Events

Anshu Chandra has 16 years of experience providing eye care in Haiti. She leads a permanent clinic in Fond-des-Blancs, supports mobile clinics, and helps train local eye care professionals, including the Haitian ophthalmology residency program in Port-au-Prince. She holds a Doctor of Optometry degree and completed her residency at SUNY College of Optometry. She has provided care in Nepal, Haiti, Peru, Lebanon, Tanzania, Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Indonesia, and India.

 

I am reaching out with humility and deep concern for the children under our care-children whose dreams depend entirely on the kindness and commitment of people like you.

 

Divine Mercy School was founded with a simple but urgent mission: to give the most vulnerable children—orphans and those from extremely impoverished households—a chance to learn, thrive, and hope again. Now in its ninth year, the school serves 180 children, with 64 living full-time at school because they have no safe home to return to.

 

Despite our best efforts, many families cannot afford even the most basic school costs. Several children have dropped out, and our primary completion rate has fallen to 70%, not because of lack of ability, but because poverty continues to rob them of opportunity.

 

With support from a Rotary Global Grant, we have been blessed with solar lighting, two latrines, and desks for two classrooms. But the reality on the ground remains extremely challenging. We urgently face:

 

A challenge in feeding School children resulting in spending some days with no meals,

 

An incomplete classroom block and a kindergarten block, forcing most classes into temporary structures,

 

No access to safe water at the school,

 

A severe shortage of teaching and learning materials,

 

Limited student uniforms and a strained feeding program,

 

Inadequate kitchen and storage infrastructure,

 

An urgent need for a staff latrine,

 

Families who desperately need income-generating support to keep their children in school,

 

 

These conditions place our most vulnerable children at continued risk of dropping out or failing to achieve basic literacy and numeracy skills.

 

I am therefore writing to inquire whether you, your club, or your networks would be willing to partner with us in addressing any of these critical needs. If there is interest, I will be glad to share a detailed proposal and budget tailored to the specific area of support.

 

We have also launched an initiative to seek sponsors for 100 of our neediest children, whose parents and caregivers cannot afford to keep them in school. A sponsorship of USD 175 per child per year can fully transform a child’s educational trajectory and restore hope to a struggling family. If this is an area you might consider supporting, it would be life-changing.