Believe it or not, even in the second decade of the 21st century, only 52% of Haitians between 15 and 24 years of age are literate. Haiti also faces a shortage of education supplies, severely hindering young Haitians’ chances of building a better future for themselves and their country.
The new school year in Haiti starts today. Thanks to the cohesive efforts of our donors, board members, staff, partners, and teachers and parents in Haiti, 960 children in the Cité Soleil slum will be provided with 3,500 Creole-language books. But our efforts don’t stop here; not only do we need to provide the books, but we need someone to:
- Teach the students how to read the books;
- Ensure the students have an understanding of the Creole language; and
- Integrate these books into the classroom curriculum.
The six titles we’re donating are: Kote Linèt Mèmè (coming together as one), Tòti Lekòl La (respect for the environment), Jak ak Mak (respecting people), Ale (creativity and fun), Fefe ak Kikit (respect for animals as well as human beings), and Se Fèt Mako (celebrating life).
In collaboration with Educa Vision, we created a lesson plan on how to best use the Creole-language books and delivered a two-day seminar (August 15 and 16) to representatives of each of our 20 beneficiary schools. Each representative will instruct teachers on how to use the books. In a few months, Louko Noel, of International Action, and the staff of Educa Vision will hold another seminar to monitor the progress of the program, ensuring that all teachers are properly trained and answering questions or concerns that may have arisen. Until such time, Dalebrun Esther, our director in Haiti, will monitor the program.
The seminar that International Action held opened my eyes to how we can improve how we teach with these books. It also gave me some new ideas for what our teachers can do with the resources we already have. — A school director from the Mercy School