Jessica Jean-Francois, Program Assistant, July 1st 2011
 St. Francois de Sales’s School Director Sr. Gisele stands in front of a container donated by Hope for Haiti, which is now is used as a school library |
This week, the Hope for Haiti team headed to Port-au-Prince for regular site visits to our partners in the city. We met with school Directors at Dominique Savio and Saint Francois de Sales Primary and Secondary schools and visited the children of the Missionaries of Charity in Delmas 31.
As a new program assistant with Hope for Haiti and someone who is learning more and more about the dynamics of Haiti, I was blown away by the experience and left reflecting on the comparison between Hope for Haiti’s rural and urban partner schools.
Driving up to Saint Francois de Sales on a bumpy mountainous road in Carrefour, just outside of Port-au-Prince, I did not know what to expect. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the glowing smile of the school Director, Sister Gisele of the Petite Soeurs de Saint Therese (Little Sisters of St. Therese) order of nuns. I was impressed to learn that the school began with only 5 students under a straw-covered roof led by Father Louis Charles in 1955. It has since grown to educate 1,230 students this year, with grades ranging from pre-school to Philo, the Haitian education system’s last grade in high school. During the earthquake, the whole school building was turned to rubble and 150 students perished. Hope for Haiti was there to respond, providing relief materials to help the school continue running and assisting with the building of a temporary facility. We also continued to support the school with teacher salary subsidies, which allowed for teachers to keep working with students in the temporary structures.
 Hope for Haiti staff, Jennifer, Paula, Jessica and Pierre with Dominique Savio’s School Director, Father Printemps |
In less than 2 years after the earthquake, the school is doing great. This summer, they are offering summer camp, which includes classes in cooking, sewing, embroidery, math, French, theatre, dance and chorus. The Directors’ offices are well organized and have Internet access which makes communication and reporting much more manageable. The school has 8 latrines and treated water and is able to provide some food and first aid for students in need.
Hearing the stories and seeing the improvements at this school in Port-au-Prince really shows me what is possible for restoring education facilities post-earthquake. Even after such devastation, I found there is still an incredible difference between urban and rural education opportunities. The majority of Hope for Haiti’s education program consists of rural mountain schools, where access and resources are extremely limited. Many schools such as Tiami and Marre a Coiffe Primary Schools are not accessible by car and directors cannot offer their students first aid or something to eat when they are hungry and find it hard to focus.
I am inspired by the work of Sister Gisele as she juggles a primary and secondary school and the construction of new school buildings and I am excited to learn more about what she plans to offer her students. I also cannot wait to see the same possibilities realized for far away communities such as Tiami and Marre a Coiffe. Hope for Haiti has continued to support school directors and teachers in their effort to offer more options to their students in terms of materials and resources. Hope for Haiti has often been the reason why schools are able to extend and add new classes which makes the work that we do both in Port- au-Prince and the South of Haiti so important.
 Temporary Classrooms at the St. Francois de Sales primary and secondary school |
 Land where the Dominique Savio Primary School use to stand and where Hope for Haiti will be rebuilding |
 Dominique Savio Secondary School repaired by Hope for Haiti post-earthquake |