About Au Centre

Au Centre is a forgotten village of sub-subsistence farmers with about 200 families. It is located in the Southern mountains near the town of Beaumont, which is 130 miles and a 2-day drive from Port au Prince. It is remote even by Haitian standards.

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Au Centre is at the very edge of the Pico Macaya National Park. This is coffee country, with residents also growing black beans, corn and root crops. People live on survival’s edge through hard work, intelligence, and a good sense of humor. They experience a perilous life that people born to comfort find hard to comprehend.

Most residents cannot afford school for their children nor any medical care. It's hard to make money when food production takes up most of your life.

The village people are sincere and warm hearted. It is sparse, but beautiful and clean. It is a very peaceful village, having no electricity, evening times are spent close to a black sky glittering with stars. Visitors are impressed with its sense of isolation and the peacefulness that comes with it.

The village depends on one small spring located about 1/4 mile down a steep footpath from the village center. Most water is transported in plastic jugs by village children. Because the spring is not contained in a sanitary tank, it is subject to contamination when dirty utensils are placed in the water, or when people walk inside the open tank. In some dry summers the spring goes completely dry, putting the village into a very precarious situation.
It’s a hard life of poverty, and many children may get only a piece of yam or cassava for their main meal and so we are instituting a school lunch program to strengthen our students.
While our education program is the right place to start, we can’t bring the whole community up without addressing other critical needs. It always comes back to Water, Health, and Economics.

Summary:

With so little cash in the economy, the people of Au Centre face a daunting list of grave problems:
Infrastructure: There is no potable water, and no electricity. The first rough 4WD road has just been completed
Health: A privately owned health clinic is 2 hours walk from the village. Services provided cost money, so are out of reach of residents.
Economy: There has been no investment money, so no possibility of starting businesses.
Education: Until now most kids couldn't afford to attend school. There is no municipal land or public school system.