A little HELP from our friends

At SOIL, we always love when we hit upon mutually beneficial partnerships, so we're thrilled to serve as an internship site this summer for the Haitian Education Leadership Program (HELP). HELP's mission is "to create, through merit- and needs-based university scholarships, a community of young professionals and leaders who promote a more just society in Haiti." In addition to scholarships, HELP offers a variety of support services to help develop and hone their students' professional skills, including English and computer literacy courses as well as an internship program.

We are excited to have our very first HELP student intern this summer. As you can imagine, the growth of our EkoLakay service means there is a lot of work to be done both in the office and the field, so we are thrilled that Suze Midrene has joined us as SOIL's Marketing and Administration Intern! With a sharp mind and an enthusiastic attitude, Suze has fit into our team right away and already proved to be helpful in a variety of projects (including marketing toilets to new customers, pictured above)!

Here's what Suze has to say:

I was born in a family with financial difficulties. My mother sells small goods and my father is a carpenter, and they did all they could to send me to school. Thanks to the support of HELP, I just finished my third year at Universite Quisqueya where I’m studying Economics.

I have a lot of goals, but the most important is to contribute to the development of my country. This summer, I am doing an internship at SOIL. In Haiti, a large part of the population lacks access to toilets that meet public health standards, especially after the earthquake. And there’s no program for human waste management. Through its programs, SOIL not only addresses these issues, SOIL also encourages participation by women and promotes a better environment. This is what really impressed me. Working this summer at SOIL represents my contribution to the development of this organization and my country.