About Us

Goesta interacting with local children

Pour Les Enfants is a non-profit organization (5013c application is in process) founded by two occupational therapists, Goesta(Gus) and Sheelagh Schlegel in 2009. The organization runs and supports programs in Haiti for school-age children, particularly those with special needs.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The population is about 9 million people; 80% of whom live in abject poverty. Only 54% have access to clean water. 80 out of 1,000 die before age 5. Only 20% of the children attend secondary school. Less than 2% complete secondary school. The literacy rate in Haiti is 53% (Sources: World Vision and United Nations Mission in Haiti).

Currently, PLE has a project in L'Acul, Haiti a small village in the mountains of Haiti's northern peninsula. We partner with the Episcopal Church of Haiti, the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, The Wellspring trust and St Vincent's School for Special Needs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Our Mission:

• To ensure that school age children, including those with special needs, have access to educational services in Haiti.
• To provide adequate nutrition to children in our programs in Haiti to prevent malnutrition and disease and further enhance their educational performance.
• To provide children with special needs in Haiti access to the resources that they need including, but not limited to, specialized instruction, adaptive technology, prosthetic and orthotic assessment and provision of rehabilitation services.