KATA Scholarship Helps Haitian Woman Gain Vocation

"Without a KATA scholarship, I would be at the grace of God to find work."

Marie Michelande Fils, 21 years old, is fourth in a family of nine children. She lives with her aunt in Sarthe, Terre Noire, on Route Nationale #1 near Port-Au Prince's infamous slum area Cite Soleil. While two of Marie Michelande's brothers are studying auto mechanics at the Centre Pilote in Port au Prince, three other siblings are unable to attend school and her mother is unemployed. Her father, a cabinetmaker, decided that Marie Michelande would have more opportunities if she left the family's home area of Lilavois, Plaine de Cul de Sac, to live with her aunt and seek employment.

Without her secondary school diploma, Marie Michelande was hard pressed to find work and, ultimately, to help out her family. As a KATA scholarship recipient, however, she is now able to study building construction at Haiti Tec, one of the premier vocational training schools in Port au Prince and a ResCare partner institution.

Marie Michelande is not just earning her education, she is gaining a vocation. Her self-confidence is growing and she plans on finding a job after her studies and sharing her knowledge and skills with other young people.

Through the Workforce Development Project component of the KATA Program, ResCare provides technical assistance and financial support to vocational training centers in Haiti. ResCare's support includes providing student scholarships, needed educational materials and curricula in subjects such as Employability Skills, Entrepreneurship Skills, and Trainer of Trainers. Partner training centers include the Cardinal Keller Center in Gonaives, SOS Village and Fondation Vincent au Cap Haïtien, and Haïti Tec and ENAM in Port-au-Prince.

The goal of the KATA Program is to create an enabling environment for Haitians to change their lives. Drawing on the individual enterprise and creativity that can be seen everyday in the markets and streets, KATA facilitates the creation of immediate and durable jobs through infrastructure development and maintenance as well as through workforce development and entrepreneurship programs.

The KATA Program is possible with the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). ResCare is the main implementing partner to CHF International.