Despagne Felix is a man with a dream

   A dream to bring the village of his childhood into the 21st century and to give its people hope for a future.

   Despagne was born and raised in Duchity, a town in the mountains without basic amenities - no running water, limited electricity, and dirt roads.

   It is a place with limited access to education and vocational training.

Despagne Felix in dormitory under construction

   In spite of these challenges, Despagne learned to read, studied mechanics, and eventually made his way to Port au Prince (PaP) to find work.

   But for years he has wanted to build a school in Duchity to teach literacy and trades, such as mechanics, welding, carpentry, sewing, cooking - all useful skills for young people needing to find work in their home region.

View of the land, mountains in the distance

Moving stones for construction of a wall

  "For too long, Haiti has revolved around its capital city rather than just being supported by it. Changing that structure is key. You have to be able to provide jobs to the young ones, be able to decentralize. The rest of Haiti has long been overlooked."

   -former President Bill Clinton, the United Nations special envoy to Haiti.

     Despagne decided to act. He bought land, built a wall around the perimeter, built a road, piped in water from the mountain source, and put in composting toilets. His vision includes three major areas

• a community center for events related to the school (such as graduations) and the community at large
• a section for small buildings - each housing an individual trade
• a dormitory.