How Children Can Help

How children can help:

1. We invite children, classrooms, schools, art classes, etc…to create artwork or poetry that I can take to Haiti on my May 3^rd trip.  We’ll use the artwork to decorate the new school that is being built to replace the one destroyed by the earthquake.  Please laminate the artwork so that it lasts longer.  Artwork can be any size, any flat medium, and created by any age.  Feel free to involve your child’s school, class, church, etc…

Please mail laminated artwork to:

PECH

3313 Monsarrat Ave.

Honolulu, HI 96815

USA

How to laminate?  Many elementary schools in the US have laminating machines.  Otherwise, the cheapest place to laminate things is at a teacher's supply store/education store.  Office supply stores sell self adhesive laminate sheets that can laminate a standard piece of paper.  Office stores also often have larger laminating machines.  For last resort, check Fedex Kinkos, but they are expensive. 

As you can see from the pictures, schools can't afford many decorations and are pretty simple.  These two classroom pictures are of the school before the earthquake.  In May, I’ll take pictures of your artwork in the Gentille Hirondelle school in Tabarre, Port-au-Prince, Haiti and post them on this blog. 

some of the Gentille Hirondelle students in their class before the earthquake struck

 

2. A second way children can help is by donating their gently used, English language, early reader books (generally k-4^th grade reading levels).  We’ll use these books in the English program we will be beginning at Gentille Hirondelle school in May 2011.  If we receive a large number of books, we plan to start a small library in the school so families can check out books.  We are also accepting gently used French, Spanish, and Kreyol children’s books for the library.  When I was in Haiti for 9 months in 1998, I never saw a library-I don’t think they have them.  You can mail the books to me at the above address.  If you mail via “media mail” at the post office, it will be cheaper.

3. A third way children can help is by donating gently used educational toys such as puzzles, board games, science kits, etc…Since the school has only rationed electricity and the families cannot afford to buy batteries, please do not send anything requiring batteries or electricity.  I have limited space to bring these down, so the small the better!  You can mail them to the above address as well. In reality, I prefer you make a donation specifically for educational toys and I will purchase them in Haiti or the Dominican Republic.