RCCL Cruise ship at Labadie, Haiti

The news from Haiti recently has been uniformly bad.  In addition to earthquake damage,  outbreaks of cholera are now sweeping the country. One bright spot is a new school, L’Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean.  Built by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, it is one of the first new schools to open after last January’s  earthquake.

Royal Caribbean announces opening of its new school in Haiti

The strategically located 6,500 square foot school complex is in northern Haiti near nine towns and villages: Labadie, Cormier, Ducroix, Fort Bourgeois, Marchegalles, Cimetiere-Juif, Champ de Mars, Port Francais and Cap Haitien. The campus consists of six buildings, with 12 classrooms, administrative offices, a computer lab and bathrooms. The school will provide children from the area an education, including classes in English and environmental stewardship. In the evenings adults will attend vocational training.

In delivering the school to the Haitian people as promised, Royal Caribbean worked with South Florida based InnoVida and the St. Coleman’s School, as well as Haiti based ProDev, L’Ecole Nouvelle Zoranje and the Solano Foundation.

“What better way to help Haiti than by educating the children?” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ” Haiti’s needs are enormous, and although we can only be a small part of the solution, we believe our model school is a good start. We hope that these children will develop into leaders who will guide Haiti’s recovery in the future.”

The school is on land Royal Caribbean leases from the Haitian government.