Home Saying Yes How HEF Grew Father Albert Faces of Hope More Faces Funding Sponsorship Milk Program Vocational Ed. University Ed. More Ways Gifts to Honor... T-Shirts Haiti Images Building Newsletters Contact HEF Sponsor Form Ways Form Gift Form How the Haiti Foundation Grew           The Haiti Education Foundation is the result of one woman's effort to make a difference in the lives of the children of Haiti. In 1977, Dr. and Mrs. Gardner Landers of El Dorado, Arkansas heard about the desperate medical needs of the Haitian people. They volunteered to help and eventually developed a routine of making two trips a year to the impoverished island. Together with their surgical team, they provided sight-renewing surgery and eyeglasses to thousands of people.           Then one day in 1981, Frances Landers overheard Father Jean-Wilfrid Albert, Haitian chaplain at the Presbyterian-Episcopal Sainte Croix Hospital in Léogane, reluctantly tell a heartbroken child that there was no room for her in the mission school. That incident inspired Mrs. Landers to do something to ensure that the priest could say yes to children asking for a chance to learn.           Armed with photos of several hopeful children, Mrs. Landers returned to El Dorado and raised enough money through her church, her family, and her friends to build and operate an 8-room school at Mercery village and to set up 3 small schools in nearby mountain communities. Mrs. Landers and friends inside a temporary or "shelter"school           From one person's effort and one small school in 1981, the Haiti Education Foundation has grown to involve churches and individuals in states from Florida to Oregon. Over 12,040 children and young adults are enrolled in the 34 elementary schools, 7 high schools, and vocational school scattered among the mountains of Haiti's peninsula. top   © Haiti Education Foundation, Inc. E-mail: franland17@sbcglobal.net. Photos courtesy of Frances Landers and visiting mission teams.