Update

             I know it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged. Part of that reason has been because I didn’t want to bore people with mundane stories about the kids or the school or my life.  But, I leave for the States on November 9, and I’m not sure how long I will be there. That being said, I want to share what’s been happening and make sure that I upload as many pictures as I can so that folks can see the awesome kids!

Visiting teacher Sheri helps
with the eggs

Naika pounding the garlic
for the eggs

Life at the Center has been moving along nicely.  On Fridays, Oct. 19 and 26 we had an agronomvisit to talk with the students.  He shared the three main parts of the chicken, talked about what they ate and how much, how often they produced eggs, and what kind of coop and run they needed.  The little kids were able to touch the chickens, watch me feed them, and gather some of the eggs.  The older kids were able to hold the chickens, feed them, and gather eggs. The past two weeks we were able to use some of the eggs for our snack on Tuesdays—the kids thought that was pretty cool! Starting this week (Nov. 5^th) the different classes will start taking care of the chickens each school day: feed them, give them water, gather the eggs, and keep the coop clean. At the end of the week, the students in the class and the teacher will split the eggs between themselves—they should be able to reap the fruits of their labors!

Helping Hands

            The week of Oct. 22-26, students took their first set of exams.  I’m very proud of the students from Notre Maison—most of them they did an awesome job!  Teachers worked hard to not only administer the exams but also grade them so that they could work on report cards this week.  

On Oct. 31 we, the administrators of HCIE, did our first in-service for our staff.  We spent much of our time discussing IEPs because we plan to start writing them this month for our students with learning disabilities and other special needs. Not many schools in Haiti write IEPs, so we are breaking ground here!  Fortunately, we do not need to do this alone.  Later in November, Dr. Hannah Ehrli and other experts will visit HCIE and help staff write the firs IEPs.  

Even the boys are going
to learn how to cook!

Learning about chickens

This coming week—Nov. 5-9—visiting retired teachers will do two days’ worth of lessons, demonstrating for the teachers how to do centers based on a theme. While that approach may seem “normal” for an American teacher, for Haitian teachers, centers are a huge change from what they are used to.  We also have some visiting nurses who will do vision and hearing screening for the students and staff.  It’s been interesting explaining to the staff how early detection of vision/hearing issues can impact learning.  Maybe because those screenings just aren’t a part of Haitian education, they hadn’t really thought much about it.

The eggs are almost ready!

I think in earlier posts I commented on how some of the kids weren’t always very nice to the special-needs students.  They weren’t mean, but they showed their discomfort about being around these kids.  Well, it’s slowly changing.  More and more of the kids are looking for ways to help the special-needs kids.  These are baby steps, but they are steps in the right direction.

Thanks for reading everyone.  I will try to get some pictures of the centers and screenings this week and post them after I get to the States.  When I return to Haiti, I will let you all know and pick up with the blogging!

Old MacDonald Had a Farm . . .

. . . with a cluck, cluck here, and a cluck, cluck there.  Here a cluck.  There a cluck.  Everywhere a cluck, cluck.

          The chickens have finally arrived!  

It’s been a journey—I have learned a lot on it.  And, I have learned that I still don’t know much about raising chickens!

Mardoché working on the
water dispenser set up

          The journey began last February when we began construction on the coop.  I had plans and everything; unfortunately, those plans weren’t followed, and we ended up with a coop about twice as large as we needed.  It didn’t help that the construction was (mostly) done while I was back in the States during Carnival week.

         Fast forward to May—we still didn't have the coop finished! No matter how much I hounded people to get it finished, it just wasn’t going to happen.  At least not before summer break.

Cozy Crate

          When I returned in August, I made finishing the coop a priority.  And, it only took six weeks to accomplish!  Then started the process of getting what we needed to actually care for the chickens—feeder, water dispenser, food, bedding, medicine, vaccines, etc. 

          Thus began a whole new learning curve for me. I found the chicken place on my own thanks to good directions from Mardoché.  I managed to get a quote all on my own.  Managed to order the chickens on my own.

Kids ripped up the cardboard for us

          Then I panicked about the bedding and floor covering—didn’t know where to find it in Haiti and most people said that what I was looking for wasn’t needed.  Totally conflicting advice from multiple sources.  So, I followed the advice of Gertrude: dry leaves and light-weight carboard torn up would be fine.  

