Rachel And Reuben roofing at School 18 amidst Haitian Beauty
2011 was a big year in the Transitional Schools program rebuilding schools in the greater Leogane area that were destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. We have had our highs and lows this year, triumphs and tragedies, and many friends have come and gone. Volunteers came looking to help rebuild a community, and that’s what we’ve done, stud by stud. During the past twelve months, we’ve seen it all and as the new year starts, we take a look back to what we’ve accomplished.
The reconstruction program was started in April of 2010 in response to the enormous impact that the January 12th earthquake had on the education sector. According to the National Ministry of Education, 66% of all schools in the Leogane were completely destroyed. With a large majority of schools being private, most had no means to rebuild in any effective manner. We look for schools that were destroyed but have taken the initiative to start again and hold classes in temporary shelters. Some of the schools we’ve encountered in the past year have been in a truly desperate state. We hold community meetings with parents, teachers, and community leaders to gain buy-in and support. Further, we ask school directors and community members to be directly involved in the project.
Foundation Pour Mayhem at School 20
In 2011, we made enormous progress on reaching our goal of 20 schools reconstructed. We started the year off by completing schools 6 and 7. By the time we packed up for the holidays last month, we had just finished number 18 and poured the foundations for schools 19 and 20. In total, our volunteers from Haiti and around the world gave an estimated 60,000 hours towards rebuilding schools in the Leogane community. This has resulted in 13 new school buildings, giving 2,195 students the chance to learn in a safe and comfortable environment and teachers a more effective means to do their job. And these structures are used in other ways too: community centers, English classes, church services, etc.
Local Volunteer pulling water out of the well
One of our main objectives for the past year has been to impart necessary construction skills to the community. We decided that training local Haitians in construction skills would have a positive and lasting effect. We enrolled 16 young apprentices from Leogane into our program. Each commits two months of volunteer time and receives in the field construction experience and instruction. Also, starting in April, the Transitional Schools program has hired 11 construction workers, many of whom were former apprentices, and continued to develop their knowledge with construction classes.
Hygiene Promotion Staff, Diana, spreading the word of Cholera prevention to the school children.
And that’s not all. As the Schools program developed in 2010, we realized the need to provide proper WASH (water, sanitation,and hygiene) conditions. This bore fruition in 2011 with our partnership with GOAL. Since then, they have provided new latrines for the 13 schools in our program that needed sanitary solutions. In addition, 7 schools are in the process of receiving new drilled wells onsite to ensure clean drinking water. We packaged all of this with hygiene education for teachers and students at each school, ensuring the sustainability of good practices in the future.
Project Leogane’s Last Group Photo
I want to personally thank all of you involved in this. What’s been most impressive is your drive and passion for Haiti, the work you do, and the people around you. The willingness to get over the soggy cornflakes every morning; to get out and dig trenches in the hot Haitian sun; to hump 100 pound cement bags; to take the bruises, cuts, scrapes, and splinters; to be ok with a little roofing tar on your arms and a whole lot of cement in your fingernails, between your toes, in your hair and everywhere; to bring your own toilet paper to the worksite, because you know…; the eagerness to talk to new people in a language you don’t even know and teach those around you; to deal with some that have been in Haiti way too long and comfort others that are just having a really bad day; to ride out the flash floods of a life in Haiti that leave can you stranded and stunned; the willingness to do all of this, come back late to nightly rice and beans, and go to sleep knowing it all starts again the next morning; that is impressive, and those are the challenges you’ve overcome. It has been a pleasure.
In 2012, we look toward more challenges as we finish the program. As the volunteer side of the project closes, schools 19 and 20 will be completed by our Haitian construction staff and apprentices. Also, the remainder of the wells will be drilled and rain water catchment systems will be installed. Our work in schools will come to an end, and we look towards a better future for the children of Haiti.
Thomas Jardim
Transitional Schools Project Coordinator
All Hands Volunteers
