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| Caribbean Property Magazine Home / July 2010 / 'Caribbean Heart : Remembering Haiti (a series) ' | SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND  |
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J U L Y
 2 0 1 0 Issue 42
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| CARIBBEAN HEART : REMEMBERING HAITI Susan Turbeville, Haiti Education Foundation "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. Haiti, too, has been stuck down, but not destroyed…. June 12th marked five months since a powerful earthquake hit the small tropical country of Haiti, leaving it in shambles. At that time, news reports were abounding on every channel. Reporters scrambled to the scene…all eager to tell the story of the tragedies in that country, the poorest in the western hemisphere. Today, little is reported…once again Haiti is seemingly shoved aside and is once again - forgotten. However, HOPE for the future lives on because of missions like the Haiti Education Foundation (HEF) and its supporters. Frances Landers, the 93 year old founder, continues to work diligently to spread the news of what is happening in Haiti. Her focus continues to be the importance of education. Frances has invested herself in the people of Haiti, particularly the children in the mountains of southern Haiti. Thirty three years ago, at the age of 60, Frances Landers began traveling with her husband, the late Dr. Gardner Landers, an Ophthalmologist, to Hospital St. Croix in Leogane, Haiti, where he performed cataract surgery on many Haitians who were needlessly blind.  Armed with photographs and the goal of raising enough money for one school of 400 children, Frances asked for help from her church, family and friends. Thus the first school and church at Mercery was established in 1981. Upon her return to Haiti, Father Albert showed Frances the new facilities. Many of the children walked miles to school. She saw the students’ smiling faces as they proudly sat in their desks with Bibles and textbooks. Frances hoped that someday, these children would read their Creole Bible to their parents. Believing that her work had been done, Frances returned to the United States. However, this was only the beginning. The Haiti Education Foundation was established to provide education to children in the mountains of southern Haiti at a cost of $55 per yearly scholarship. One hundred per cent of all donations go to Haiti as designated by the donor with nothing taken out for operating expenses. Today there are 40 Haiti Education Foundation sponsored mission schools, with 10 high schools. The foundation hires over 400 Haitian teachers and staff, with an enrollment of nearly 10,000 students. From the very beginning, the focus of the foundation has been EDUCATION. Pere Albert knew that education is the only way that the children of Haiti would have hope for a brighter future. |
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| OUR HOPE IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE FUTURE OF HAITI BY EDUCATING AND EMPOWERING ITS YOUTH Following the earthquake, emails arrived from Haiti saying, “Our teachers and principals are very concerned about the students not being in school. The children are running the streets, with no purpose or structure.” Three decades have brought about much change! The hopelessness once seen in the eyes of Haiti’s children has since changed to purpose. We are often asked, “Why educate? What opportunities are there for the future?” I have to ask in return, “Where would we be without education?” The skills learned in a classroom reach far beyond a vocation….particularly when one has been denied access to the opportunity. These children learn self discipline, confidence, problem solving, focus, and responsibility; not to mention reading, math, science, history and language. With each generation of learners, more growth takes place. Our hope is to contribute to the future of Haiti by empowering its youth. The church plays a huge part in this. When our ministry began, voodoo ruled the lives of most in the mountain areas that we serve. Through our schools, the priests have been able to encourage growth in the membership of the churches in each of the communities. Now, instead of depending on the whims of the voodoo witch doctor, the people lean on the wisdom of scripture…which they can read and apply for themselves. This was evidenced in the reports from Haiti which crossed the airwaves immediately following the earthquake. The outpouring of faith exhibited by its people could not be ignored; scenes of women raising their hands in worship, men praising God for the safety of their families, groups singing hymns in the silence of the night…all drawing to a Greater source of comfort in their time of need. I have to wonder, where would Haiti lean if not for the many mission ministries who have worked to bring education into this seemingly forgotten country? Through the ministry of education, FAITH has FLOURISHED! In an effort to reestablish the schools, our first priority was to provide temporary classrooms for the children. Our priests and principals worked diligently to secure a solution. For some, that was a tent, for others, a desk in the shade of banana leaves. Regardless, the teachers and principals went back to work, restoring some semblance of normalcy to the lives of the children. ST MATTHIAS SCHOOL IS OUR LARGEST AND FIRST BUILT HEF SPONSORED SCHOOL…IT IS THE HEART OF OUR MINISTRY AND RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE BEST HIGH SCHOOLS IN HAITI… Chris McRae, one of the HEF board members and a construction contractor, went about the task of researching a more viable permanent solution. The result of his efforts is a metal building, fully ventilated with water storage. It will have solar power and water purification. The water storage will also be used for indoor toilets. This structure will be fabricated in Fort Smith, Arkansas and then shipped in a container to Port au Prince. From Port au Prince, the container will be transported into the mountains where a mission team will lead our Haitian counterparts in the construction of the building. In preparation for the build, a team of missioners will be trained in the assembly of the structures.  Our first endeavor will be the guest house in Cherident. This structure also houses the priest’s residence. The decision was made by the HEF board to start small and then move on to larger projects. This building will cost approximately $70,000.00 to complete. From there we will begin fundraising for the reconstruction of St. Matthias School, which is also located in Cherident. The St. Matthias School is our largest school with an enrollment of 600 and the first HEF sponsored school built in the mountains. It is the heart of our ministry. This school has been recognized as one of the best high schools in Haiti…very unusual in that it is a mountain school. Two other large school buildings will also require reconstruction due to the earthquake. To the west of Port-au-Prince, in the mountains of southern Haiti, Pere Desire, priest in charge of St. Matthias parish, visits with a group of men. They are discussing the removal of rubble from the plot of land where the guest house once stood. A mission team will soon be visiting to survey the situation and make way for the new guest house. All listen and plan intently…excited that progress is being made in the community. As the men visit, a large group of children fill the road, headed home after a full day of classes. Behind them the teachers follow…another week of school has been completed. UNLIKE MANY IN THE WORLD THE HAITIANS DO NOT MEASURE THEIR HOPE BY WHAT THEY POSSESS...THEIR HOPE COMES FROM A DEEPER PLACE THAT CANNOT BE SHAKEN OR CRUSHED The following day, Saturday, will be spent preparing for church. Young men and women will gather for choir practice. A group will practice the instrumental music to be presented for worship. Fathers will collect food from their gardens to be prepared for the Sunday meal and mothers will go to the nearby stream to wash the laundry and bathe the small children. Although life is very difficult, it is good…they are survivors. HOPE is alive and well in the mountains of southern Haiti. Unlike many in the world, the people of Haiti do not measure their hope by what they possess. Rather, their hope comes from a deeper place…a place that cannot be shaken or crushed. In the months and years to follow, we have several tasks before us; most importantly, continuing to secure the $55 scholarships for each of the children enrolled in our 40 primary and 10 high schools. We also have before us the huge task of rebuilding the schools that were lost. The road to full recovery is very long; however, we know that Education brings HOPE to the children…to the future of Haiti. Amidst the strife that the earthquake has left in this small country, there is great hope! Please continue to support the children as another school year begins. Together, we are making a difference! “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 |
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For more information on the Haiti Education Foundation, please visit our web site at www.haitifoundation.org. There you will find our history and updates from the mountains. We continue to encourage donations to our scholarship fund as well as the Disaster Relief fund which has been established. |
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