          Then the agronom stopped in to give us some help—and totally shot down the dry leaves and ripped-up cardboard idea.  We, Mardoché and I, had no idea what we were doing, and it turns out we needed lots of help.  With the chickens arriving in less than 36 hours, we were feeling some pressure.

Feeding Frenzy

          Saturday morning Mardoché and I met at the school to figure out how to set up the water dispenser and feeder.  After two hours--with the water dispenser still not working--we decided we should go get the chickens before the place closed.  

          I had wanted to take the truck so that we could put the chickens in the back (not sure how we would keep them from flying away, but it seemed better than putting them inside a vehicle).  Well, we had the van instead, so they would be inside a vehicle no matter what.  We get to the chicken place, and our chickens are in these two tiny crates, about ten in each.  I thought they looked crowded, but they seemed happy.  Apparently, there was enough room because three of them laid eggs while we got everything ready to transport them!

Drinking craze

          So, the chickens go in the van.  And proceed to poop.  All over the seat and floor.  Oops.  I didn’t think inside was a good idea, but, no one wanted to listen to me!

Back at the ranch, er . . . school, we put the chickens in the coop.  They proceeded  to drink and eat as if there were no tomorrow!  We grabbed the three eggs out of the crates and gave them to Patrick, our driver—the eggs were still warm!  Talk about fresh.

I thought a toilet bowl brush
would be better than just a
towel!

          The day ended with Patrick, William (the school handyman), and I scrubbing out the van and spraying peach-scented perfume to cover the chicken smell.

         This morning I went to the school to feed and water the chickens.  We have much work to do! Water from the dispenser on the floor, poop everywhere because we didn't put down enough leaves, and only one egg laid in a next.  Gonna have to go back later today and keep working on it

Even though only one egg was laid in a nest (I got to take it out with the hen still on it!), we did have four hens lay!

Randomness

This week will be a random list of what’s been going on, so please excuse the bullet points!

Why we need a chicken coop--
so they don't come into the
school

vThe weather here has been rainy and grey lately. Makes me melancholy.  Makes me miss home, especially since both my parents are having surgery in the coming weeks: Dad has to have knee-replacement surgery, and Mom needs a hip replaced.

vEDH (the Haitian electric company) stopped by the Center this week to tell us that if we don’t pay our electric bill soon they will disconnect our power.  Even if we could pay the bill, I think we’re being charged too much.  But, I don’t speak the language enough to be able to do anything about it!  Hate the dependency.

Kids getting some extra help

3-year-olds in music class

vWe have many students who need so much extra help, and it feels overwhelming.  I have ideas about what to do, but the language barrier—again—gets in the way. I also feel as if it’s an uphill battle to get convince the teachers to do something different. 

vMusic class is going great!  The kids absolutely love it.  I’m not a musical person at all (I live quite nicely without music), but I love observing the class.  And, I love taking pictures and video of the kids in class.

                 

             Jephte working on the scrabbled eggs!

vWe had our first week of scrambled eggs this week.  It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it’s huge to me!  Why?  I learned where to buy eggs on the street.  Some of the older kids are learning how to cook.  If we actually get chickens for the coop, we might have three life-skills programs: laundry, cooking, and chickens.

vHaiti experienced a 5.9 magnitude earthquake last night.  I felt the tremors here in Port-au-Prince, but there was. No damage done here.  The epicenter was near Port-de-Paix in the northern part of the country.  Some folks are using pictures of the 2010 earthquake to “show” what yesterday’s events were like.  Please don’t be fooled!  While there was damage and 11 (so far) were killed, this earthquake was not catastrophic like in 2010.

Take care everyone--hope you all keep reading!

OUTRAGED!

Another week in the books!  

We’ve settled into a good routine—most kids who registered are attending, the kids are used to the schedule, the teachers know when to go to music and recess and snack, Friday-morning chapel is evolving. Life is good.

So . . . why the outrage??

Here’s why:

            Friday morning a father came in with his almost three-year-old son.  Dad had already registered him at another school but wanted to know whether we had space in our K1 class.  Unfortunately, we didn’t.

Like that prosthesis would be a problem!

            I asked why he wanted to enroll the boy at the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education if he had already registered him at another school.  Dad pointed at his son’s foot—he had a prosthesis.  

            Dad explained that his son had been born with a club foot and that at three days old the doctors amputated his son's foot.

            We asked again about why Dad wanted to enroll him with us.  Turns out the other school felt the boy’s prosthesis would be too much of a distraction for the other students—that they might not be able to learn because they would be focused on his leg.  Outrageous!

