Hello All,
It has been quite a while since our last update, so we will focus on general updates and news along with a little information on Haiti.
The biggest news at the JRF is that we will soon be starting construction on our new classrooms, a library, kitchen and eating/meeting area. Troy Athens and employee, J.P., provided most of the money we will need for this, and we have a couple donors who are interested in donating the money that is still needed. Our new classrooms are looking beautiful in the architectural drawings. While our construction last summer was impressive in its scope, cost efficiency and speed, we could have used a little more planning and focus on beauty. David was in charge of the architecture and layout, so we ended up with 12 buildings, mostly 10m x 10m boxes. This time around we have a real architect, have the funds to undertake cooler construction methods and have enough time to really consider our different options. David will be relegated to pick axing, avoiding government officials, negotiating with and firing lazy workers- jobs that are right in his wheelhouse, unlike design. Hopefully our wall will help us stay hidden from the mayor and the insurance racket.
One of our pre-literacy classes proudly poses for a picture with their alphabet craft!
Our children signed up for school in May, and we are thrilled to tell you that we got all of them into the second best school in Jacmel. It is within walking distance of our land and is run by old school nuns. The nuns have a reputation for being very strict, and we love it. Our parents were late to the first school meeting, per usual, and got a tongue lashing from the nuns for it, which brought big smiles to our faces. The kids will have better classes and, with the aid of some big rulers, the nuns will ensure that they listen. A little more discipline and respect for authority will be beneficial for our children. The dramatic improvement in their academic setting will allow us to focus on helping them with their school work, instead of creating their math and literacy curriculum from scratch. This will be less pressure and will free us up to focus more on English and other classes that will help our children to obtain jobs and have success in the world.
One of our little teams after a soccer practice. Posing with the boys on the left is coach, Jhojho, and on the right, assistant, Bwa, who is also a father in the community. Missing from the photo is, J.P., who leads and assists activities for the boys.
We have also started an official soccer team. We have a local Haitian man giving soccer practice to our boys three days a week. We have some real athletes and are hopeful that at least a few of our children can parlay soccer into an education. Ideally we would teach them lacrosse as it is far easier to play D1 in the US or parlay into a good education, but the cost of equipment and lack of lacrosse in Haiti ended up being obstacles that we did not want to deal with.
PsychoEd sans frontieres, a group from Quebec, came down to assist our teachers in behavior and classroom management. After their six weeks working with us, we can confidently say that our classroom environment has improved. From left, teacher, Madame Mama, Amelie, Jade, intern and teacher, Kanan, and teacher, Moiz.
This summer we’ll be mixing our classes with some more fun activities. To have a break and avoid the heat, we’ll stop classes after July and take the children on fun and educational field trips. There are many, many people in the city who willing to share their passions with others, so we’ll be setting up days to expose our children to the visual arts, gardening, drum and percussion lessons, and more, with several days of beach time, as well.
As always, we are incredibly grateful for your continued support. We couldn’t do this without you.
