There is a new day on the horizon at Jou Nouvo.
Welcome to the relaunch of our blog: This New Day!

Many of you have come to know our founder, Kerline Tofuri. As a little girl growing up in Bon Repos, Kerline has watched the town she once knew to be a luscious farm town turn into an impoverished and undereducated community. The sweeping losses her town suffered prompted Kerline to start Jou Nouvo in 2008 and plant the seeds of hope for a New Day in Bon Repos. As we’ve witnessed, the loss has continued to build. But as it has, Jou Nouvo’s dedication to our mission – to provide education and economic empowerment in Bon Repos Haiti, as well as a make a connection that brings our communities together to create a full cycle of hope for a new day – has remained focused and continued to encourage new hope.

2020 and 2021 have presented immense struggle to every part of the world. Haiti has been in a different type of struggle this year with the assassination of their president, Jovenel Moïse closely followed by earthquake and tropical storm, Grace. In the face of adversity, Jou Nouvo has not and will not give up on our mission, our community and our families. We continue to help alleviate some of the pain and challenges by running our programs despite it all.

Together, your support and our commitment, deliver results:

61 girls are enrolled in our Girls Scholar program
95 children attending school via our Sponsorship Program
70 adults take part in our adult literacy program
13 micro loans provided to small business owners
9 University Students in our Haiti Youth Education Fund Program
16 hard working staff bringing education to all of these people.
And our numbers continue to grow.

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The Girls Scholar Program and Summer Camp
This summer, like everyone else in the world, we navigated the virtual world with Zoom by going live to Haiti for the second time to debut our new Girls Scholar Program. In a fantastic partnership with Circle of Women, we were all moved by being able to see and hear from the young girls whose lives are being changed by this program. We saw many of these girls faces again during Jou Nouvo’s summer camp that took place at the end of July. The children participated in a range of enriching crafts and activities during the two weeks they spent at camp.

Back to School
Early this September, we were able to give 40 of the girls from the Girls Scholar Program and another 43 Jou Nouvo sponsored children brand new backpacks. Each one was brimming with supplies for this school year, thanks to our wonderful partner, Altrusa International Foundation of Plymouth County. Being able to provide materials to make learning fun and achievable for these children is part of delivering on a new day at Jou Nouvo.

Despite all that has been going on this summer, the work on Jou Nouvo’s new community center has continued. As it nears completion and the academic year approaches, our hope is that this space will become a significant asset to the students and the community — in enriching their education experience through access to technology, resources, and a conducive environment. We too hope it will bring the community together under a shared desire to collaborate as well a act as a beacon of hope for a brighter future in Bon Repos.

Jou Nouvo remains committed to Bon Repos and has so much planned for the year ahead. Despite any challenge that may come our way, with your continued support, we are equipped to Educate. Enrich. And Empower.