The Founders of the Community School of Bellevue:
Avril and Maxo
Bellevue Community School – Haiti
The Bellevue Community School was started by two young men, Maxo and Avril, who, when they were young, had the benefit of a mentor encouraging them and helping them to stay in school.
Although neither had finished high school, Maxo was among the lucky few in Haiti with employment. In trying to provide an education for his siblings after his parents passed, he noticed just how many of the young children in their community were not in school because their parents could not afford to send them. In 2008 he sought his friends help in trying to educate these children, along with their siblings, and the school was born.
In Maxo’s words “This is a school for the poorest of the poor. Without this school, these children would have no education, and therefore no future”.
The need was clear, and before long, there were too many students for the two young men to educate alone, so Maxo used almost 1/2 his salary to hire three teachers for the community children.
Before the 2010 earthquake, the school was housed in Avril’s family’s home. After the earthquake, the school was housed in a makeshift tarped structure due to the structural damage to Avril’s house. By 2012 it was housed in a wooden shed-like structure that was built by teams from Reach Global that responded to the earthquake. There were 6 classrooms and ran classes for pre-K through the 6th grade.
In the past 10 years, the ability for children to get an education in Haiti has only gotten harder and the need for the school has expanded. At present (2022) the school is located on about 2/3 acre in Gressier. The classes run from pre-K through 12th grade (being added this year). Classrooms are largely concrete block, but some wooden classrooms remain. There is no electricity, but a sanitation facility has (finally) been added thanks to a VERY generous individuals donation.
Support for the school has been largely through Rotary Clubs (see Rotary’s Impact), but we would be remiss if we did not mention At Home Ministry and The Southern New England Conference UCC Haiti Task Force who have both contributed to and actively support the Community School of Bellevue, along with many incredibly supportive individuals and businesses.
Learn about what it takes to run the school on our Donations page.
The Community School Then and Now
2012
6 classrooms for grades pre-k to 6 with about 100 students on rented land
2022
An office, a well, enough classrooms for pre-k to grade 11, a pavilion, kitchen and a toilet facility in progress provides for 500 students.