Eight ESCP Bachelor in Management (BSc) students representing the School’s Sharing Hope Society travelled to Haiti in August to support paediatric centre St Damien, the only hospital in the country that treats childhood cancer. 

During the 2018/19 academic year, students raised funds to support the rehydration centre at the hospital and to prepare for voluntary trip, part of a project developed by NPH International. Our London-based students worked closely with the NPH UK and raised £1,500.

Sharing Hope Society was established at the London campus in 2018 by five Bachelor in Management (BSc) students, and is one of many thriving student societies at ESCP. The aim for this group was to create a link between business school students and NPH (Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos), providing an opportunity to share their skills in the field of humanitarian work. 

NPH International is based in nine countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and provides life-changing support for thousands of children through a secure and loving home, comprehensive healthcare, and a good quality education to help them fulfil their potential. 

In August, eight ESCP students travelled to the NPH Home in Haiti developed by Fondazione Francesca Rava (NPH Italy). Costanza Ferreira de Almeida, Bachelor student and President and Co-Founder of the Sharing Hope Society, has been an active member within this home. Students helped the local community by distributing food in Cité Soleil, one of the biggest slums in the world, as well as spending time with children in the St Damien paediatric hospital and the Kay St Helene Orphanage in Kenscoff.

NPH Haiti opened a residential care home for orphaned and abandoned children in 1987. St. Helene provides a secure and loving family environment for over 400 children who also go to school on-site and receive medical care, nutritious food and emotional support to help them overcome their often difficult pasts. Children are encouraged to fulfil their potential and are supported through further education such as university degrees and vocational qualifications.

In 2018, thanks to supporters like the Sharing Hope Society, the St Damien hospital delivered 2,689 babies, provided over 16,600 consultations, carried out 26 heart surgeries and treated 86 new cases of cancer. The hospital had 368 malnutrition admissions, treated over 1,000 children for dehydration, administered over 6,000 life-saving vaccinations, and treated 218 new cases of tuberculosis.
 

You can watch students’ testimonials and the video promoting the project here: https://youtu.be/GJfr8qzSw5w
 

With the new academic year in mind, the Sharing Hope Society will continue its work with NPH International; Costanza Ferreira de Almeida, now based at ESCP’s Paris campus, will start developing the society across different campuses. 

In the students’ words: “The world is in our hands. We have the opportunity to raise awareness among the next generation in order to make them better citizens. Sharing Hope is a society that allows students to be in touch with deprived communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
 

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