20 | Acquisition International, Non-Profit Organisation Awards 2024 Haitian Humanitarian Education Impact Award 2024 & Sustainable Social Empowerment Excellence Award 2024 Haiti Empowered It is the central mission of Haiti Empowered to foster generational change and see every village in Haiti thrive as a self-sustaining community. This non-profit organisation, founded back in 2005, today operates nine schools across the country, plus a clinic and dentist health centre. Providing education, meals 365 days a year, and a wealth of health-based job/internship opportunities, the team here help Haitian people to overcome national challenges concerning education, infrastructure, and healthcare. Contact: Peter Carlson Company: Haiti Empowered Web Address: https://www.haitiempowered.org Through Haiti Empowered, children across Haiti are afforded life-changing education and broader skills programmes, with each lesson further unfolding a picture of a new and better life for themselves and their families. This underpins the generational approach adopted by this organisation, as the possibilities unlocked through education and the development of life skills are limitless. Lasting generational change will then occur as these children grow up to become leaders in their respective communities and have children of their own. Haiti Empowered ultimately draws its inspiration and strength from Ephesians 4, a chapter in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, particularly Ephesians 4:11-13a, which reads: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” On the back of this, Haiti Empowered has developed four unique and interconnected strategic pathways that all lead to it achieving its mission. Known as the “4 Es”, the pathways of engage, educate, equip, and empower see the team meet basic needs, pass on knowledge through learning, provide the Haitian people with the tools they need to succeed, and create the opportunities that see local people afforded the means to grow and develop. With these areas acting as their compass, the team here are nurturing permanent self-sufficiency. In a country that has been decimated by natural disasters and unrest, we are able to use our extensive knowledge and partnerships to make a significant generational different in a setting that many NGOs and other organisations have found to be too difficult to continue to work in. Each aforementioned pathway is proactively implemented through a number of different programmes that encompass everything from providing the one meal a day that is customary across the country through to a comprehensive school curriculum for children that covers the likes of traditional subjects, mental health, and trade skills. Breaking down the barriers that hold people back in this, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the team here are slowly but surely transforming Haiti from the inside out. The efforts of the team, 95% of whom are based in Haiti, are currently focused on the Leogane area, one of the country’s coastal communities and the epicentre of the devastating earthquake that struck the country in January 2010. Aiding this team is an additional US-based department working remotely, undertaking fast-paced work and partnering with their members across the globe. As Paul Carlson, President/CEO of Haiti Empowered adds, “we are careful to understand and work within Haiti’s local culture and leadership.” Working directly within the country does bring with it a number of difficulties, with these stemming primarily from the complications of managing a supply chain comprised primarily of local resources, a challenge further exacerbated by civil unrest and the huge divisions in the country. Paul then explains, “we also partner with local organisations to maintain a safety level that is conducive to learning.” This allows the team to provide their critical programmes that nurture the next generation of Haitians freely, unencumbered by fear or politics. As it looks ahead to the future, the sustainable social empowerment reflected in the above award is one of the primary areas of focus for Paul and his team, particularly concerning their resource and service delivery. Broader expansion is also on the horizon, as demand for this level of commitment is off the charts across the country, meaning that Haiti Empowered has a challenging and yet rewarding future ahead of it. As it continues down this path of generational empowerment, we recognise the organisation with two muchdeserved awards. “ ”
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