FAQs
The US office is in Harrisburg, PA. All of our schools and adult programs are located in Saint Marc, Haiti, the second largest city in the Department of the Artibonite, two hours from the Port-au-Prince airport.
Yes! Because the Mortel High Hopes for Haiti Foundation is a certified 501(c)(3) public charity, non-profit organization; all donations are tax deductible as allowable by law. Payments for purchasing a book are not considered donations and are therefore not tax deductible.
Over 80% of your donation goes directly to our programs benefiting the children and adults in Haiti.
Currently, we do not have regularly scheduled trips to Haiti for the purpose of sponsors meeting their students. If you are interested in visiting the schools in Haiti, please contact us. If you’d like to send a note or card to your student, please mail it to P.O. Box 405, Hershey, PA 17033 and include your student’s name and current class. Please do not share your address or phone number in your note to your student.
Upon graduating from LBS, most students continue their education in the 7th grade at the secondary school, College James M. Stine. After high school, the Mortel High Hopes for Haiti Foundation assists graduates in identifying opportunities for further education and/or employment, sometimes even employing these graduates within the Mortel High Hopes for Haiti Foundation’s educational system.
Some CJMS students will move on to participate in our adult educational programs designed to further help them become self-sufficient.
A real dichotomy exists in Haiti. Most students and their families struggle with basic needs and access to school, and yet the educational standards to advance from grade to grade are very rigorous. If a student in our schools is not returning, it usually means there has been an academic achievement gap (even after assistance was provided), a discipline issue, or a family reason that is, unfortunately, outside of our control. We do everything we can to keep you connected to the same student from year-to-year.
What makes the Mortel High Hopes for Haiti Foundation unique is that our schools specifically target the poorest of the poor. During typical school hours we visit the poorest surrounding areas to identify children who are not in school and who have visible signs of malnutrition- distended stomachs, no shoes or clothes, etc. These children, along with a parent or guardian, are invited for an appointment to enroll in our 3-year-old preschool class. Children can only enter our school through this recruitment process. There is no open enrollment. Our high school is a private school and is open to other students who can pass the entrance exam and whose family can afford tuition, but our preschool and primary school are populated by students who are hand-selected through this recruitment process.
MFCF built and operated the Patricia Chairs preschool, Les Bons Samaritans primary school and College James Stine secondary school over a 20-year period. In 2016, the Mortel HHH Foundation was established to assume the operational responsibilities of these schools and MFCF focused on developing adult educational initiatives to offer the St. Marc community. In 2021, we consolidated into one organization in order to allow for a more efficient use of donated funds and better serve the St. Marc community overall.
Yes! The adult literacy school serves the parents of our students and other adults in the St. Marc community with a 4-year classical course offering. Our agricultural program gives adults an opportunity to learn effective farming practices and entrepreneurial skills. Plans are currently underway for a technical skills initiative and an ESL program for adults.