I will remember this week as a
turning point - so many changes have begun. It will take a while to implement them, perhaps years to see them bloom, but just as everything
was new and unknown on my first trip to Haiti in 1998, and again when I
made the decision to rent a house and set down roots in Cap-Haitien in
2004, now more changes and a new set of challenges. But without
challenges, we don't know what can be accomplished.
Wednesday
Auguste and I met with the Notary in Sen Rafayel and the owners of the
properties adjacent to our drop in center which we were purchasing. The
purchases had been negotiated by our Bus. Admin grad, Danius and funded
by Jasmine Foundation. Danius acted as our 'temwen' (witness) and helped
verify the funds as both were cash transactions in Haitian gourdes.
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First property purchase, Danius, yours truly, owner, notary
The 2nd floor of our center was an ideal meeting place. |
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Notaire, our neighbor the second seller, Auguste
Everyone signed the big book - a solemn occasion.
While we were meeting upstairs, staff members downstairs
were busy feeding kids, facilitating study groups and meeting with
young people who were dropping by in a steady stream to deliver request
for admission letters - those had been sitting out at least this
school year, many longer. We accept letters from
May 4 - 29. Between the 2 centers we have received about 200 letters
with 2 weeks to go. There are also hundreds looking for entry who made
it through the school year, but do not have the means to continue. Those
letters we accept in July after year end results are posted, if is
seems there will be funds available.
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Inside, coordinator Edeline accepts letters and
gives a quick read for necessary information.
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If necessary information is missing, staff member
Elanie will ask for it to be added or return letter
is there is too much missing. |
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Outside our walls, the hopefuls wait with letters
in hand. |
Reading the
letters is a labor of love - as the students have taken the time to
write and in many cases pour out their fears, hopes and dreams, we owe
them an attentive read. First read through is for the story of their
lives. Second read through we look for and highlight the information we
need to move onto the next stage, the interview. Students who receive an
interview (and we try to fit in everyone who writes) must bring their
papers to the meeting - birth certificate, last report card or receipt
from the Ministry of Education with necessary information.
Each year we
have limited funds, so a limited number of places. After admitting those
we consider in crisis, we generate a waiting list. It has been
consistently approximately 300 students each year for whom there are
insufficient funds. I carry those kids on the waiting list with me -
their names, their stories. Each one is memorable - asking for the gift
of education when it should be a right. Then the next year arrives and
a new group. Sometimes they write again, risking being turned down
again but with enough courage to try. Often I will be told that someone
on our waiting list has died. We try to begin with those that seem in
situations that are life threatening, but everyone of these young people
is in jeopardy so it presents a challenge. We are getting better at non
verbal cues during interviews.
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In Sen Rafayel at Lakay
Jasmine |
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I haven't
started on the Cap-Haitien letters yet. I have just finished the second
highlight read for the first 100 letters. Yes - the first 100. With
funds for about 30 admissions. Next the staff will read for information I
have missed and use a different highlighter or write questions they
have in pencil. We then enter everyone into a notebook and sit down
together to generate lists for immediate interviews and those we feel
can wait. There are never many on the second list.
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In Cap-Haitien at Lakay Fondasyon
I
have no pictures yet - I've only seen these young people in front of
our privacy wall talking to staff. So I'll share some of their words.
The first letter
we received in Sen Rafayel was from Edisson . He is 15 and has been
sitting out of school since 2013. He could enter Nouvo Secondaire I, the
4th year of high school if we can find the funds. His letter and
circumstance are not remarkable - they are like the other 99 I have
become acquainted with over the last 3 or 4 days.
"Rezon
ki fe mwen ekri w' se paske papa m mouri lontan. Yon matant ki t'ap ede
m' li mouri tou nan lane 2013...mwen pa konn ki sa pou m'fe se ki fe
mwen ekri w pou mande w' koman w ka ede m' nan sitiyason sa."
"The reason I am writing you is
because my papa has been dead a longtime. An aunt helped me but she died
also in 2013...I don't know what you can do , that's why I'm writing
to ask how you can help me in this situation."
17 yr old Yslande writes "Mwen
rive nan classe 7eme mwen fe 2015 lan chita agoz mwen pa gen moun k'ap
ede m. Mwen pa gen manman ni papa toulede moun sayo vin mouri
malerezman. Mwen anvi ale lekol. Mwen pa gen moun ki pou voye. Fanmiy
mwen gen 4 fi 1 gason."
"I passed into high school, gr.
7 but I spent this year sitting because I did not have anyone to help
me. I have neither mother nor father, sadly both of them arrived at
death. I crave to go to school. I have no one to send me. My family has 4
girls and 1 boy."
In
the first 100 letters, there are 21 students with both parents dead, 6
with mother dead, 51 with father dead and 13 with another significant
family member dead. Of the remaining 9 students not one had a healthy,
working parent. Two live parents does not equate to support, in most
cases, more responsibility for the young person forced to leave school.
18
yr old Marie's mother is crippled and father is ill and been told by a
doctor he cannot work. An uncle who helped her just died. She has been
sitting out since 2013. "Mwen santim pa ka rete pal lekol paske mwen vle itil parann yo demen en sosyete ."
"I feel I just can't remain not going to school because I want to be a useful mentor in tomorrow's society".
17 yr old Miliode has been sitting out for 2 years because her papa died in 2012. "Mwen
renmen lekol anpil. Pou mwen se pigwo sakrifis mwen te ka plenn tet
mwen avek edikasyon. Mwen gen rev pou m rive yon moun demen pou m ka ede
tet mwen, fanmiy mwen ak sosyete a. Gade let sa se tankou w'ap gade
ke'm ak nan men. Mesi davans."
"I love school so much. For me it
is a big sacrifice to not fill my head with education. I have a dream
that tomorrow I will become someone who is able to help my family and
society.
Hold /look at this letter as though you are holding my heart in your hands. Thank you in advance."
By now you're probably saying "Enough already!" Although I read every
one, you don't have to. If you want to hear more, get in touch and I'll
send you translations and copies.
In closing, the entire letter of 12 yr old
Daiska. She will be 13 on Aug. 18 and has already been sitting out a
year. Computer fonts are fine for getting out information, but a hand
written letter tells so much more about the author. There is information
to be gleaned from the writing and the paper as well as the writing
instrument. On the paper, you can smell the pain, fear, dirt, hope,
hopelessness ...
Translation: Good morning, madam
Today it with a sad (heavy, tight) heart I write this little letter
to ask for help with school. I find myself in a very grave situation. It
is a cousin who paid for school for me. She says she cannot continue.
I have neither manman nor papa.I do not remember them, they died when I was 4 leaving just me..
Please give me the grace to live in the situation I'm in as I know you are a mother who helps the young who cannot go to school.
Thank you in advance madam.
The author of this letter is 12 years old, just starting - there are
those up to and including their early 20's asking for a chance to
complete high school -- just a chance. Education should not be just
for the privileged. Please help us give these kids " the grace to live in the situation"
Please help us do more than generate a waiting list of 300 this year. Help us make the waiting list a thing of the past.
Mesi davans
Namaste
Sharon
PS Corresponding letters for above quotes
Edisson
Yslande
Marie
Miliode
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