Yesterday, exactly three months after the earthquake, the College Catherine Flon re-opened. Because of the collapse and damage to their buildings, they have had to spread their classes over several sites in Carrefour, holding classes both outdoors and indoors (in one-story buildings only). This arrangement will continue until the new building and renovations can occur.
With nearly everyone in Port-au-Prince still out of work, students are unable to pay tuition, but the school is welcoming everyone back who wants to study. As many students lost their homes in the earthquake, and therefore all of their possessions, students are not required to wear uniforms now. Teachers are working without pay - with the hope that the Haitian government will deliver on its promise to pay teachers at some point in the future.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
A "work" day at College Catherine Flon
Yesterday, at the College Catherine Flon in Carrefour, Haiti, our group met with the school administrators, and then with the teachers to hear about their vision and to brainstorm with them ways to re-open the school and re-build the buildings. Rachel continues to be an A+ translator. Later in the day, those groups then met together for a strategy session. Nearly everyday, despite the rubble and the continued school closure, groups of teachers & staff meet to plan for the future. The whole time, we could hear a continuous "clank-clank" and "boom" as the workers chipped away at the rubble.
Job arrived with the bag of medications for people in the tent camp that Anne had seen last month and had been transported to Haiti by a doctor last week.
Dan and Mark had a discussion group with students and recent graduates. Matt, Lee and Tracy took measurements on every square inch of the library building so that the structural engineer, Ned, can continue do final design and drawings of the reinforcements needed for the building. The classrooms, library and computer rooms continue to be filled with dust from the earthquake. The only sign of movement is that someone has erased the date from all the chalkboards. Last month, they all still read "12 January 2010", with the corresponding lesson of the day, as if frozen in time. Perhaps erasing it is a sign of moving forward...
We also saw the little girl, Meloonda, who was crushed in the rubble again. She has a spinal cord injury of some sort and badly needs some expert treatment, according to a specialist she (finally!) saw this month. Clearly, her condition has improved since last month -- that is good news! She can now hold her head up for about three seconds at a time and can faintly squeeze someone's finger. We are working a means of transport, pro-bono medical care and therapy for her.
A good day, with lots of impressive signs of recovery and progress that our Haitian friends are making -- even as we all note that the journey will be so long.
Job arrived with the bag of medications for people in the tent camp that Anne had seen last month and had been transported to Haiti by a doctor last week.
Dan and Mark had a discussion group with students and recent graduates. Matt, Lee and Tracy took measurements on every square inch of the library building so that the structural engineer, Ned, can continue do final design and drawings of the reinforcements needed for the building. The classrooms, library and computer rooms continue to be filled with dust from the earthquake. The only sign of movement is that someone has erased the date from all the chalkboards. Last month, they all still read "12 January 2010", with the corresponding lesson of the day, as if frozen in time. Perhaps erasing it is a sign of moving forward...
We also saw the little girl, Meloonda, who was crushed in the rubble again. She has a spinal cord injury of some sort and badly needs some expert treatment, according to a specialist she (finally!) saw this month. Clearly, her condition has improved since last month -- that is good news! She can now hold her head up for about three seconds at a time and can faintly squeeze someone's finger. We are working a means of transport, pro-bono medical care and therapy for her.
A good day, with lots of impressive signs of recovery and progress that our Haitian friends are making -- even as we all note that the journey will be so long.
Progress!
Not at all ready to deem anything a "success" yet, but certainly, there are signs of progress everywhere. Throughout Port-au-Prince, all roads now appear to be open and cleared of rubble. There are noticeably more heavy pieces of equipment (bulldozers, front-end loaders, etc) now than a month ago. Street life -- "sidewalk" merchants, traffic, and pedestrians -- seems to have returned to something resembling pre-earthquake levels.
More specifically, at the College Catherine Flon, about two-thirds of the rubble from the collapsed building has been removed by the government-sponsored cash-for-work program -- tens of people in yellow t-shirts breaking up the rubble with pick-axes and depositing it with shovels in dump trucks. All student records, financial ledgers, desks, chairs and chalkboards have been removed from the damaged building that needs to be demolished. Everything is now stored in another building and in a truck container on-site, that is doubling as a makeshift office for the school's headmaster.
