Our Story
Students line up under a flame tree at an HEF school in southern Haiti
One School. Three Generations of Hope.
In the mountains of southern Haiti, one school became many, carried by a Haitian priest’s vision and an Arkansas family’s faith.
- In 1989, seven schools rose
- Today there are thirty-four schools
- Three generations, one sacred trust
How It Began
A priest with a vision, and a school in Léogâne
Frances Landers traveled to Haiti with her husband Gardner. He performed cataract surgery and restored eyesight to hundreds of Haitians in need.
At the hospital in Léogâne, they met a Haitian Episcopal priest named Jean-Wilfrid Albert. Everyone called him Père Albert. He took Frances to a village where all children were hungry, listless, and without purpose.
Père Albert had carried a vision for years. Families in the southern mountains could not read, and so could not read the Bible for themselves. Vodou held its grip there. Literacy was the door to a better future.
The Ask
“The greatest hope for Haiti’s future is to educate our youth. I want you to raise money to build a school.”
“Frances,” Père Albert said, “I want to show you a village where no one can read or write.”
Everywhere she looked, she saw hopelessness.
Frances returned to Arkansas. She stood in front of churches and individuals and asked them to believe in something they could not see.
The first school opened in a community called Mercery. From 1977-1989, Frances supported Père Albert, raising funds to build schools in the Léogâne area.
In 1989, Père Albert was transferred to the southern mountains, and seven schools rose there. The ministry followed him and has never left.
Today there are thirty-four schools in five Episcopal parishes, standing beside vulnerable families in the same mountains where literacy first opened a door to the gospel.
The Vision
“If God wants schools in the mountains, there will be schools in the mountains.”
Père Jean-Wilfrid Albert, Founding Haitian Priest
Today, Haiti Education Foundation is educating the grandchildren
More than three decades after the first school opened, Haiti Education Foundation (HEF) is educating the grandchildren of its original students. The story is not finished.
The story God has been writing
From 1977 to today
1977: A Family Says Yes
Frances Landers begins working alongside Père Albert in Léogâne. She teaches, raises support, and helps build what these mountains still lacked.
1989: The Mountains Become Home
Père Albert is transferred to the mountain parishes to the south, and seven schools rise there. HEF has served those communities ever since.
2005: A Legacy Passed Forward
Père Albert dies of pancreatic cancer. The relationships and structures he spent decades building hold steady, and the work continues without missing a step.
2010: Faithful Through the Rubble
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastates Haiti and kills a great many people. Teachers ask only one question: when can the children come back? Every school reopens that same year. Frances Landers also goes to glory in 2010, and Susan Turbeville steps into leadership.
2019: Called to Give More
Haitian families ask for more for their children, and HEF answers. Secondary education through ninth grade begins at twelve campuses, equipping students beyond what was possible before.
2020 & After: Growing Through What Should Have Stopped It
A global pandemic halts international travel. Gang violence later makes travel impossible for more than six years. The Haitian-led structure holds, and the ministry keeps growing.
