooperation with specialized partners, including: the 'Catholic Relief Services' (CRS), the Episcopal Commission of the Catholic Education (CEEC), South Training Institute (IFOS), the Haitian Foundation for Private Education (FONHEP) and the University of Notre Dame.

HL/ HaitiLibre