Celebrating our students: EduHaitian charity founder and International Studies graduate Olivia Owen

Olivia Owen is co-founder and director of EduHaitian, a non-profit organisation formed after the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake to help meet the educational needs of young people from kindergarden to university level in Port-au-Prince.

Having originally left school at 15, this week Olivia’s graduating with a 2:1 BA in International Studies from the Department of Politics.

Olivia, 24, grew up in High Wycombe and currently splits her time between London and her hometown. “I chose to study at Goldsmiths because of the honest conversations I had with the Department of Politics on Open Day; they appreciated my non-conventional background and made me feel unashamed of my past,” she explains.

“My time at Goldsmiths began in 2012. I was curious, hugely ambitious and dedicated to making sense of the complex world I had experienced before I began my studies. My education had, so far, been a series of redefinitions, discoveries and failures.”

Olivia left school at 15 when personal circumstances obstructed her ability to continue with her education. “My attitude towards institutional education was poor and it wasn’t until I trained as an early years educator that I truly understood the transformative effects of environments where individuals can thrive,” she says. “After a radical self-transformation, I became a self-appointed ambassador of learning.”

Having made this realisation, Olivia has dedicated her time to enabling others to renovate their lives in a similar way.

Haiti's earthquake "put my problem into perspective"

“My first trip to Haiti was inspired by a mix of naivety and desire to do something. It was sitting in my house, watching the news and struggling to write a college assignment that prompted my decision to travel to Haiti to volunteer. As I paced around frustrated, I was interrupted by a news outlet sharing a five minute breaking news update of the earthquake rescue situation. Putting my problem into perspective, I was gripped on the recovery effort from that point onward.

“I was inexperienced, and I’ve learnt that we have responsibility to listen first and do second. I did not have any humanitarian experience prior to this and have learnt a significant amount of knowledge from the incredible local staff that I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside, and the students that have been in our programme year after year. Without them our programme would not exist!”

Olivia worked in office administration for a year before starting a two year diploma in childcare and education at East Berkshire College. While setting up EduHaitian, she worked as an early years educator in a primary school, and travelled to Haiti to launch the charity’s programme during the school breaks.

After meeting Emma Walsh in Haiti following the earthquake of January 12th, 2010, the two women began working with local community leaders. Through their work they learned about some of the more fundamental issues that affect Haiti’s young people, namely the difficulty in accessing education.

Championing students as experts in their situation

“Nearly 60 per cent of children in Port-au-Prince are unable to finish primary school, mostly due to the inability to pay for tuition and the lack of functioning education facilities, but providing Haitian children with an education is a significant contributor to building strength and sustainability in their community. We believe that a chance to learn gives the individual the tools required to direct the change needed to reform their present and future environments. We champion the students as experts in their situation,” Olivia explains.

While in Haiti, Olivia and Emma were introduced to Junie Bertrand (EduHaitian’s local partner) and worked with her to address the needs of students, creating the EduHaitian sponsorship programme for people to donate towards tuition and educational supplies.

“We set up an organisation with educational transformation at its heart,” says Olivia. “And then I came to Goldsmiths to challenge what I thought I already knew.”

She’ll be addressing her graduating class and their families as one of this year’s student orators, chosen for her unusual experience and commitment to a life creating educational opportunities for others.

Olivia says: “In a country where education is inaccessible for a large majority of the population, I dedicate my time to supporting the most marginalised in gaining access to learning opportunities. I still do this job, but thanks to my university experiences, I’m now a different person doing it.”

"Goldsmiths has taught me to make sense of a world rife with inequalities"

She adds: “Goldsmiths has taught me to make sense of a world rife with inequalities, historical differences and complex dependencies. A problem that I thought existed elsewhere is an equally persistent challenge here in the UK. Access to higher education is not as equal or anywhere near as accessible as it should be.

“But I do believe that Goldsmiths is the pioneer in its endeavour to create an inclusive learning environment for those of us that have been lucky enough to study here. My experience here, through multiple failures and successes, has shaped me and my sense of the world.”

During her years here Olivia has spoken in schools and to businesses and charities, sharing her thoughts on finding an educational journey that fits the individual. She’s acted as the London Ambassador for Thousand Network, a global network of change-makers, and also works as an Events and Engagement Consultant for Spark Inside - a charity that strives to reduce youth re-offending through rehabilitation.

Olivia adds: “Our work is not one that seeks attention, it is not one that seeks to create admiration; it is to make a difference one by one and to inspire and nurture others to aspire for an ideal.”