How one Brown alumnus is increasing access to education in Haiti
The Haitian Project was founded in the early 1980s by St. Joseph’s Parish in Providence, RI, to provide humanitarian aid and relief to the people of Haiti. Louverture Cleary School (LCS) began as a response to one of the greatest needs of Haiti: education. Once a school with a handful of students and big dreams for the future, Louverture Cleary School has now grown to feed, house, and educate 350 bright and enthusiastic students from the poorest neighborhoods of Haiti.
In response to their free education, LCS students are active leaders in service to their community. Each day, students can be found cleaning their neighborhood, caring for sick and orphaned children and disabled adults, and challenging the notion that theirs is a country devoid of hope. LCS students receive a top-notch education – a tool that will help them as they seek to rebuild Haiti.
Deacon Patrick Moynihan ’87 has worked in Haiti for over twenty years as President of The Haitian Project (THP), which educates the future leaders of Haiti through Louverture Cleary School, it’s tuition-free, Catholic co-educational secondary boarding school outside of Port au Prince. After graduating Magna cum Laude from Brown with a degree in classics, Deacon Moynihan enjoyed a successful career as a commodities trader with the Louis Dreyfus Corporation. In 1996 Deacon Moynihan and his wife Christina heard the call to become missionaries. It was Deacon Moynihan’s older brother, Brian Moynihan ’81, who was then the Chair of THP’s board and is now the CEO of Bank of America, who encouraged them to join the organization.
Having seen hundreds of alumni lift themselves out of poverty, Deacon Moynihan is confident that education is the most effective development tool that charity can provide. He is now leading The Haitian Project’s bold plans to create The Louverture Cleary Schools Network – a national network of 10 schools, one in each governmental department of Haiti, that will provide the human capital necessary for Haiti to emerge as a successful nation and help shift the focus of international philanthropy towards education. To learn more about Moynihan’s effort to increase access to education in Haiti, visit THP website, here and watch their video below.
