Vision

MCLC believes that the people living on Lagonav, not outsiders, know the problems and strengths of their own communities. Rather than carrying in solutions from the outside, MCLC walks with school communities through a guided experiential process. Through Reflection Circles and Open Space Technology, people begin to recognize that knowledge, confidence, and self-determination can be found in their own experiences and histories. Wisdom is present in their own circle process of inquiry. We believe an active participatory education offers tools and skills needed for building effective institutional and cultural practices. We believe that education is a conversation. Friends of Matènwa's role is to help the Matènwa Community Learning Center find resources while building local capacity to manage those resources for the benefit of the community at large.

Goals

1. 1.By 2030, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education’s 4 inspectors, a 230-school network of Institute-trained directors will exist across Lagonav. MCLC’s Institute of Learning will reach 1000+ teachers and administrators as well as 25,000+ children. The Institute will assist 4 schools to become Matènwa Model Learning Centers to assure high quality educational programs across the island.
2. 2.In 2025, Friends of Matènwa created a Deputy Director role to strengthen fundraising, donor engagement, and communications. The position brings more than two decades of nonprofit and Haiti experience, expanding the organization’s capacity to grow sustainable support for the Matènwa Community Learning Center while strengthening leadership continuity and long-term succession planning.
3. 3.Friends of Matènwa is expanding access to MCLC programs by enrolling additional students displaced by mainland violence, increasing support for graduates pursuing university studies, and training teachers from schools across Haiti in Matènwa’s child-centered, Haitian Creole-based education model to extend its impact nationwide.