Established in 2003, Hope For Haiti’s Children is a 501c3 non-profit, that has focused its efforts on creating a public-school system in Haiti. Currently, schools are private and students must pay to attend school. That leaves the majority of Haiti’s children on the streets instead of earning an education. This creates an endless cycle of children growing up to live in poverty. Solving poverty in Haiti begins with helping the children receive an education and provide necessary health care.
Hope For Haiti’s Children was founded in by a Lebanese-Haitian family. Cynthia and Patrice Khawly were both born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They were married and moved to Miami, Florida to raise their family. They first introduced their children to Haiti when they were very young. Their children, Natacha and Sophia Khawly, were both very touched by the children begging for money on the streets. As teenagers, they insisted they help those children they could not forget about.
In high school, Natacha wrote grant letters to many companies such as Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R Us, etc. with little success. However, she was able to receive donations from small businesses such as Smart Solutions and S.L. Romo International. With help from local businesses and individuals from all over the United States, she was able to provide one of our schools, Imaculee Concepcion with canned goods, school supplies, toys, bookbags, and office equipment.
Sophia attended Florida State University, and got her campus involved with our mission. With fellow college students, Sophia has hosted garage sales, toy drives, and vitamin/medicine drives to send to our sponsored schools. Sophia has raised money for our schools by finding sponsors, writing grants, and soliciting donations. She has also helped plan and host several events each year to fundraise.
Natacha studied to be a Pharmacist at the University of Florida and Sophia studied to be a Nurse Practitioner nurse at the University of Miami. Natacha attended an Outreach trip during Spring Break 2010 to Jimani, Dominican Republic which is at the border of Haiti. With other pharmacy and medical students from the University of Florida, she was able to provide local Dominicans and Haitian refugees with medications for untreated infections, pain relief, and even chronic conditions. Sophia volunteers with medical outreach groups to provide free health care services to our students and their families in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Chief Executive Officer – Cynthia Khawly
Corporate Director – Sophia Khawly
President – Natacha Khawly
Vice President – Patrice Khawly
Chief Administrative Officer – Yvette Casimir
Treasurer – Regina Blunker
Secretary – Joelle Saliba
Fundraising – Jonathan Khawly