It has now been 17 days since a powerful earthquake rocked Haiti on the morning of Saturday, August 14.

On July 23, Grace Emmanuel School held its 5th commencement. Despite the issues that have plagued Haiti over the last few years—pèyi lok, insecurity, COVID-19, and most recently the assassination of the president—the 21 students who comprise the Class of 2021 never gave up on their dreams.

On July 23, Grace Emmanuel School will celebrate its fifth high school graduation. The Class of 2021 is GES’ biggest graduating class yet, with 11 women and 10 men.

This spring, Esther Lamour, 22, was chosen as one of two recipients from Grace Emmanuel School’s Class of 2020 to receive a college scholarship from JiHM. She is the first female to receive the scholarship and plans to begin studying nursing this fall.