Our happy chickens! Happy chickens lay happy eggs! Bigger picture = Haiti producing products in Haiti - Amen!
I have begun a "newsletter" that I will be using with our church, college and corporation prospective affiliations so I will be sharing it with all of you, too! Please feel free to cut and paste it to a word document and email it or print it and share with others. The more relationships that are built, the better for the students!
Here's my first "Updates from Univers":

Updates from Univers

Ouanaminthe, Haiti

September 24, 2012

In June 2012, Institution Univers (I.U.) had its fourth graduating class consisting of 99 students. Three of the students are now in the U.S. studying for their undergraduate degrees. Here are the top English students in the graduating class of 2012:

·Welsey Saintilnord (M) – attending Gloucester County College, NJ – 1^st overall

·Peterson Saintilmond (M) – attending University of Kentucky – 4^th overall

·Angelot St-Vil (M) – attending University of Kentucky

·Filsto Auguste Junior Michel (M) – 8^th out of 98 overall in the most recent set of exams

·Manakelle Raphael (F) – 11^th out of 98 overall in the most recent set of exams

·Jempsy Juguerson Tisma (M) – 15^th out of 98 overall in the most recent set of exams 

·Clarel Algere (M) – 26^th out of 98 overall in the most recent set of exams

·Smay Saintilma (M) – 2^nd out of 98 overall in the most recent set of exams

·Ema Dulene (F) – 3^rd out of 98 overall in the most recent set of exams

 Two of our I.U. students have received the highest honor for the NATIONAL graduate exams -
Evelyne Cherenfant has been awarded National Laureate for the 12th grade "Baccalaureate I" graduate exam and Wesley Saintilnord has been awarded National Laureate for the 13th grade "Baccalaureate I" graduate exam. These honors are given only to the top ten students in the entire country. It earned them a meeting with the President of Haiti, at the National Palace.
I am humbled and honored to serve the students of Institution Univers. Thank you to all of you who make it possible for me to be here.

In May, as part of our economic development program, our first chickens arrived at the Univers Farm. The chickens are producing the first eggs ever to be sold commercially within our “department”. Prior to this, all eggs were purchased across the border in the Dominican Republic. Our chickens began laying eggs in August. Of the 4,500 chickens thus far, over 1,000 eggs are laid daily; with the number of eggs increasing daily. We are marketing and securing a number of vendors to sell or use our eggs at their businesses. We have also secured a shop at in the Town Square vicinity, the “Univers Farm Shoppe”. Haiti producing products in Haiti – Amen!

I arrived in Ouanaminthe on September 4, and immediately began working on developing relationships to assist the students to secure scholarship and host family participation in our high school graduate placement program. When I was still in United States I met with a number of colleges that would like to partner with our school. The critical challenge is the financial commitment and host family commitment. I am pleased to have opportunities to meet with individuals, companies, and churches in Southeast Florida at the end of September and Southwest Florida in October.

In the month of August, prior to my departure to Haiti, I was privileged to coordinate the English as a Second Language (ESL) Curriculum Program visitation to Ohio of the two top seventh grade students from our school. Each year, our school chooses the two top students from the 7^th and 10^th grades to study and experience the U.S. for the month of August. One of the purposes is for the students to return to Haiti determined to work even harder so they may return to the U.S. or elsewhere upon high school graduation to study at a university. The program proves to be very successful. Of the graduating class years we’ve had thus far, the following chart indicates how many of those students now studying in the U.S. qualified to study in the ESL program visit initially:

Graduating class         Number of Students in ESL now in U.S.           Total in U.S. 

            2009                            4 out of                                                            5

            2010                            3 out of                                                            4

            2011                            1 out of                                                            2

            2012                            3 out of                                                            3

Report by:

Marylee Lewis, Director of High School Graduate Placement Program

www.haiticocina.org

marylee.lewis@gmail.com