Yesterday, there was much discussion and brainstorming about how and when to start school again. Most argued for starting it soon in order to get kids off the streets and give them hope. Others argued that it is too soon and the emotional wounds are still too raw. There is much conern about how to financially operate the school. 80% of schools in Haiti are private, including the College Catherine Flon. If nearly everyone in Haiti is out of work (or working for little or no pay), how will students be able to pay tuition? And if there are no tuition payments coming in, how will schools be able to pay teachers and purchase supplies?
Further discussion was around if and when students and teachers will be willing to re-enter multi-story concrete buildings that have been deemed earthquake-resistant. The psychological trauma is so strong that many cannot bring themselves to enter any building with more than one floor.
While meeting with a group of teachers, we asked how many were sleepeing outside of their homes, in tents or on the street. Every single hand went up. Among a group of students with whom we met, every single one had lost a friend in the earthquake -- some indicated they had lost five or more friends. But there are eager to continue their studies and, as one teacher commented, completing their education gives life and respect to the dreams that their now deceased parents or friends had for them.
More specifically, at the College Catherine Flon, about two-thirds of the rubble from the collapsed building has been removed by the government-sponsored cash-for-work program -- tens of people in yellow t-shirts breaking up the rubble with pick-axes and depositing it with shovels in dump trucks. All student records, financial ledgers, desks, chairs and chalkboards have been removed from the damaged building that needs to be demolished. Everything is now stored in another building and in a truck container on-site, that is doubling as a makeshift office for the school's headmaster.
Yesterday, there was much discussion and brainstorming about how and when to start school again. Most argued for starting it soon in order to get kids off the streets and give them hope. Others argued that it is too soon and the emotional wounds are still too raw. There is much conern about how to financially operate the school. 80% of schools in Haiti are private, including the College Catherine Flon. If nearly everyone in Haiti is out of work (or working for little or no pay), how will students be able to pay tuition? And if there are no tuition payments coming in, how will schools be able to pay teachers and purchase supplies?
Further discussion was around if and when students and teachers will be willing to re-enter multi-story concrete buildings that have been deemed earthquake-resistant. The psychological trauma is so strong that many cannot bring themselves to enter any building with more than one floor.
While meeting with a group of teachers, we asked how many were sleepeing outside of their homes, in tents or on the street. Every single hand went up. Among a group of students with whom we met, every single one had lost a friend in the earthquake -- some indicated they had lost five or more friends. But there are eager to continue their studies and, as one teacher commented, completing their education gives life and respect to the dreams that their now deceased parents or friends had for them.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Sleeping under a roof
Yesterday afternoon, there was an aftershock. And then last night, I slept under a roof in Haiti for the first time since the earthquake. Admittedly, it took me some time to set aside my anxiety and fall asleep even though Ned (structural engineer) had already inspected Jacques' apartments and deemed them of sound construction and earthquake-resistant. But somehow, the psychological trauma of the earthquake is almost contagious. When so many are still sleeping in a tent or on the street out of fear, it is hard not to wonder while falling asleep under a roof who is the rational one....
The rainy season
As I write, it is raining, and has been for the last fifteen minutes -- absolutely pouring rain. The kind of rain that normally, we all might enjoy listening to as it pelts the tin roof above. Except that now, here in Port-au-Prince, such a downpour means a potentially wet night for the thousands who continue to sleep in make-shift tents or on the street.
Four weeks after Shenandoah's last trip to Haiti, there are already signs of change. The Saint-Fort family has started spending more time in their house, although they continue to sleep outside (in a Rotary Shelter Box tent) -- a sign that the post-earthquake anxiety has yet to go away. But there are obviously others who have now begun to sleep in their homes. This evening as we drove through Pacot, there was not a single tent set up in the middle of the road -- whereas a month ago, there would have been a dozen just in this neighborhood. Some roads are now passable, as the rubble has been cleared. And it seems that on every block, another store has re-opened -- sometimes inside, other times, out on the roadside.
We spent this morning in Deschappelles at the Hopital Albert Schweitzer. Again, their enterprise is impressive. The prosthetics lab is completely up and running, and in its first month, has served 140 people. Lee and Matt did an assessment of the hospital's energy needs, while Mark, Tracy, Dan, Rachel and Willio toured with the HAS director, Ian Rawson.
While we continue to be very security-conscious and are taking precautions (including a police officer with us at all times), all of us have noticed -- and the Haitians have been commenting on -- that the level of lawlessness or insecurity is considerably less than had been expected.
