A few days before the start of the school year, scheduled for September 7, 2026, by the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), many Haitian families are facing significant financial difficulties. Between tuition fees, school supplies and other back-to-school expenses, some parents are still struggling to gather the money needed to send their children to school.

For Mara, preparing for the start of the school year is “catastrophic, worrying.” Financial difficulties make school-related expenses particularly hard to manage. She believes that cutting expenses is not enough to solve the financial problems faced by many parents. The loss of a job, the absence of a business and the lack of income further complicate preparations for the school year.