Haiti Partners co-founder John Engle and wife Merline were delightfully upstaged by their beautiful daughter Leila, who spoke to guests last Thursday evening at the sixth annual Educate and Celebrate fundraiser at the Grand Harbor Golf Club to benefit Haiti Partners, a Vero Beach-based nonprofit whose mission is to help Haitians change Haiti through education.

The Engle family now resides in Vero Beach, but Leila spoke eloquently about their seven years in Haiti, saying that even at age 2 she noticed the disparity of the life she and her brother Danial enjoyed, in relation to that of Haitian children, where 50 percent are too poor to attend school.

“We are here to help create possibilities and to give hope, not only for kids in our community, but also to serve as a bridge for others around the world who seek meaning in their personal lives and who want to make a difference,” said Leila.

Before she spoke, guests at the Passport to Haiti-themed event were given ‘passports’ made of handmade paper which were stamped at information stations manned by volunteers and turned in for prize drawings. The plant-fiber paper, used for artistic projects, is just one way parents are engaged in long-term strategies to support the Haiti Partners Children’s Academy and earn service hours to provide their children with a quality education.

While enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, guests also browsed tables laden with Haitian artifacts to purchase through silent and live auctions and a Haitian marketplace.

The Children’s Academy is a school-based community development model, where 216 students attend school and parents are taught entrepreneurship. Financial and educational support is provided to another 1,000 students at six partner schools, and 50 Micah Scholars have or will soon receive bachelor’s degrees to work with churches to educate their communities and protect vulnerable women and children.

With co-founder Kent Annan currently in Haiti, his wife, Pastor Shelly Satran of Our Savior Lutheran Church, shared his greetings and activities, reading, “I’m with the people whose lives you are changing. This is the kind of serious hope that you are part of by being here tonight and supporting Haiti Partners.”

Engle noted that while Haiti is just a two-hour flight from Orlando, its extreme poverty and social injustice renders it “a world away from Disney.”

“In terms of preparing children for a future that we can’t predict, we have to rethink everything. And we’re involved with people who are working on that; people who are working together to prepare and inspire change-makers,” said Engle, adding that their model is getting attention by influencing the paradigm of education and leadership.

For more information, visit haitipartners.org.