Exploring Port-au-Prince

We started Thursday with a few hours in the clinic and classrooms, however, the rest of the day was filled with memoriable events. We piled in the truck with Evenson at the wheel (he's quite an accomplished driver, navigating the chaotic streets without incident) and headed for the beach. The school is on a street that almost completely covered with rubble awating removal - I was continually amazed at Evenson's ability to navigate his way along the side.

While the beach wasn't exactly what we expected (no sand, just rocky steps into the water), we loved our time in the water, chatting with our new friends, taking pictures with starfish and teaching Jackson how to swim.

During the drive to the beach, I interviewed Jordan and Evenson about their dreams for the school in Fontamara - I'll provide more specific details in a different post. I was inspired by their hearts and their vision to have a school that is atypical in Haiti, offering more options for students and better training for teachers. Jordan said he hoped all future trips would include both doctors and educators. I was reminded again how I'd been prepared "for such as time as this." My passion for education & service and my french abilities were collectively tapped during this trip.

After several hours at the beach, including Jordan bringing us cold Prestige (local beer, which I drank in honor of my brother and to be a thankful guest), we headed to the other side of town for dinner in a local restaurant.

We encountered singificant traffic jams (common in Port-au-Prince), which included time for Evenson to get out of the truck to visit with those riding in the back. You quickly learn that you have very little control of how you spend your time in Haiti, especially on the roads. It's important to enjoy the relational time, rather than get frustrated by events beyond your control. The piles of rubble scattered randomly about the streets turn 2-way streets into 1-way streets at any given moment, which leads to lots of honking, weaving motorcycles and chat time. (The videos below were taken on the main streets, but you can imagine the same set of cars on unpaved streets, fighting over the limited space.)

Evenson loved music and had a set of CDs designed to teach english - they came with a book of lyrics for singing along. We all sang along with & laughed at our efforts. His favorites were Lionel Richie (Three Times a Lady) & Phil Collins (Against All Odds).

After over an hour, we arrived at the restaurant. The simple act of washing our hands and flushing the toilet was a real treat! Many in the group had the goat with Creole sauce (Jordan's choice) but I enjoyed a tasty pepper steak.



















On the way home from dinner, we stopped by a tent city so Jen could see a family she met on prioir trips. Jordan, always paying attention to our safety, insisted we wait at the truck while Jackson brought Georgaline and her mother to us. When we returned to the school, we enjoyed our typical time of playing cards and chatting about the day.

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First Day -Part I

Our first day with the kids was great. After a few hours of sleep (road noise, 4am policital annoucements through bullhorns, heat and adjusting to air mattresses on concrete meant fewer zzzz's than usual), we awoke about 5am and started unpacking clinic and school supplies. We had over 24,000 multivitimans in addition to a variety of school supplies. Of course first on the list was T-shirts, which were a big hit with adults as well as students.




Jordan and the 3 teachers (L-R: Second grade, Lina; 3rd grade, Claudy; Principal, Jordan; First grade, Ursul)

First Grade Class

Second Grade Class

Third Grade Class

The kids all needed to be tested for TB (a "quick poke"), so we decided to give them the shirt afterwards as a treat. We took their photos for the medical records, which took us all morning.

Break time was great fun as we broke out frisbees as well as our cameras; the kids really enjoyed seeing themselves on the LCD/iPhone camera screen. Several of our team members joined in schoolyard games, even though they didn't know the words or the rules. It's amazing how this kind of play doesn't require a common language. but only a desire to participate.

Second & Third Grade Classes

I spend most of my time in the first grade class because it has the most students, the widest ranges of skills, and the physical space for me to help out. The second and third grade classes do most of their work as a full class and the small rooms have no space for extra guests. Besides, I'm a complete distraction when I show my face. However, I took a few pictures to capture the sense of life in upper grades here at Fontamara.










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Building Literacy in First Grade

I spent this morning finishing the mural of first graders' hands & names. I enjoyed seeing their faces light up as they saw it posted on the wall and many of the students quickly found their hand and showed it to friends. This project is a nice way to reinforce basic literacy by helping the kids see their names in print. Most primary desks in the US have student names printed on sentence strips but here they are squished together on benches and don't have the materials for helping make those early literacy connections. In addition, getting agreement on the spelling of names proved to be challenging as school began.












