An ambitious dream: A new school in Haiti

The College Catherine Flon, a pre-K through 12th grade school in Carrefour, Haiti, was once a complex of multi-story buildings that served thousands of students each day. Since the January 2010 earthquake, it is mostly tents made of two-by-fours and plastic tarps placed wherever there is space, including on top of the former school’s foundation.

There is barely room to breathe, and the oppressive heat inside the make-shift classrooms makes it almost impossible to think. Separated only by plastic tarps with open space above and below to allow for some semblance of air flow, students and teachers in every class can hear what’s going on in the classrooms all around. A few oscillating fans do their best to move some air, but they also add to the din. Students sit elbow to elbow. From early morning until night when adult students come for classes, it is like this every day at the College Catherine Flon in Carrefour, Haiti.

Even more remarkable? The male teachers and administrators wear trousers, long-sleeve button-down shirts and neckties. The women wear dresses and shoes with heels. Every student wears a clean white shirt; boys wear gray slacks and girls wear gray skirts. Teachers are teaching, and students are learning.

Imagine what it would be like these students if they had room to spread out their books, breathe and dream big dreams.

Like the rest of the world, the Shenandoah University community watched and wept for the Haitian people as news, images and videos circulated after the January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 316,000 people — about 3 percent of Haiti’s entire population. On the day of the quake, university President Tracy Fitzsimmons, who has lived and worked in Haiti, quickly found the Shenandoah students who are from Haiti and offered all available resources to help them connect with family — those who survived — back home.

Students and siblings Jerry and Cindy Saint-Fort, whose sister Rachel also lived in Winchester, were desperate to talk with their parents, Willio and Marie Carmel Saint-Fort, and two other siblings in Carrefour. It took days to get through, but the Saint-Fort children in Winchester learned their parents and siblings were alive, although many, many relatives and friends did not survive.

Despite the strong desire to immediately board a plane bound for Haiti, Dr. Fitzsimmons, whose doctoral degree is in political science and comparative politics and whose husband is an associate professor of international relations at American University’s School of International Service, knew it was much more important that international aid workers be in Haiti during the days and weeks after the quake. By March, Fitzsimmons organized a small group to go: health-care professionals and building engineers as well as Jerry and Cindy Saint-Fort. That first visit to Haiti evolved into something much bigger and more significant than anyone could have imagined.

One member of the group was psychiatrist Russ McKelway, the husband of a Shenandoah University trustee. He expected to meet with some traumatized individuals, while others in the group helped with physical wounds and the physical devastation. Over five days he met with and counseled hundreds of people, eventually setting up group counseling sessions to help as many people as he could.

One father heard about the Americans in Carrefour and carried his little girl miles to see them. Everywhere members of the Shenandoah team looked, they saw people with every imaginable injury, and they did what they could. But this little girl, who had been buried under her family’s home, deeply touched them.

Jerry and Cindy were able to hug their parents, see that their family home survived and connect with extended family and friends. And, everyone from Shenandoah saw what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Saint-Fort’s life’s work.

Almost 40 years ago, Mr. Saint-Fort established a private pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade school in Carrefour called College Catherine Flon. His wife was a teacher there for many years. Prior to the earthquake the school had an enrollment of about 5,000. When the earthquake was over, hundreds of College Catherine Flon students and many teachers had perished, and so many more were injured and left homeless.

By the time the Shenandoah group arrived in March, some clean-up had been done on school grounds in order to create a little bit of open space. Later, after the remaining structures were demolished, and all the rubble was removed, tents made of two-by-fours and tarps were put up so classes could resume for the students able to attend. “Going to school” is one of the daily activities that makes life feel “normal” for humans, especially when there is so little left that is normal.

Deciding then and there to support the College of Catherine Flon as it tries to rebuild was an easy decision for Shenandoah University’s president and everyone else in the group — educators supporting and encouraging other educators.

To date, Fitzsimmons has led five trips to Haiti, each one an opportunity to bolster the morale of College Catherine Flon administrators, gather detailed information for the rebuilding project and connect with people in Haiti who can best help College Catherine Flon rise again and serve as the educational foundation of its community.

The most recent trip was in June 2011 when the primary goal was to gather information to create actual blueprints for a new school. Winchester-based architect David Ganse AIA, who is donating his talent to the project, went to take extensive measurements, begin drawings, learn what building materials are available as well as what building codes exist, and identify contractors who will be able to build the school.

Ganse, engineer Jody Fox PE, and Shenandoah’s Director of the Physical Plant Gene Fisher documented what remains of the school as well as what land is available for building. They met with school administrators, contractors and representatives from the United Nations and the Ministry of Education.

“I was fortunate to have information from Shenandoah’s previous visits,” Ganse said. “But, it was really good to be on site to get a sense of the topography, the streets, how the buildings are accessed and what infrastructure exists. Unfortunately, we went down thinking Haiti had little or no building codes and discovered they do. In fact, since the earthquake, the Haitian people are putting together even better rules for building, and that’s a good outcome.”

Traditionally, Haitians build with concrete and block, which has no flexibility and is actually more expensive than what Ganse is proposing. “Essentially, the new buildings will be light-weight steel over wood framing, making the buildings flexible and fireproof. Exteriors will be covered with concrete stucco, giving them the tropical construction look that is prevalent throughout Haiti.”

The biggest challenge architect Ganse faces is designing for thousands of students on a limited amount of land without going higher than two stories. “We could easily go higher, but psychologically, those who survived the earthquake live with a mental image of what happened when four stories collapsed.” By the end of the June trip, school administrators and faculty seemed pleased with the initial drawings Ganse presented. “We’ve put together a conceptual design that we feel is a very workable solution,” he said, adding that a geotechnical survey is still required.

So far, Shenandoah University, the Rotary International and Powhatan School have raised almost $300,000 of the estimated $400,000 needed to help College Catherine Flon rebuild. Financial contributions go into a holding account Shenandoah controls, and it will directly disburse the funds to the contractor.

Another trip to Haiti is being planned for winter 2012.Again, Fitzsimmons will lead a group that will provide support for the temporary school, assist with the final plans to begin construction and check in with the little girl they first met in March 2010. Construction at College Catherine Flon is scheduled to begin in May 2012.

College Catherine Flon is by no means unique. The January 2010 earthquake destroyed thousands of schools in and around Haiti’s capital city Port-au-Prince. Many organizations around the world are doing what they can to help rebuild those schools, and it will be a long process.

“The people we met in Haiti are so wonderful, cordial and helpful,” Ganse said. “They are extremely knowledgeable, and I’m looking forward to going back. As an architect, it is one of the most unique challenges I’ve ever encountered. This takes me out of my comfort zone designing shopping centers and office buildings in Virginia. But, I love a challenge, and this is such an exciting project for everyone involved.”