But if the security situation is better than anticipated, the communications and "plan" is clearly beginning to fall short of expectations. The widely-held perception among Haitians seems to be that everyday, the plan for what to do about transitional housing, where to put the internally-displaced, and how & when to re-build what changes. More than ever in Haiti, who you know in the government or NGO community is the only way to get substantial help: whether you want to have the rubble of your home cleared, a large tent to set up a temporary school, or permission to begin re-building.
Four weeks after Shenandoah's last trip to Haiti, there are already signs of change. The Saint-Fort family has started spending more time in their house, although they continue to sleep outside (in a Rotary Shelter Box tent) -- a sign that the post-earthquake anxiety has yet to go away. But there are obviously others who have now begun to sleep in their homes. This evening as we drove through Pacot, there was not a single tent set up in the middle of the road -- whereas a month ago, there would have been a dozen just in this neighborhood. Some roads are now passable, as the rubble has been cleared. And it seems that on every block, another store has re-opened -- sometimes inside, other times, out on the roadside.
We spent this morning in Deschappelles at the Hopital Albert Schweitzer. Again, their enterprise is impressive. The prosthetics lab is completely up and running, and in its first month, has served 140 people. Lee and Matt did an assessment of the hospital's energy needs, while Mark, Tracy, Dan, Rachel and Willio toured with the HAS director, Ian Rawson.
While we continue to be very security-conscious and are taking precautions (including a police officer with us at all times), all of us have noticed -- and the Haitians have been commenting on -- that the level of lawlessness or insecurity is considerably less than had been expected.
But if the security situation is better than anticipated, the communications and "plan" is clearly beginning to fall short of expectations. The widely-held perception among Haitians seems to be that everyday, the plan for what to do about transitional housing, where to put the internally-displaced, and how & when to re-build what changes. More than ever in Haiti, who you know in the government or NGO community is the only way to get substantial help: whether you want to have the rubble of your home cleared, a large tent to set up a temporary school, or permission to begin re-building.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Death and Resurrection
As Haiti rebuilds this Easter, one-to-one relationships key
The following post by university president Tracy Fitzsimmons was published as an editorial in the Winchester Star, Saturday, April 3.
This week, Haitian President Rene Preval and senior officials from around the world met at an International Donor Conference at the United Nations to discuss short- and long-term support for Haiti.
Having just returned from Haiti two weeks ago, I can attest that the situation there continues to be dire. More than one million people are still homeless after the earthquake and half a million people are being fed through public food lines. That means that nearly 10 percent of the population is sleeping in a tent or on the streets, and 5 percent have no ability to provide food for themselves or their families.
Even in the face of such immediate human suffering, however, the international community needs to begin shifting its focus from basic humanitarian aid to the re-building of Haiti.
An estimated 4,200 schools have collapsed or been damaged beyond repair. Many churches are destroyed. And nearly every significant government building is in rubble. Quite simply, there is no place to educate, govern, or worship. How can we ever hope for stability and democracy for Haiti without such public spaces?
Yet the Haitian people are resilient and full of hope. They believe deeply that their capital city — and their lives — can and should be re-built. Even as they continue to mourn their dead and sleep on the streets, they are worshipping in outdoor church services, planning to re-open schools in tents, and holding steadfast to the belief that from suffering comes opportunity.
Right now in Haiti, one of the most popular songs (written by a Shenandoah University alumnus!) is called “N’a Leve.” It says, “We will rise, we will stand up, we will dry the tears from our eyes . . . suffering brings opportunity . . . hand in hand, with God guiding us . . . we will make our country beautiful.”
At this time of year, I am mindful that the Easter story of death and re-birth holds lessons not only for each of us, but for how we think of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
The devastation in Haiti is awe-inspiring. Everyone has a friend or family member who was killed. Yet this is the time to dwell not on the destruction in Haiti, but on the possibilities of resurrection for that country. The global community has a chance to help re-build the country and help its people to emerge with better livelihoods and hope for a stable future.
From death, comes life. Just this week, the only known copy of Haiti’s declaration of independence was discovered in a British archive, reminding the country of its moment of birth.
If Haiti is indeed to be re-built, it will be because international support continues. But it does not have to be done all through governmental support. Nearly half of all U.S. households have donated to Haitian earthquake relief thus far, according to government estimates. Now is the time for American individuals and organizations to take it to the next level. Without one-to-one partnerships, school-to-school and church-to-church, the rebuilding of Haiti will take decades.