            The school then said that the boy could only come if he wore long pants so that the prosthesis would be covered.  That may not seem like a big deal (long pants), but in Haiti it’s a big deal!  Younger boys wear shorts as part of their school uniform.  It’s not until middle/high school that boys wear long pants. So, this little guy would look different from all the other boys in his long pants.

More outrage--not only on my part, but also on the part of the other administrators.

            We still had to decide whether to accept him.  Our K1 class is not only full, but we are overbooked—22 kids instead of 20.  The administration talked through options, but we couldn’t really think of any good ones. So, my next step was to ask the K1 teacher what she thought because if we accepted him, she was the one who would have to live with the decision every day.

            We called Mme. Barbara in and explained the situation.  Her immediate response was a “yes.”  

Have I mentioned that the Center has great staff???

            I am so glad . . . so happy . . . so thrilled . . . so humbled that the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education is (and will be for others) a safe place for this little guy.  

God's Hand

          It’s been a busy, fulfilling week.  Lots of little things:

·     More students attending

·     Working on IEPs for kids

·     Trying to support teachers

·     Learning to buy fresh bread from a small, local shop instead of at a grocery store

·     Ordering and buying supplies for the school

          The best part, though, was being a part of God working in people’s lives.  

          Let me start with Wideline, our K2 aide.  She has been on maternity leave in September and is supposed to return to work the first week of October.  I saw her on Friday, and she wasn’t sure whether she could return because she didn’t have anyone to watch her baby (two of her older kids will start school with us in October).  Her family needs her income because her husband’s work is inconsistent.

Ashley and me

          Next is Ashley’s mom.  She brings Asley, a girl with Down’s Syndrome, and her younger sister to the Center for school.  They come each day from Carrefour, and it takes them about 2-3 hours to get to school. For this week, Mom has been staying at the school during the day because she doesn’t have the time or money to bring them to school, go home, and then come back to get the girls.  Mom’s sponsors are looking for a place for Mom and the girls to live during the week.  They are also hoping that Mom can find a small job so that she can make some money.

Ashley's sister is in the peach-
colored dress

          Enter God.  

          Okay “enter Jamie really paying attention and finally noticing God’s hand at work.”

          Earlier this week I asked Gertrude whether she knew anyone who could rent Mom a room.  Turns out, her nieces have a room to rent—definitely a possibility for Mom and the girls.  An added bonus is that the room is not far from the orphanage and is only about 25 minutes from the Center.

          A place to live is taken care of.  Now for a job.

          Enter Wideline’s need for a babysitter.

          After talking with Wideline on Friday, I went back to her on Saturday with this idea: Wideline brings the baby to the Center, and Ashley’s mom takes care of the baby during the school day.  Wideline would have a babysitter and be able to return to work, and Ashley’s mom would have a job!

          God brought two people together who had needs the other could meet.  I don’t know how it will all work out, but God has put them in the same place at the same time for a reason.  

         

It will be a joy to watch how it all plays out.

Boundaries

           

Another busy week is in the books.  So much happened that I’m not sure where to begin!

            First of all, more students came—we’re up to about 65 kids now.  There are still kids who registered who haven’t come, so we’ll see what this week brings.  My fear is that they are not coming because their parents can’t afford to pay the entry fee.  I know that that is cultural, but it really bothers me because the longer kids are out of school, the harder it is for them to progress.

Who couldn't love Elena?

            I saw firsthand this week why we need to have an inclusive school.  For many of our students this year, it is the first time they’ve been around people with disabilities.  A couple of times, when one of our special-needs students walked by, the boys backed away as if frightened.  Another day during recess, some of the boys didn’t want to let one of our girls with Down’s Syndrome play on the playground equipment with them.  I insisted that she could, but they didn’t look happy about it.  Then, when she got down, they wiped off the seat she had been sitting on.  

            It just about broke my heart to see 7-8 year olds acting this way because they had learned this attitude from somewhere.  We have our work cut out for us, but at least the Center is a place where kids (and their parents) can learn to think differently about people with handicaps.  

            It’s been interesting to watch the teachers interact with the kids the second week.  They are doing an amazing job with them!  We finally got a soccer ball, so the boys are running all over kicking that around. While they are doing that, the teachers are playing with the girls and teaching them simply playground games—reminds me of some of the games we played when I was little!  The teachers are having fun, and so are the kids.  I love the relationship building that is going on.

