The Haitian Institute:
Tackling the challenges to human flourishing, while shaping the whole person: Body, Mind & Spirit
“Hope… does not consist in crossing one’s arms and waiting.“
Paulo Freire
Our message: Let us attack the problems, not one another, for only together can we end the continued erosion of our humanity and restore what is lost.
How does one restore the lost humanity?
Attacking the problems and finding lasting solutions require an inflexible commitment to research, reflection, and collaboration, coupled with a great deal of patience, courage, compassion, and imagination. It also means acquiring new skills for the road. And that is only the beginning!
We connect people within and across generations, and partner with local institutions and leaders that share our vision of a more just, peaceful, and prosperous Haiti.
By inspiring individuals and communities to think and work together to solve their community’s problems.
We promoting a vision for stable, equitable, and productive communities, and institutions that are strong enough to outlive their founders.
And through concrete, hope-filled action that is as inclusive as it is wide-ranging, as constructive as it is innovative, as empowering as it is liberating.
The Amílcar Cabral Society (SAC) continues to challenge young adults to take their place in their communities with greater intellectual engagement and a clear sense of purpose.
The Marie Erline Lamy Academy (AMEL) continues to honor the spirit and vision of the Academy’s first director as it brings together and accompanies more adolescents.
SantRova houses all of the Haitian Institute’s initiatives. It is now present in the town of Ansafolè and in the mountain region of Goden where it serves as a house of healing and hope.
SARAPED allows us to partner with teachers and schools while challenging them to become healers and sanctuaries for the Haitian spirit.
Our first public health initiative prioritizes the health and wellbeing of young women and children.
The workshop of the Amílcar Cabral Society is transitioning to the Northwest of the country. It will now train members of SAC-Goden to bring their ideas into being.
We are building a foundation that is strong enough to sustain the collective weight of our dreams.
Aware of colonization’s lingering effects on every aspect of Haitian life, we are unapologetically decolonial in all that we do. Following the example of the Haitian polymath Jean Price-Mars, we practice rigorous research that is based on an unshakable commitment to truth as a matter of justice: “scientific truth,” “human truth,” and “truth tout court.” And to those, we add communal truth.
SantRova-Tirivyè is built on a partnership with the College Jean Wilbert Luma (CJWL), a K-12 private school. It features a research library, a biology and chemistry laboratory, a Language Studies Department, a Strategic Research Department, and a Child Development and Early Education Department. Based on a model to be replicated elsewhere in the country, SantRova fits seamlessly with the Haitian Institute’s broader vision of thriving Haitian communities.
Its mission is to: 1. Promote Interdisciplinary research and critical reflection by means of programs and activities that are designed to cultivate a spirit of curiosity, discovery, creativity, and collaboration. 2. Encourage concrete action that fosters dialogue, mutual knowledge and social cohesion. 3. Encourage decolonial thinking and action. 4. Foster healing for the Body, the Spirit, the Soul, and the nation.
For further information, visit https://www.santrova.org/