Children don’t need to be saved.They need to be safe.
In Lamardelle, Haiti, 395 children are welcomed to school every day. FEJ provides them with food, healthcare, and education, guiding the next generation of bright lights.
Children’s safety does not only mean to be away from danger, but to have access to food, healthcare, and education. They must be allowed to grow, to live, to dream.
FEJ Canada · 2025–2026
What we achieved
Dedicated to guide thoseBorn to shape the future.
Leadership in adversity.
Despite restricted movement, rising insecurity, and economic pressure across Haiti, FEJ never closed its doors. While many schools around us shut down, our children kept coming. Our staff kept showing up. The work never stopped.
395
children in school every day
31
orphans protected & loved
61K
hot meals served in 2025
1000
people fed every day
Photo coming soon
Where it all began
When crisis hitsLeadership Transforms.
Our Story
In 1985, Lucienne Duncan looked at the children of Lamardelle, the community where she was born and raised, and saw a generation at risk. No school. No healthcare. No safety net. She built one from the inside out.
But as she worked with the children, she noticed something that changed everything: the mothers needed just as much guidance as the children. You cannot make a child safe without also supporting the woman raising them.
This realization gave birth to both programs the school for the children, Bright Lights, and Seeking Life for their mothers.
Today, Institution Mixte Lucienne A. Duncan, named in her honour and proudly serves 325 children from preschool through 6th grade. One of the oldest schools in the region. A model visited annually by organizations worldwide.
Lamardelle, Haiti · 1985
Lucienne Duncan founds FEJ. Working with children, she sees the truth: the mothers need just as much as the children.
Haiti · Chache Lavi · 2008
Seeking Life is born alongside the school. Women receive financial tools, mentorship, and community. Marie Guerdie is one of them.
Montréal · Seeking Life Montréal · 2023
FEJ Canada brings the women’s program north. Same truth, new city. The school stays in Haiti. The mission connects both.
Haiti · 2025–2026
Roads close. Gang violence. Many schools shut. FEJ staff walk when they cannot drive. 395 children still in school. The doors never closed.
Institution Mixte Lucienne A. Duncan · IMLD
A wholistic approachThe correct system.
Founded 40 years ago to serve the growing education and childcare needs of Lamardelle, IMLD is one of the oldest and most respected schools in the region, and a model visited annually by organizations seeking to learn from its approach.
Literacy & Language
Preschool through 6th grade at Institution Mixte Lucienne A. Duncan. Literacy, critical thinking, gender equality, and practical skills — in a structured, stable, caring environment.
Mathematics
Critical thinking and problem-solving. Sabine, 11, scored 89% this year and is on track to become a teacher.
Gender Equality
Actively closing the gap between girls and boys — in the classroom, in opportunity, in expectation.
Practical Skills
Sewing, embroidery, arts, crafts, and rural farming — skills that translate directly into economic independence.
Higher-Order Thinking
Problem-solving, empathy, and multicultural understanding — preparing children to navigate and shape their world.
Arts & Celebration
Music, carnival, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, year-end celebrations — because joy is also education.
Human stories · Futures transformed
Real stories.Real lives transformed.
These are the tangible impacts of your partnership. Behind every statistic is a real person. Here are two of them.
Odverne Constant · Social Worker
Sabine · 11 years old
“Excelling in math this year, with an impressive 89% score and moving closer to her dream of becoming a teacher.”
FEJ’s orphanage, supported by donors, changed Sabine’s life from having nothing to a promising future. This year, five children were adopted and are thriving in a safe environment in the US, allowing them to grow and transform their lives.
Odverne Constant · Social Worker
“Worked with FEJ for six years. Due to gang violence, he had to evacuate twice this year. Yet he returned both times, driven by his dedication to educating the children of the next generation.”
Odverne’s story reflects the commitment of every FEJ staff member, who choose to stay not out of obligation, but for the 325 children they serve. This dedication ensures these children remain in school when other programs have shut down.
Strategic partnerships · Stronger together
Not Alone.It takes a whole village
None of this happens alone. These partners keep 325 children in school, 31 orphans protected, and 1,000 people fed — every single day.
2026 Strategic priorities
With discipline and purpose,we push ahead.
Stabilize
Secure operations & rebuild financial reserves
Strengthen
hot meals served to children in 2025
Heal
Trauma-informed practices throughout all programs
Sustain
Predictable funding & cost discipline
Scale
Institutional readiness & new partnerships
Safety is not the absence of danger. It is the presence of everything a child needs to become who they are meant to be — a caring adult, a meal, a classroom, a community that refuses to give up on them.
FEJ Canada’s role
From Montréal to Lamardelle.A global community.
FEJ Canada doesn’t run the school — that is 40 years of FEJ Haiti’s work on the ground. What FEJ Canada does is ensure the resources exist to keep it running, and the story reaches people who can help.
Fundraise in Canada
Every dollar raised in Montréal goes directly to meals, healthcare, teacher salaries, and school operations in Lamardelle.
Connect the diaspora
The Haitian community in Montréal is a powerful bridge. FEJ Canada creates pathways for them to support the school they grew up hearing about.
Build partnerships
Corporate and institutional partnerships in Canada provide sustained, predictable funding the stability, Haiti’s programs need to survive crises.
Tell the story
395 children showing up every morning, even in a crisis, is a story Canadians deserve to hear. FEJ Canada makes sure they do.
Your donation for the futureShapes lives today.
Emergency gifts sustain us. Predictable funding stabilizes us. Your commitments build the future. Your donation gives 395 children a safe place to learn, a meal to grow on, and the protection to dream.
Photo coming soon