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Field Correspondence from Haiti; by Benoit Girard 6-2005 Adding Another Grade to Lekol Pa Nou 6-2005 School Expansion for Lekol Pa Nou 6-2005 Adding Environmental Studies to the Curriculum at Lekol Pa Nou 6-2005 Lekol Pa Nou Communication Project 6-2005 Providing Solar Powered Lights & Computers at Lekol Pa Nou 6-2005 Lekol Pa Nou Project Updates 2005 Support A Teacher Program 10-2005
June 2005
Field Correspondence from Haiti By Benoit Girard
Benoit Girard, Dec of 2004.
Benoit lives in Quebec where he works as an agronomist and a consultant. He lived in Haiti some years ago and speaks Creole. Education for Prosperity, paid part of the travel expenses for his May of 2005 trip to 2005 trip to Haiti where he visited a number of small developmental initiatives, including Lekol Pa Nou. His mission was to try and find common ground between those that operate with honesty, integrity, recognizing the oneness of humanity, promoting the equality of women and men, and building local capacity, etc.
Visit to Belle-Anse, Pichon and Mapou The day after I arrived, I went with Liné Balthazar to Belle-Anse, Pichon and Mapou. Liné and his wife Nadia, manage the «Fondation pour le relèvement du milieu rural» (FREM). There are 7 other members and 3 of them are from Belle-Anse, 4 in Port-au-Prince and one in Paris. FREM was created first to organize activities of development in Belle-Anse (½ an hour from Pichon), the city of origin of Liné and his brother Pierre in Michigan. It is with [Pierre] that the idea of this foundation was started about seven years ago. Liné took me to the school. I met with the director Antoine Raphaël, three teachers, two parents and a few other people. We stayed about half an hour with them. My visit was a little too fast to gain a good assessment of the organisation of the school. The needs of the school according to Nadia are expansion, improvement of the curriculum and the training of the teachers. Because Belle-Anse and Pichon are not easily accessible, she also mentioned that it would be helpful to have someone on the spot that could help with the administration. Another project that needs to have Internet connection by satellite.
Visit to Mapou Liné took me to the recently created lake in Mapou, which was formed one year ago after the flood of May 23rd 2004. Under the water lay 3,000 people who drowned because of this environmental disaster. In Mapou, I met 2 farmers who lost their property under the water. One told me he had lost every thing and now is ready to plant trees if there are projects for that. We were at the bakery and the baker is the main natural leader of this zone. Liné told me that if he was able to do some thing to help these people, it will be with the collaboration of this man. Many families who lost everything in last years flood are still living in tents. Regarding the agro-environmental situation, I was wondering how we can help their situation. I see a grass roots willingness to do something. The people feel somehow powerless and seem to be waiting for outside help. Some know they have to take some initiatives if they want something to happen. But, people need to be trained in order to change certain habits and to do things a different way. They need to understand some basic ecological principles. They have to be the protectors and the rebuilders of their own environment. It appears to me that education is really a primary goal in Haiti in order to release the potential of children and to develop their consciousness about the issues of development. There is also great need in regard to the environment and agriculture. But the change has to pass through means of education and training. The peoples have to understand the link between the consuming of natural resources without a sustainable approach. They have to become the builder and the guardian of their environment. But the poverty is so great and the social organization so deficient. It is not an easy situation. I wish to thank the different partners who support me for this trip and make it possible. It is my hope to be able to continue this process of developing a long-term collaboration with partners in Haiti who are living in a difficult period now. ––Benoit Girard, June 14, 2005
We need to raise funds to add a 5th grade this fall to Lekol Pa Nou. With your help we have added one grade per year. Home Projects Donate Sales News & Events Contact About Links This site designed and maintained by MRISAR. Send questions/comments about this site to vcs@mrisar.com
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