Amy Jeary and Sarah Brownell

Education and training rest at the heart of any long term improvements to living conditions at Borgne. This is a community that is in dire need of increased access to basic resources for human development. There are numerous local groups of teachers, citizens and community leaders ready to absorb new methods and techniques for education and training. These have been prioritized for action.
H.O.P.E. has worked with these local groups to provide needed resources and programs. Key priorities for 2006 include:

1. Textbook Lending Library – This project will provide a source for badly needed teacher resources and textbooks needed to deliver quality education in the region. At present many textbooks and curriculae are out of date or unavailable. This project will be implemented as a community-wide library available to all educators in Borgne and the surrounding communities.
2. Health Education and Training Program – Leveraging the success of H.O.P.E.’s Sant Teknoloji (Technology Center), we are planning to extend this program of basic sanitation (water purification and latrinization) to include a number of other health training and education projects. These will include basic infant and maternal health, midwifery training, disease prevention (e.g. Malaria) including distribution of needed supplies (e.g. mosquito nets).
3. Community Center – Once these first-line programs are operating, there is a need for a central location to concentrate resources and provide a meeting place for local action groups. This center is envisioned to be an upgrade to an existing building – with computers, internet access, and meeting facilities. It will be managed by a committee of local leaders.