Benches, desks, chairs, pencil sharpener

I have just a week left here in Haiti and I will be sad to leave.  I feel like the PECH project has really made a difference at Gentille Hirondelle school.  It was raining this morning while I was at school and I was standing in the center of all the classes pondering what they would have done with no roof in the rain.

Here are some pictures of the things I've used your donations for.  

Although life here can be frustrating and complicated, I feel the month has been a complete success.  Things take an incredibly loooonnnngggg time to get done but somehow life goes on.  Last night we were assembling some combination bench/chair/desks that I purchase with donations, for the children at school.  Prior to this, the children were smooshed 5 or 6 to a 20-year-old bench and there were elbows and knees everywhere.  The screws we had  for the benches were the wrong size so someone had to spend a morning going into Port-au-Prince looking for screws.  The drill bit was too big so someone found a store with another drill bit but it ended up being the wrong size too.  There were no other sizes.  The cord to the drill doesn’t have a plug and instead is wrapped around a live wire with a needle nosed pliers.  There weren’t enough washers to screw on to complete the job.  So we assembled the benches as best as we could, before the electricity went out again.  This morning the 5^th grade class and teacher were excited to be the first to use the new, spacious benches that were just their size!  

We also mounted a manual pencil sharpener (no reliable electricity for an electric one) this morning and the children were thrilled by it.  They all lined up to try out this new toy!  Before the pencil sharpener, all pencils were sharpened by knives (I think the parents did it at home). 

Here are also some pictures of the teachers and the chairs I purchased for them with the donations.  

Thank you again for all the support!

 

Thank you party at the school

I woke up on Tuesday to Kompa music playing at Gentille Hirondelle school around the block. They were getting ready for a party at the school.  The 18^th was Flag Day and my birthday.  And teacher appreciation day is also around this time.  So, we celebrated all three things in a ceremony and performances all day long at school.  The teachers wore suits and ties (in this 100 degree weather!) and all the children wore their best outfits.  The children, teachers, and administration also took this opportunity to thank all of you who have donated to make the roof and all the projects possible and the day was dedicated to you too!  They made a huge sign with the names of those of you who donated $500 or more (to be replaced later with a permanent one) on the wall.  They all sang happy birthday to me, thanked me for helping them, hugged me, recited speeches for me, and gave me a gift.  I pass on all this love and gratitude to all of you who supported this project. 

Despite the horrendous earthquake destruction in Port-au-Prince, the lack of sanitation, rationed electricity, oppressive heat, huge unemployment, insecurity, cholera, hurricanes, and everyday fight for survival, all of these precious moments, appreciative new friends, and those singing, dancing, laughing children give me hope that one day Haiti will be okay.  It is all truly inspirational and I am reminded again why I fell in love with this country 13 years ago.   Thanks to all of you who have donated money, books, art, and time; your gifts are truly appreciated and you really HAVE made a difference in the lives of so many Haitian children!  

Decorating the School

Last Friday we decorated the school with all the beautiful artwork created by the children in Hawaii. Those drab cinder block walls were transformed into colorful classrooms! The children were so excited and all found rocks to use as hammers to hang up the art. Thanks to all the Hawaii children who brought so many smiles to the children in Haiti.                                       

                                                            

                                                                      

Getting the library ready

As you know, one of my goals here is to create a small library at the school.  I’ve never seen a library in Haiti, so this will be something new for the children.  We plan to teach the children how to treat books and how a library works since this is a completely new concept.  To give the older children some responsibility, we’ve decided that the 6^th graders will be in charge of the library.   

We went on a 2-hour errand yesterday to buy supplies for the library (glue and envelopes to glue inside the books and index cards to write the book name and child’s name who borrows it).  We ordered a wooden bookshelf to hold the books.  Someone is making it by hand and it should be ready tomorrow. 

Here are some pictures of me and the family working together to prepare books.  There was no electricity at the time so we were using the oil lamps.

 

                                                              

Teaching at the School

children at the school loving getting their picture taken



at least 10 kids hugging me at once!

 

6th graders with their new pens and notebooks



I’ve been teaching English all week to seven classes of children at Gentille Hirondelle school.  I’ve become somewhat of a celebrity at the school and I can’t do anything without all 200 children wanting to hug me, hold my hand, touch my hair, or take a pictures.  They always ask me to take their pictures (and they are all very serious in the photos) and they LOVE to see them afterwards (and giggle like crazy).  A couple of the girls asked if they can call me “mama”.  How do you answer that?  Unfortunately, I worry that I am distracting the children from their regular teachers. 

A friend in Honolulu donated a huge box of pens to the project.  Many of the children didn’t have anything to write with at all, so my first day I gave all 200 children a pen.  I’ve never seen children so excited over a pen!  That same day, when I asked each class to copy the things I wrote on the board, about 25% of them didn’t have any paper!  So thanks to all of you donors, each child now has a simple notebook as well.  The children sit on 4-foot long benches with a 4-ft long piece of wood attached to the top as a writing surface.  In this four feet, at least 6 children smoosh in so I am going to use some of the donated money to purchase more of these "bancs"/benches.

All the children have class in the auditorium since it is the only covered area thanks to our roof, but as a result, it is extremely loud.  Each teacher has a chalkboard that has seen better days, and they each get a piece of chalk to use for the day; no white boards, no markers, no computers, no copies, no worksheets, no photocopier, no overhead,  no visual aids, no materials to manipulate. There is no hands-on learning and everything is copied from the board.  I noticed they do a lot of singing/chanting so I think it may be used as a teaching tool.  The school doesn’t have electricity or running water …or toilet paper!  Basically all it has is walls and a roof!   

The children get free lunch of rice and beans everyday, donated by the World Food Program.   So, if you've ever donated to this organization, it is helping a lot in Haiti.  Additionally, they get a package of cookies with tons of vitamins in them.  The children don't like them that much, so they take them home and moms prepare a porrriage with the cookies, water, and sugar. 

vitamin supplemented cookies

lunch at school, paid for by the World Food Program

 

                                                                

Earthquake damage and destroyed National Palace

I asked about seeing the earthquake destruction in downtown Port-au-Prince, where I heard it was worst.  Although I knew entire streets were completely destroyed, I still wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted me.  It looked like a war zone; like entire neighborhoods were bombed by enemy aircraft.  For the most part, the rubble was cleared, which did surprise me.

No doubt, the most difficult part about today was seeing the Palais, the National Palace, the “Haitian White House”.  When Mario pulled his dusty SUV up across from the palace, I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer.  The sparkling white Palace had entirely collapsed and it was totally in rubble, still surrounded by its security fence.  “What do you think?” Mario questioned.  “It is so sad.  It makes me cry”, I replied as I tried to hide my tears and cracking voice.  And so I cried for you Haiti…and I can’t stop.  Mario said, “You are true Haitian”. 

The next wave of sadness overcame me when we drove by the National Cathedral.  The beautiful pastel pink, yellow, and white cathedral was a landmark in downtown Port-au-Prince.  It was probably the prettiest building in Haiti.  It too was only a shell of its former grandeur.  I could recognize it right away because of its pastel colors, but the remaining rose window and graceful features were only skeletons in the sky.