Ann Prepare Lavni, or APL, is an organization at UC Davis that promotes bilingual education in schools and helps children continue their education in Anse-a-Pitres, Haiti. Without this program, the children would otherwise not have access to education because of the poverty in the country.

The organization helps Haitian students commit to their country and show pride for their language, culture and historical background by raising money for school supplies and hygiene products for more than 200 Haitian students.

Although the organization was formed and currently operates at UC Davis, there are 15 Sacramento State students interested in joining.

Senior neuro-psychology major Lidia Tavarez said the organization started with the Poverty Alleviation Action Grant her sister, Carolina, applied for at UC Davis.

Carolina, the founder and director of APL, proposed going to Haiti and enhancing free education by providing English and Spanish classes for Haitian children, Lidia Tavarez said. This could enhance their education, graduate from high school and in the end, alleviate the poverty or have a better outcome than most children do.

Lidia Tavarez said she helped her sister with the grant application process and Carolina received the grant earlier this year. However, it only covered the first-time trip and it does not require the continuation of offering the work or support proposed in the selected country.

“Just going there once and spending two weeks with kids wasn’t going to have that much of an impact if nobody kept it going,” Lidia Tavarez said.

Lidia said Carolina thought about continuing the education project in Haiti and talked about it with some of her friends. Lidia Tavarez also said they were hoping to change the one-time project into a lifetime organization.

Carolina Tavarez said she thought the idea of helping children in Haiti was good, but taking it a step forward by providing materials would be much more helpful, especially if they are items people buy in big packs.

Some of the items children need include notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, books, clothing and everyday necessities such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap, but they were not covered by the grant, Lidia Tavarez said.

“You would not believe the number of people who have tons of these things because someone at the beginning of the summer looks through the closet, takes everything out and does a yard sale,” Lidia Tavarez said. “Instead of doing a yard sale, why not give that for a kid in Haiti?”

Carolina said although French is the official language of Haiti, 90 percent of the population speaks Haitian Creole. Haiti also shares the island with the Dominican Republic where Spanish is spoken.

Carolina said offering language classes in Spanish and English will help Haitian children have access to high quality education they would not have been able to afford and allowing them to understand what is happening in their country.

“We live in a multilingual world and English is the main language of business,” Carolina said. “We want the students to be ready for any career and professional opportunities, that is why we are giving them free access to these classes.”

APL has been successful in raising donated supplies and many boxes have been mailed to Anse-a-Pitres said Lidia Tavarez.

Senior sociology and Chicana studies major Anna Acosta from UC Davis has been a member for five months. Acosta said she joined APL because she shared the passion as an advocate for education with Carolina. Acosta was told by her mom that one of her co-workers’ nine family members died in the 2010 earthquake.

“I was very saddened and wanted to do something because I knew Haiti was undeniably in need,” Acosta said.

Acosta said she enjoys being an APL member because of the main objective.

“It is very rewarding for me to be part of APL because I know I am making a difference in the lives of these kids,” Acosta said. “The aftermath is my favorite part because they bring pictures and videos of the children and their progress. When you see their smiles you cannot help, but feel proud of the positive changes we as a team are making.”

Lidia and Carolina said they would like to raise awareness about Haiti in Sacramento and among college students.

APL will host “An Evening for Haiti,” an event on Nov. 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the International House of Davis.

The event will include information on how to join and help fundraise for a library in Anse-a-Pitres, Haiti.

“We are not only going to introduce people to our project but also to the Haitian culture (with) African and Haitian food, and dancers,” Lidia Tavarez said.

APL will have president of Solano Community College Jowel Laguerre as the keynote speaker. Laguerre, who is Haitian, also has a group of students working to help out the Haiti cause.

“We want to raise awareness to the community that our job here is to enhance the education, which will then enhance the economy, the community and overall (Haitians’) way of living,” Lidia Tavarez said.

Leticia Lopez can be reached at [email protected]