Anis Zunuzi School
Outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti
A Haven for the Most Needy in the Poorest of Countries
Anis Zunuzi School, built in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, is surrounded by dusty roads, noisy markets and poverty. However, the school itself is an oasis of tranquility, set on lovely treed acreage, surrounded by flowers, plants and gardens. Since the school charter states that the poorest of Haiti’s children are to be served, most of the hundreds of students attending the school have scholarship assistance. The challenging academic program is taught by well-trained teachers dedicated to infusing moral and spiritual fundamentals into their curriculum. The staff of Zunuzi is determined to develop their school to encourage students to become active participants in the strengthening of their country, something that is needed now more than ever.
The Haiti Earthquake and the Role of Zunuzi
On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake. The daily insecurities that Haitians faced before from an unstable society, things such as intermittent electricity, hungry families and a lack of security, are now magnified beyond comprehension. The education system in Haiti was hit hard. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that half the nation’s 15,000 primary and 1,500 secondary schools were either destroyed or badly damaged and three universities in Port-au-Prince and the Ministry of Education building were left in ruins.
The Anis Zunuzi School, and two other schools in Haiti that Mona Foundation supports, were left with very little to no damage and have all been functioning since the earthquake struck. Mona Foundation knows that the future of Haiti is dependent on the education of its children and is now working with these schools to increase their capacity to admit as many displaced children as possible. Mona Foundation also committed to pay the entire tuition of the approximately 300 students e
nrolled at Zunuzi for the 2010 school year due to the dire economic situation with almost all of the parents out of work and unable to make the $10/month tuition contribution.
Since there was no school in Haiti for the first couple of months after the earthquake, Zunuzi functioned primarily as a shelter and a makeshift clinic for the injured and homeless. Mona Foundation partnered with a group of physicians and volunteers called ‘Love for Haiti’ that went down immediately after the earthquake to assist with relief efforts and have committed to sending a team of volunteers down there for a few days every month for at least a year.
Mona Foundation is fully committed to helping the Haitians in their recovery and reconstruction efforts and has established a fund designed to channel 100% of donations and contributions directly to the efforts on the ground in Haiti, this included the immediate relief work in the aftermath, as well as the now long-term reconstruction and re-development of the various projects and initiatives that we support there.
To read more about the Mona Foundation Haiti Disaster and Reconstruction Fund, and to see photos and accounts from the projects we support in Haiti and the volunteers who have gone down since the earthquake struck, or to contribute click here.
How You Can Help
Please contact us or send your tax-deductible contributions to:
Mona Foundation
218 Main Street, Suite 404
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 743-4550
Email: monafoundation@monafoundation.org
Online: Contribute Online with your Credit Card Here