When I first arrived in Haiti in 1996, I wasn’t planning to start a scholarship program. I was in my twenties, volunteering as an English teacher at a free magnet high school, and exploring a beautiful, fascinating country (see photo).
At the school, I met Isemonde, a senior who was smart, hard-working, and determined—but living in a world so different from mine, where some days there wasn’t food on the table, let alone a clear path to a better future.

Upon graduation, Isemonde asked me for $30 to enroll in a secretarial school, where she had earned the top entrance exam score. When I asked if she truly wanted to be a secretary, she told me her real dream was to become a doctor in her community, motivated by seeing how poorly some doctors treated poor patients. But with her family unable to afford even $30, medical school was out of reach.

So, I covered her entrance exam, and my parents generously paid her first year’s tuition. That small act became the seed of the Haitian Education & Leadership Program. Today, Dr. Isemonde Joseph is a force for good in her community—one of countless changemakers.

Since that first donation, H.E.L.P. has grown to support over 200 students each year in a country where fewer than 3% of young people complete college. Our students receive full tuition, housing, living stipends, and supplies. They also participate in intensive English, IT, and Citizenship & Leadership training—equipping them not just to succeed, but to serve. And when times are tough, as they are today, H.E.L.P. steps in with support ranging from backup batteries and data plans to mental health counseling.

Right now, Port-au-Prince is facing unprecedented violence and instability. But I don’t see this as a moment to despair—it’s a call to meet the moment. For almost 30 years, alongside our supporters, I’ve been planting seeds—investing in a Haiti built by and for Haitians. And it works. One employer of H.E.L.P. graduates put it this way: “A lot of organizations talk about building capacity. But few possess a model that consistently achieves it. H.E.L.P.'s model is developing a new generation of Haitian professionals that will build capacity in Haiti for years to come.”