Woodmy's Story: The LIFE Academy Difference

To Mika and Kam, their friend, Woodmy, isn’t “different”… he’s just Woodmy. These now 5-year-olds understand what many adults in Haiti do not. They understand the inherent worth, value, and dignity of every person regardless of ability or disability.

The VouDou influence on Haitian culture has led many Haitians to believe that anyone who is “different”, like Woodmy, is cursed or possessed, and therefore disposable.

In other places around Haiti, children like Woodmy would likely be ostracised, have rocks thrown at them, or even killed. But not in Neply.

Woodmy is loved by his family, classmates, peers, and teachers. He is treated the same as other students. He is celebrated and loved for exactly who he is, as God made him.

Woodmy is 5 years old and a Kindergartener at LIFE Academy. His favorite activity in school is identifying shapes and colors.