Here at Shenandoah University, we are doing our part. The university has committed to help the College Catherine Flon in Carrefour, Haiti reopen and rebuild. Catherine Flon, a K-12 school, was largely destroyed by the earthquake. It serves a mostly low-income population and has a reputation for graduating students who become upstanding citizens employed as police officers, teachers, and mid-level government workers.
Most immediately, we are helping the school secure large tents and supplies with which to start up temporarily while the rubble of its buildings is cleared. As well, we have begun to collect funds to help them re-construct their buildings.
Reaching out to our fellow global citizens is a long-standing tradition at Shenandoah and part of the university’s core values. Our students, faculty, and staff have been actively involved in service projects and mission work for decades, from providing health care to underserved communities in Nicaragua to assisting residents of the Gulf Coast in rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.
For Shenandoah, the connection with this Haitian school is significant because it is the school that our two current SU students from Haiti attended and where their father is the principal.
The goal for the Shenandoah team that traveled to Haiti in March was to listen to the dreams and needs of the principal, faculty, and students of the College Catherine Flon and to understand its role in the community.
As one Haitian man explained to me, “Everyone here in Carrefour is watching what happens with College Catherine Flon. If it rebuilds and opens again, then it will give the rest of us hope. If they rebuild, then so will many others.”
That school has earned a leadership position in the community because of its good work. They don’t need Shenandoah to tell them what to do, but they do need assistance in achieving those goals in this challenging post-earthquake environment.
On one chalkboard in a partially collapsed building at the College Catherine Flon, the quote-of-the-day for Jan. 12 remains: Tant vaut l'école, tant vaut la nation, or “As the schools go, so goes the nation.” Indeed, without a concerted effort to begin to rebuild the schools, places of worship, and government buildings soon, the rainy season will wash away Haiti's best possibilities to come out of this earthquake stronger than before.
I invite local citizens and organizations to join Shenandoah’s effort to rebuild the College Catherine Flon. Whether it is $5 or $50,000, I pledge that 100 percent of any funds donated will go to help rebuild that school and to get those 5,000 kids in Carrefour back in classes. That’s a good investment in their education, and a small step for Haitian democracy. And as Easter approaches, it’s a symbolic gesture of resurrection.
Shenandoah University is collecting funds but will not use operating or tuition funds for this project. To join this effort, send a check to “Shenandoah University-Haiti School” to 1460 University Drive, Winchester, Va. 22601.
Having just returned from Haiti two weeks ago, I can attest that the situation there continues to be dire. More than one million people are still homeless after the earthquake and half a million people are being fed through public food lines. That means that nearly 10 percent of the population is sleeping in a tent or on the streets, and 5 percent have no ability to provide food for themselves or their families.
Even in the face of such immediate human suffering, however, the international community needs to begin shifting its focus from basic humanitarian aid to the re-building of Haiti.
An estimated 4,200 schools have collapsed or been damaged beyond repair. Many churches are destroyed. And nearly every significant government building is in rubble. Quite simply, there is no place to educate, govern, or worship. How can we ever hope for stability and democracy for Haiti without such public spaces?
Yet the Haitian people are resilient and full of hope. They believe deeply that their capital city — and their lives — can and should be re-built. Even as they continue to mourn their dead and sleep on the streets, they are worshipping in outdoor church services, planning to re-open schools in tents, and holding steadfast to the belief that from suffering comes opportunity.
Right now in Haiti, one of the most popular songs (written by a Shenandoah University alumnus!) is called “N’a Leve.” It says, “We will rise, we will stand up, we will dry the tears from our eyes . . . suffering brings opportunity . . . hand in hand, with God guiding us . . . we will make our country beautiful.”
At this time of year, I am mindful that the Easter story of death and re-birth holds lessons not only for each of us, but for how we think of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
The devastation in Haiti is awe-inspiring. Everyone has a friend or family member who was killed. Yet this is the time to dwell not on the destruction in Haiti, but on the possibilities of resurrection for that country. The global community has a chance to help re-build the country and help its people to emerge with better livelihoods and hope for a stable future.
From death, comes life. Just this week, the only known copy of Haiti’s declaration of independence was discovered in a British archive, reminding the country of its moment of birth.
