Promoting Education in Haiti
Burt Hill Donating services for a New K-13 School in Area Affected by Earthquake
Burt Hill is providing design services in a collaborative effort with Schools for the Children of the World (SCW) for a new school in Haiti. Located approximately 35 miles west of Port au Prince near the epicenter of the recent earthquake, The École National Saint Rose de Lima in Léogâne will house 600 students in grades K-13.
The first of 11 school reconstruction projects in the Léogâne area to be designed and built in partnership with the Spanish Red Cross, The École National Saint Rose de Lima is a free public school in the center of Léogâne. More than 1,100 girls attended the school prior to the January earthquake. Because there is no temporary school building in place for students to attend classes, SCW has made this project a top priority, with Burt Hill beginning design for the reconstruction in late May and construction slated to begin in August. The new school will include 12 classrooms for the primary grades and five for the secondary grades, a small administration building, a guard house, living facilities for four employees, a library, two science rooms, a multipurpose room, and a kitchen.
Volunteers from Burt Hill’s K-12 studio are traveling to Haiti to oversee the design process. Rob Pillar and Rege Frankhouser are two Burt Hill representatives who recently returned from their first trip to Haiti, where they met with school directors to develop the new facility design. They also visited 10 other school sites to gather programmatic information to share with other firms that are also participating in the program.
Speaking about his experience, Pillar says “The people here are gracious and quite grateful for our work. But there is so much to be done that it seems like a drop of water in an ocean of need.” He has previously worked with SCW to plan, design and construct schools in rural Honduras. “This is not just about building a school. It is about coming alongside a hurting nation to help them develop a sustainable future focused on education.”
“Doing this type of work provides a way for me to utilize my time and talent in a meaningful way that will benefit generations,” Frankhouser said.
The design team is planning two future trips to assist with the construction and to further strengthen the relationship with the community. Burt Hill staff members have donated funds and vacation time to help offset the costs associated with this effort. “I have been blown away by the level of support that our firm and our staff have given to this project. During these difficult times it is a blessing to see the generosity of so many people,” said Pillar.
Schools for the Children of the World is committed to improving educational opportunity in underdeveloped countries with quality school facilities. The vision of SCW is to partner with governments to establish standards for educational facilities that will help to provide long-term sustainability and increase educational focus. For more information, please visit the organization’s website at www.schoolsforchildren.com.
