UN mission in Haiti renovates school in suburb of capital

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti today inaugurated a renovated school in the Pétionville suburb of the Caribbean island's capital, Port-au-Prince, as the first in a series of quick impact projects that will include repairing a public centre in another suburb, Cité Soleil, and a medical centre in the capital.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and mission chief, Ambassador Juan Gabriel Valdés, commended the Brazilian contingent of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for its work on the Pétionville municipal school for 1,200 students and 30 teachers.

After undergoing the $14,000 renovation, the school's name was changed to Duque de Caxias, an army leader during Brazil's 19th century Second Empire. Alexandre Pétion was a leader and hero of Haiti's independence war nearly 200 years ago.

The SRSG said MINUSTAH's objectives included "the improvement of the living conditions of the population through security measures, humanitarian actions and economic development."