If Haiti is indeed to be re-built, it will be because international support continues. But it does not have to be done all through governmental support. Nearly half of all U.S. households have donated to Haitian earthquake relief thus far, according to government estimates. Now is the time for American individuals and organizations to take it to the next level. Without one-to-one partnerships, school-to-school and church-to-church, the rebuilding of Haiti will take decades.
Here at Shenandoah University, we are doing our part. The university has committed to help the College Catherine Flon in Carrefour, Haiti reopen and rebuild. Catherine Flon, a K-12 school, was largely destroyed by the earthquake. It serves a mostly low-income population and has a reputation for graduating students who become upstanding citizens employed as police officers, teachers, and mid-level government workers.
Most immediately, we are helping the school secure large tents and supplies with which to start up temporarily while the rubble of its buildings is cleared. As well, we have begun to collect funds to help them re-construct their buildings.
Reaching out to our fellow global citizens is a long-standing tradition at Shenandoah and part of the university’s core values. Our students, faculty, and staff have been actively involved in service projects and mission work for decades, from providing health care to underserved communities in Nicaragua to assisting residents of the Gulf Coast in rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.
For Shenandoah, the connection with this Haitian school is significant because it is the school that our two current SU students from Haiti attended and where their father is the principal.
The goal for the Shenandoah team that traveled to Haiti in March was to listen to the dreams and needs of the principal, faculty, and students of the College Catherine Flon and to understand its role in the community.
As one Haitian man explained to me, “Everyone here in Carrefour is watching what happens with College Catherine Flon. If it rebuilds and opens again, then it will give the rest of us hope. If they rebuild, then so will many others.”
That school has earned a leadership position in the community because of its good work. They don’t need Shenandoah to tell them what to do, but they do need assistance in achieving those goals in this challenging post-earthquake environment.
On one chalkboard in a partially collapsed building at the College Catherine Flon, the quote-of-the-day for Jan. 12 remains: Tant vaut l'école, tant vaut la nation, or “As the schools go, so goes the nation.” Indeed, without a concerted effort to begin to rebuild the schools, places of worship, and government buildings soon, the rainy season will wash away Haiti's best possibilities to come out of this earthquake stronger than before.
I invite local citizens and organizations to join Shenandoah’s effort to rebuild the College Catherine Flon. Whether it is $5 or $50,000, I pledge that 100 percent of any funds donated will go to help rebuild that school and to get those 5,000 kids in Carrefour back in classes. That’s a good investment in their education, and a small step for Haitian democracy. And as Easter approaches, it’s a symbolic gesture of resurrection.
Shenandoah University is collecting funds but will not use operating or tuition funds for this project. To join this effort, send a check to “Shenandoah University-Haiti School” to 1460 University Drive, Winchester, Va. 22601.
Introducing Our New Blog
We launch a new blog this morning, as another Shenandoah-connected group leaves for Haiti for a quick, four day trip. Accompanying SU President Tracy Fitzsimmons will be Mark (an SU trustee who has prior involvement in Haiti), Dan (is experienced with foreign economic affairs), Matt & Lee (both solar power experts). We will visit with the folks at Hospital Albert Schweitzer first, and then go to spend time at the College Catherine Flon in Carrefour. There, we will meet with staff, faculty & student leaders of the K-12 school, and work on obtaining specific measurements of one of the buildings that needs to be reinforced with steel. Ned, the structural engineer who was on the last trip, has already completed the engineering report of that building and has preliminary recommendations for reinforcement. After this trip, he should be able to move toward final drawings for the work that needs to be done. Reinforcing that building means that the Catherine Flon's library, computer rooms and 9 classrooms would be usable again.
On another note, last week, Tracy Fitzsimmons and Chuck Call met with leaders of the Front Royal Rotary to brainstorm ways that Rotary and Shenandoah might be able to work together in partnership with the College Catherine Flon -- what an empowering partnership that would be!
Already, individuals have begun donating to the Shenandoah University-Haiti School fund -- thanks to each of you. Together, we WILL get the 5,000 students of the College Catherine Flon back in school!
On another note, last week, Tracy Fitzsimmons and Chuck Call met with leaders of the Front Royal Rotary to brainstorm ways that Rotary and Shenandoah might be able to work together in partnership with the College Catherine Flon -- what an empowering partnership that would be!
Already, individuals have begun donating to the Shenandoah University-Haiti School fund -- thanks to each of you. Together, we WILL get the 5,000 students of the College Catherine Flon back in school!
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