Helping Haiti's kids, one school at a time

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Education is the pathway for a better life for those in poverty.  But for the children of Haiti, it is an uphill battle because of the lack of schools and money.

One man is trying to change that, one school at a time.

"We opened one school starting with 12 students and one teacher," said Gil Bailie, president of Schools For Haiti, a non-profit that built schools for Haiti's poor. "Today we have four schools with over four hundred students."

Bailie started the organization in 2006 when he met a young man from Haiti named Daniel Michel. Michel was in the United States learning how to operate a drilling rig for water in Haiti.

He told Bailie about the poverty and educational system.

"The typical school for us will cost between $25,000 and $30,000 a year, and that includes the teacher, that includes the buildings, books, all of our kids are in uniform," Bailie explained.

Bailie believes the mission brings meaning to his life.

"I get such a satisfaction that I never got in business, satisfaction that I never got with money. To know that we are really helping somebody and we are doing something to help somebody else."

Bailie's goal is to build enough schools for all the children of Haiti. So, far he has built four.

LINK: www.schoolsforhaiti.com