One girl showed me her artwork inspiried by this activity. I loved her idea!






I spent the rest of the morning working on reading with students. If they successfully completed the assigned page, they got a sticker from me.



Below is a video of one girl reading well, followed by her attempts to help a struggling student upon my suggestion. She's a natural teacher and seemed to enjoy the chance to help her peer. (She was also getting into my things so I needed to give her a job to keep her busy :-). As I was trying to capture the precious moment on video, other students were eager to be included - you can see random hands and fingers working their way into the frame. My own finger shows up as students were crowding around me trying to get a glimpse of the action. Hold still, yeah right! :-).

This camera is a kid magnet - they especially love the opportunity to see it immediately.

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First Thunderstorm & Parent Meeting

Our first thunderstorm began during the parent meeting on Wed afternoon at 4pm. We knew it was coming as the skies turned dark gray.



A loud thunderclap startled us and everyone started laughing, probably at our reaction. Dr. Jen provided an overview of the care that had been given thus far and the general plans for future care. Parents also heard about the toothbrushes that children received today and reminded those in attendance about the importance of providing clean water for their kids. The school now has clean water available for all students, and they can fill water bottles to take home with them. Parents also had the chance to check in to verify chart information and ask the dcotors about health-related issues. Dr. Jen extended an invitation for any siblings needing care to come to the clinic on Friday morning. Mario and Jordan were on hand to help translate.


The room was filled by the end and Jordan repeated the key information for latecomers.

As the individual consultations began, I went upstairs to close our bedroom doors and do whatever I could to keep water from creeping into our gear. The rain is still falling, so we won't know how successful I was until morning :-). (The rain passed quickly & we even had power all evening....no water-related issues.)

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Meeting New Friends

We've enjoyed meeting many new people here, including a good friend of Jordan's who now lives in Grand Rapids, MI with his family (they're the ones with Haitian restaurant, Chez Olga). Dieuseul Beloit (here with daughters Diouly, 25 and Dieulove, 23) came to the US in the early 90's after the coup in Haiti. His daugthers hadn't been back to Haiti since they left as children, and they've been very open with this experience. Diouly (pronounced much like Juli ;-) said, "It's been life changing." They now have a much better understanding of their parents, especially their attitude towards hard work, taking advantage of the opportunities in the US and the abundance of goods, especially food. Now they understand why their father was frustrated to see them throw away food. He used to tell them that the food they put in the trash might be the best meal a child in Haiti has all day. They speak english very well, so conversation has been easy and insightful.



It's amazing how open Jordan and others have been, sharing significant stories after knowing some of us only a few hours. There's very little small talk or chit-chat, but rather quick connections and significant conversations. The team was teasing me a bit for the nature of my questions the first night (e.g., asking Jordan about his best and most challenging moments here at school), but I think everyone appreciated the level of sharing that ensued.



Another special friend is Mykili, the 3-yr-old niece of one of the school cooks. Both live here in exchange for their work (Mykili's mother died). Mykili captured our hearts instantly; stoic at first, but warming up by the second day. The first night she fell asleep standing up between my legs with her head resting on my knee. Here she's wearing one of the dresses made my Amy's grandmother & her community - they are designed to fit a range of sizes...so cute!! Below Jen is looking at a coloring book with her.


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Daily Routines at Fontamara School

The students arrive shortly before 8am and their presence is quickly known. A woman greets them at the gate and only allows in the students, and if completely necessary, the parents. Jordan said that without her, there would be a steady stream of people coming in to ask for food.






They gather in the courtyard to sing a hymn, recite a prayer and exchange greetings with their teachers. The unison greetings and singing must lift the spirits of anyone in earshot.

Next, the students enter their classes and typcially begin the day with choral responses to questions. The first graders continue this pattern for much of their day, although there are small group sessions as well, allowing the teacher to get a better sense of their skills.

I took this one before we gave out uniforms :-)

There is a break at 10am, and lunch is served shortly after noon. Jordan said that providing lunch is a very important part of the program.


Jordan's daughter Georgie preparing lunch.





School ends at 1pm and the school quickly becomes VERY quiet after such an active morning.


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