In honor of International Literacy Day today, we asked three members of the Hope for Haiti community to share what they love most about school and schools reopening in Haiti:
Scheika Jean, a 5th grade student:
“School is the best place to be when you are a child. At school they teach you how to read and write. At school you make friends and you learn to become a good citizen. Coronavirus was hard for me because I couldn’t go to school. I missed my friends and my teacher a lot. Now I am very happy to go back to school even though I must wear a mask, wash my hands every now and then and play less with my friends. The most important thing is to be back at school, to have fun, to learn, study and do your homework every day.”
Renel Sené, a teacher:
“As a teacher, my role is to be in a classroom and teach my students, guide them, help turn them into good citizens and patriots. My role is to help them develop their critical thinking, so they can be capable of solving their real-life problems and their community’s. I am fond of teaching, and I felt I wasn’t really playing my role during the school closure. I am thrilled to be back in the classroom to continue playing my role which I think is my life’s mission.”
Jean Ronald Jocelyn, Education Program Director, Hope for Haiti:
“As we love to say and profoundly believe, education is the backbone of the social and economic growth. So, when education suffers in Haiti, so does our mission which is to improve the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly children. Today, amid such a challenging moment, we feel closer than ever to our mission With the relaunch of school in Haiti, we are working with our school partners to ensure that our students return to a safe learning environment and are able to make up lost ground due to extensive closures.”
Your support today will directly help students like Scheika stay healthy as students go back to school – and will make DOUBLE the impact thanks to a matching grant from the Digicel Haiti Foundation!