Beverly Stephen
Lead Library Worker
Taught herself library skills from the internet before formal training. Her goal: become a librarian.
Flagship project
Duplan: a village library reborn.
A twenty year old library in the Ouest, rebuilt as a modern children's library and a future training center for the whole country.
Give to Duplan
900
students at the Duplan Methodist School
205
years of church and community history
500
families attending services
21+
years the library has served the village
Why we chose Duplan
Central in the country, semi rural and relatively secure, with a school unique in the region and great potential for service. Pastor Edzaire Paul founded the library more than twenty years ago and champions its modernization. A signed agreement between PILH and the village governance committee frames the whole project.
The people who run it
JM
Judeline Marechal
Assistant Librarian
Joined in spring 2023 with one stated goal: improve young children's education.
DB
Dr. Beatrice Gaunthier
Library Committee Chair
A clinical internist who leads the village committee and reports progress to PILH every month.
ET
Erick Toussaint
Lead Trainer
Former director of FOKAL's community library programs. His eleven module curriculum trains the team.
What the project delivers
A living Kreyòl collection
Years of outdated books weeded out, replaced with a large collection of quality Kreyòl titles for students and teachers.
Technology that works
Four dying laptops replaced with six new Chromebooks, strong wi-fi, and IT support funded by the village.
An eleven module curriculum
Library administration and management fundamentals, tested module by module over Zoom and WhatsApp.
Reading programs next
New books, activities and games that build the joy of reading, with parents welcomed in as the program matures.
Accountability, in writing
The village funds security, salaries, wi-fi, furniture, utilities and IT. PILH funds what is mutually agreed, and an external evaluator measures progress every year. Funding follows trackable results. That is how we treat every donated dollar.
Sponsor the Duplan project
One thousand dollars adds computers and power. Two hundred fifty a month keeps a librarian paid, connected and stocked.
Give to Duplan