The CDFI School at West Haven
The CDFI School at West Haven
The CDFI School at West Haven provides special education services to the children and young adults living at West Haven Children’s Home. CDFI believes in the basic right of every child to have the opportunity to reach their full potential, including the opportunity to receive an appropriate education. Our school also provides various extra learning and community inclusion opportunities throughout the year including:
• Periodic field trips to local game parks, water parks and the beach
• Music and art days
• Annual sports days
• Direct one-on-one intervention with children unable to leave their beds
• Christmas and other parties throughout the year
• Participation for athletes living at West Haven in the Jamaican Special Olympics
The History of our School
In September of 2012, in partnership with the Child Development Agency of Jamaica, CDFI established The CDFI School at West Haven. CDFI’s mission, up until that point, included sending volunteer teams to work directly with the children, providing adaptive wheelchairs, educational and recreational equipment, sensory toys, clothing and other essential resources. In 2011, CDFI identified the need for a more sustainable learning solution for the children and young adults living at West Haven. Thus, the idea of The CDFI School was born.
Through the generosity of our donors, CDFI was able to hire two full-time special education teachers for West Haven (we now have 3). CDFI then made substantial renovations to a small, abandoned school house on the West Haven campus. Today, the teachers provide a customized special education curriculum for the residents of West Haven, but perhaps more importantly, they are a continuous, tangible representation of God’s love for the special children living at this orphanage
To Help
The CDFI School at West Haven is funded solely by individual donations, churches and civic group partners. The School is open and operating full-time. It is not, however, fully funded and we need your help to keep this special school open and operating. Click below to donate.
