This story about Lucia Anglade and the founding of the Eben Ezer School in Milot, Haiti first ran in New York Newsday — on the cover of the Sunday magazine in 2008. Read the full story below.

Long Island bus driver Lucia Anglade founds and funds a school in her desperate homeland
PHOTO / BILL DAVIS

By Amy Miller
Special to Newsday, Sept. 28, 2008

More inquisitive parents in Huntington may know that the school bus driver they entrust with their precious cargo has five children of her own. They may even know that this woman, who speaks with an accent, grew up in a small town in northern Haiti. What they almost certainly do not know is that Lucia Anglade, a 44-year-old resident of West Babylon, has founded, funded, and fostered a four-room schoolhouse in Haiti, a country known for its poverty, violence, and, most recently, its intense hunger and devastating floods. Over the past seven years, Anglade has created a school on her childhood farm, ensuring desperately poor children get the food, books, and education that elude a large portion of Haiti’s children.

Anglade has done most of this work while living 1,500 miles away from her homeland, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and a neighbor to the Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. While so many other aid organizations begin in boardrooms or government offices, Life and Hope began in the heart of a Haitian immigrant.

Anglade came to this country in 1991 and has since become a citizen. In 1999, when predictions by millennial doomsayers suggested the world might end in 2000, Anglade made a deal. If she survived to see the new millennium, she would work to secure her place in heaven. Today, Anglade has made good on this promise. By 2003, Anglade had quit her work as a nurse’s aide.

Eben Ezer School in Haiti
Children at Anglade’s Eben Ezer School in Haiti, which she says is the only one in the area, attend school year-round. Most of the year, Anglade lives in West Babylon with her family.

Despite warnings from the U.S. State Department to avoid nonessential travel to Haiti, Anglade makes the journey to the rural town of Milot, near Cap Haitien, about four times a year. When guests arrive at Eben Ezer, they see a cement block building that has grown slowly into four classrooms. Surrounded by students dressed in crisp, clean uniforms, visitors are often struck by the staff’s gratitude for the donations and, even more, the attention.

“When I arrived, I felt immediately embraced by the children. The connection with the kids was just instant,” said Agnes Charlesworth of Kittery, Maine, after visiting in July. “And Anglade was so industrious and disciplined. This was an endeavor she took very seriously.”

Josee Vedrine, a Haitian-American friend of Anglade’s, has also witnessed her commitment firsthand. “When you go to the school, you see the sacrifices she makes. She leaves her children at home for two weeks to take care of the kids in Haiti,” said Vedrine. “People in Haiti think she has tons of money and is doing this for personal gain, but that’s not true. She started the school with her own money and has faced challenges in raising funds.”

A Growing School
Anglade’s school started with just a single classroom, built using returns from her 2001 income taxes. She hired her brother and some local men to build the school and began offering classes to ten students. The school has since grown to about 85 students, five teachers, and a director. The Eben Ezer School serves children ages 4 to 16, providing kindergarten through fifth-grade education. Teachers combine classes to accommodate the small number of grades, and Anglade plans to expand to eight grades. The school’s students would otherwise have no opportunity for an education, as the public schools in the area are underfunded and often require payments for uniforms, books, and tuition.

Life Between Two Worlds
Anglade now lives a life divided between Long Island, one of the richest regions in the United States, and Haiti, where the average person earns less than $2 a day. To ensure the success of her school, she leaves her husband and children (ranging in age from 4 to 23) several times a year to head to Haiti. She brings school supplies, clothing, and funds to the school, supported by a growing network of donors.

Her daily routine begins at 4:30 a.m. when she wakes to drive the school bus. Then, after her morning route, she spends the rest of the day working on paperwork, preparing meals for the students, and making arrangements for the school.

Challenges and Optimism
Despite the hardships Anglade faces, including devastating flooding and worsening conditions in Haiti, she remains optimistic. “Your mind is always working to see what you can do to help,” she said. “Sometimes you have a headache, but if you really care, it gives you stress. It’s very hard when you care.”

In the aftermath of recent floods that ravaged the region, Anglade sent clothes, blankets, and money to help the affected families. The storms take everything, but Anglade continues her work, determined to provide hope and education to Haiti’s children.

For more information on Life and Hope for Haiti or to support the Eben Ezer School, visit the website: lifeandhopehaiti.org.