            Teachers are also doing their best to modify for the kids.  One of our 2^ndgraders, Jephte, really struggles with all things academic.  So, I’ve been going in to his class at the end of the day to write down his homework for him—it normally took him so long to write down the homework that he just stopped copying it down.  Then, he couldn’t do it.  Well, after doing this for three days, the teacher started doing it herself!  Now, Jephte at least knows what his homework is and has a chance of doing it!  Next step---get him all the books that he needs!

            I don’t know whether all of you know this, but this year I am living at Notre Maison, many of whose children attend the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education. I have known many of these kids for a number of years and have a personal relationship with them.  Because of that, I have worked hard this past month to set some boundaries at home—I pretty much stay upstairs away from the kids.  I believe it’s important that they know that at school, we have one relationship while at Notre Maison, we have another. I know those strict boundaries won’t stay there forever, but I think it’s a good way to start.

            I say all that because this past week I decided to change some of those boundaries.  One little guy, Alvarez, has many emotional needs.  He causes more trouble than anyone I know, and he has the reputation at home and at school for being the one causing trouble.  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him get any positive praise. So, last Friday after chapel I asked Alvarez whether he would “help” me memorize the Bible verse so that I could recite in this week at chapel.  Every day we sat together up on the roof of the orphanage and worked on the verse. Friday in chapel, he “helped” me recite it, and he got positive praise!  The smile on his face was priceless.  

Suze works with kids on memorizing Bible verse

            Another student who struggles, Kethia, sat next to me during Chapel.  I had my hymnal and Bible with me, and as I was singing, I noticed her moving closer and closer to me—she wanted to read, too.  Then, while the group was praying, Kethia took my Bible and started reading from it. She helped me find the memory verse for this week in the Bible, and when I asked her whether we should recite it together next week, she smiled and said yes!

            I have a feeling I’m going to be memorizing a lot of Bible verses this year!

When the Kids Don't Come

         

Introductions in 4th grade

          The first week of school is supposed to be a time to meet new students, welcome back the returning ones, and embark on new adventures.

            For that to happen, though, the kids need to come.

            And ours didn’t.

            Well, some came.  The first day we had five kids until 9:15 when the students from Notre Maison arrived. By Friday we had about 10 kids and the Notre Maison kids.

            I learned this week that Haitian parents often don’t send their kids to school the first week.  Why?

            No one really knows.  It’s just tradition.  Go figure.

            I’m hoping that tomorrow all—or most—of the students show up!

            The week did have its upsides!  We had our first day of music classes ever—the kids loved it as did the adults.  We don’t have many instruments yet, but the teacher did a great job with what we have: a couple of recorders, some rhythm sticks, a set of drum sticks, and a couple of drums.  

Kindergarten class--Day 1

            Music is one of the areas where the teachers and administrators plan on growing the school very quickly when I am content to go slowly.  The music teacher is already talking about trying out the older kids who show some talent on different instruments.  Don’t know what different instruments he’s talking about because we don’t have much!  And, the principals are already planning a big musical extravaganza for kindergarten graduation.  

            I need them all to watch What About Bob?  Baby steps are okay!  

On Being the Boss

            Being the boss is hard.  It’s constant decision making.  It’s constant problem solving.  It’s constant question answering.  It’s constant everything.

1st grade

            And, I often don’t know whether I’m making the right decisions or finding the best solutions or handing the problems correctly.  

            This week I had to share principal responsibilities with the two principals so that they were filling their day with work not other stuff.  I have to sit with one of the teachers and encourage/tell her that she will need to do things differently this year even though she doesn’t want to.  I have to sit with another teacher and talk with her about her under-the-breathe comments about whether one of her students can learn. 

Parachute fun!

            I am not looking forward to doing these things.  It would be hard to do in English, and I get to do all this in Creole. Unfortunately, that sometimes means needing the translator to be present, which I don’t like because it interferes with confidentiality.  

            I continue to balance wanting to do things my way with making sure we have a shared vision that the school can grow into.  Balancing what I believe is educationally best based on American schools with respecting Haitian tradition and culture.

            I learned a lot about Haitian culture this past week, not only about parents not sending kids the first week, but also about the importance of raises and what is seen as respectful/disrespectful to Haitians and honoring Haitian laws even if the government doesn’t.  

There are days when I am completely overwhelmed by how much I don’t know about Haiti.