A nice summary someone recently wrote about Univers...

  Accomplishment

Institution Univers school has 2385 students in grades K through 13. The June 2015 thirteenth grade of Institution Univers graduated 67 students.  The school employs over 150 local people. In 2009, Institution Univers was named "one of the top ten schools in the nation" by the Haiti Ministry of Education. In the June 2015 national tests administered by the Ministry of

Education for all 9th, and 13th grade students in all of Haiti, 100% of I.U. students passed these tests---and were therefore promoted to the next higher grade or approved for graduation. In 2016, 99.9% of the students passed the exam.

Healthcare is also a critical community need in Ouanaminthe. In the 2001-04 time period, Hugues Bastien (Director of Institution Univers) collaborated with the Board of Directors of COCINA and an architectural designer to obtain funding and a design for a three-story medical clinic. Univers Medical Centre was built in 2005-2006. The building includes rooms for

pharmacy, medical examination and treatment, laboratory testing, dental services and eye-care services, plus a surgery center, birthing area and recovery area. The Univers Medical Centre began meeting medical needs soon after its construction was completed in 2006. Mission teams came from the U.S. for a week at a time to perform professional services in the clinic.

In 2008, COCINA obtained funding to hire a Haitian staff of 24 professional and support personal, and operate the clinic 45 hours per week. In September 2010, because of local demand for greater services and expanded operating hours, the clinic expanded its service hours to 7 days per week and 24 hours per day---by adding a few more staff. The staff now numbers 50 --- including several physicians, several medical interns and nurse interns, a dentist, professional nurses, nurse assistants and a pharmacist.  Univers Medical Centre annually provides over 15,000 doctor-patient consultations (i.e office visits), 14,000 pharmacy prescriptions filled in the clinic pharmacy, 10,000 laboratory tests, 2,100 hospitalization patient stay-days, 1,100 dental clinic visits and 250 surgeries (performed mostly by U.S. mission teams). In 2014 5 more doctors were added to the staff including an OB/GYN, a Pediatrician, an Internist, an Orthopedic surgeon and an Anesthesiologist. In 2015, an Ophthalmologist was added. This expanded the services greatly.

The vocational education program of Univers is called Univers Technique et Commercial. In 2010-11 COCINA supported Director Hugues Bastien in expansion of vocational education from what had been just classroom-based courses (e.g. computer operations, languages, business accounting) to comprehensive laboratory courses in auto-vehicle mechanics, industrial-commercial sewing and repair of industrial sewing equipment. Funding was obtained from several foundations to jump-start these three new vocational education programs. In  2010-11, a separate building was constructed to house these three new major programs. Equipment and supplies were purchased and several professional instructors were hired. In the initial classes

(starting in the spring of 2012) there were 12 adult students enrolled in the auto-vehicle mechanics program, five in the sewing program and three in the sewing machine mechanics program. In the 2013-14 school year there were 60 students enrolled in these five vo-ed programs.

In 2010, COCINA added "economic-development" to its mission statement, knowing how critical it is to provide jobs and businesses for Haitians in order to rebuild the country. During 2015 the bakery was extended to include a store front in the village where sandwiches, coffee, bread and pastries are sold adding an additional 6 jobs. The profit from the bakery goes to fund the operations of the school and clinic. 

Between the school, the clinic, and the businesses there are more than 250 Haitians employed. Institution Univers has supported employment in Haiti by being the second largest employer in Ouanaminthe, Haiti.

In 2015 the apartment complex built to house doctors, nurses and missionaries to the area became profitable and the funds are being used to support the operations of the school and clinic.