It's a Wrap

The first year of the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education (HCIE) is in the books!  We did it!  

This dream of mine took hold back in 2012, and since I first started talking about working with Gertrude to open a school for special-needs children, many of you have encouraged me; supported me; prayed for me; and listened while I complained, cried, and vented about the challenges.

The kids love playing with Phonsely

The school year started on Monday, September 3, 2017.  I couldn’t be there that day because I was working at Morning Star Christian Academy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  That will be different in the coming school year—I will be present on the first day of school at HCIE because I now work there full time.  That is both an exciting and a scary step for me because it means stepping out even more in faith and relying on God to provide for my every need.  

There have been growing pains this year (and over the past six years), but none have diminished the purpose of the school.  Originally, I planned to open a school just for special-needs children, which I believe is desperately needed in Haiti.  However, when we opened our doors last fall, the school was an inclusive school which means that children with special needs, children with learning disabilities, and children with no known needs all attend school together.  That’s very rare in Haiti.  Yes, the vision changed, but it was a change for the better!

Our first graders

Gertrude and I had planned to start small—begin with kindergarten.  Unfortunately, through some misunderstandings over the summer, students up to 3rd grade were enrolled.  We rolled with it and made it work.  Our goal is to keep growing and begin adding the “extras” that we need to help all of our students: a music teacher so that we can use music as a way to engage all students in lessons; a physical therapist so that we can provide therapy for our students who are wheelchair bound; a life-skills program that includes cooking, laundry, farming, etc.  

Starting the way we did (bigger than anticipated) caused me great stress!  And, at times I wasn’t so nice about it.  Part of the learning process for me has been balancing my American way of thinking with my ingrained sense of planning and organization with Haitian culture.  I am learning which educational things to fight for because I know they are stronger ways of teaching/educating children and what things to let go of simply because of my own preferences.  It’s often a daily battle!  

The amazing HCIE staff

Some of those challenges result from the language barrier.  I don’t know enough Creole yet to clearly share my vision for the school, and I don’t understand Creole well enough to grasp the principals’ vision for the school.  For the most part we’re on the same page, but the lack of good conversational skills on my part means that I miss out on a lot of the brainstorming and dreaming that comes during casual conversation.  Because of that, I often feel left out of the decision-making process; by the time the group sits down to plan, it seems as if the other three have already hashed everything out and I’m left to catch up.

A major growing pain for me has been in the area of leadership.  When it comes to leading, I am much more of an Aaron than a Moses.  I am more comfortable and better skilled at walking alongside  the out-front leader than I am at being the out-front leader.  As an administrator of HCIE, though, I am often called on to be a Moses instead of an Aaron.  I prefer to lead through example rather than words.  Unfortunately, I often don’t have the words in Creole to lead that way even though I am expected to.  I also don’t know whether the “lead by example” method is seen as “real” leadership in Haiti.  If garbage needs to be picked up, I pick it up.  If the front gate needs to opened or closed, I do it.  If I child needs to be fed, I feed her.  I wouldn’t say that those things are frowned upon, but I do sense that hierarchical roles are much more established in Haiti than I am used.  The best leaders I’ve worked with are those who do any job that needs doing regardless of whether it fits into their job description—you just do the work that needs to be done.  So, when I try to lead that way, I don’t know that it is valued.  I will have to work on the Moses-type skills in order to grow into my administrative position.

Jackey and me

The kids.  That’s the area that has been the most awesome for me—and isn’t that what it’s all about, really?  The kids are learning.  They are growing.  Nothing beats having children run up to you to give you hugs and kisses when they see you in the morning.  And, for all of you that know Gus, there is no better sight than having him run up to you in his awkward gait with that huge smile spread across his face.  I got that every Tuesday and Thursday from him when he arrived at school. Pretty cool.  Back to the learning part, though.  We have one girl who is 14 and in 3rd grade for the second time.  She passed this year and can now read!  And, she enjoys reading!  She’ll be in 4th grade next year, and now that we have a better idea of her strengths and weaknesses, I bet she’ll pas 4th grade the first time through.  Another student finally passed 2nd grade (at age 11).  One of our 2nd graders who is 11 developed a strong relationship with her teacher and was able to share that she hesitates to speak up in class because of how Dad treats her at home.  Because she feels she has no voice at home, she feels she has no voice anywhere.  She’s finding her voice which will serve her well in the future.

Learning to do laundry!

I'm learning along with the kids!

So, what’s next?  For me, I quit my paying job at Morning Star Christian Academy so that I can work full time at HCIE.  That means that I had to move all my stuff to Notre Maison because I needed a place to live.  Gertrude has been kind enough to let me rent a room there so that I didn’t have to figure out how to live on my own in Haiti.  Quitting the paying job also means that I will need to rely completely on the support of family, friends, and others who believe in this mission.  That’s a totally scary step for me, but I’m doing it.

Working at HCIE full time means that I MUST improve my language skills so that I can contribute in a meaningful way to the processes that go on at HCIE.  I have knowledge and skills that can be helpful to the teachers and principals; now I need to make sure that I can share that knowledge and those skills.

Alexandre--one of our special-needs students

For the school, we will continue to fundraise to cover costs not taken care of through tuition such as school supplies, teacher in-services, food for snacks, and supplies for the chicken coop and garden.  We will write grants so that we can hire a part-time music teacher.  We will work with universities to create a PT/OT internship program.  

We have big plans for the Haiti Center for Inclusive Education.  With God’s grace and blessing we will continue to grow and serve the children.  If you want to know more about how you can help support us, please feel free to contact me via email at jamieschumacher34@gmail.com or to send me a message via Facebook.  

PS. I knew it had been awhile since I'd blogged anything, but I didn't realize it had been this long!  So sorry--I will do better in the future (I know. . . I've said that before, but this time I mean it!  For real.)