Founded in 2015, born in 1975

In the fall of 2014 Paul English and Mike Chambers travelled to Haiti to explore

Our History

In the early 1960’s Father Fritz Lafontant, an Episcopalian priest, began working in Cange, a village in the Central Plateau after identifying a severe need for basic social services in the area. Father Fritz, his wife, and their family, including Summits Education co-founder Marie Flore Chipps, grew up serving the Central Plateau through the funding and support of schools, clinics, and hospitals.

In 1983, Father Fritz and his family were joined by Paul Farmer and Ophelia Dahl, co-founders of Boston based organization Partners in Health, to support the mission of improving the lives of the poorest of the poor. Together, they started Zanmi Lasante to continue to serve the Central Plateau through the operation of clinics and hospitals.

With their lifelong ties to the Central Plateau and years of experience working within our network of schools, Summits Education is honored to be continuing the legacy of Father Fritz and the Chipps family.