The trade school is being funded by a group called IDEJEN (Out-of-School Youth Livelihood Initiative). There are a number of these trade schools throughout Haiti and I'm very glad to see one has started in Pestel! The tuition/expenses are paid-for by IDEJEN.
The schools are designed for older youth (late teens to early 20s) and the school provides 2 years of education: the first focuses primarily on reading/writing and the second focuses mainly on one of two trades: masonry or animal husbandry. The trades were chosen based on the needs of the area.
Promoting trade schooling in Pestel makes a great deal of sense to me. Currently they have enrolled 50 students in the first year (25 female, 25 male), and some students have to travel a great distance to attend.
The teachers would like to provide a free meal for the students (i.e. lunch). Right now they can only give them something like crackers). They believe the students will learn better with food in their stomachs. I have to agree.
They are also interested in school supplies: all the kinds of the school supplies we're gathering. They also would like a computer, printer, and a copier. Jon and I were thinking a laptop would be the way to go. Might be able to power it through solar.
I also think they could use funds to purchase supplies. As you'll see in the photos, some of the 'trade school demonstration material' came from a tree limb on the property grounds.
The program is funded by USAID and you can read more about it here.
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