le dessein de Dieu: tisser un charisme de communion dans notre monde

El proyecto de Dio: Tejiendo un carisma de

Comunión en el barrio global

God’s Design: Weaving a Charism of Communion in the Global Neighborhood

History The people of Haiti have a history that is dominated by oppressive exploitation. In the 1700s, Haiti was the hub of the slave trade. A slave rebellion led to a declaration of Haiti’s independence in 1804. However, France demanded a payment of 150 million francs. Between this debt and other demands to compensate colonialists for the slaves that were lost through independence, Haiti was saddled with enormous, unpayable debts from its very beginning. After Haiti fell behind on payments to France, it refinanced its debts through U.S. banks. When the U.S. occupied Haiti, from 1915 to 1934, one of its primary goals was to ensure debt collection. On January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 300,000 were killed and an additional one million were displaced as a result of the earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Americas, with more than half of its citizens living on less than one U.S. dollar per day. The earthquake exacerbated this desperate situation. Thousands were driven from their homes and forced to live in tents located in fields and on sidewalks. Many of these families continue to live without clean water, proper sanitation, or adequate nutrition.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 M earthquake with an epicenter near the town of Leogane, approximately 25 kilometers (16 mi) west of Port au Prince, Haiti capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The Haitian city of Leogane was almost completely destroyed as a result of the earthquake on January 12th 2010. Estimations show 90% of the city was reduced to rubble. The numbers of missing and dead were left to mere speculation. People had to live in the streets using torn down roofing tin as make-shift shelters. Those that could afford the treatment were flown via helicopter to the Dominican Republic but only a handful of individuals could afford this luxury. Leogane is now slowly rebuilding.

Earthquake- January 10, 2010

Following the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January 2010, the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States and Canada partnered with Mission Haiti and pledged to help re-build the island and lives of its people by investing in the education of Haiti’s most vulnerable citizens – its girls. The Sisters of St. Joseph in North America have pledged more than $325,000.00 over 10 years in order to: • support the education of 10 Haitian girls from primary through secondary school at schools run by the Sisters of the Company of Jesus in Leogane; • provide three years of technical education for 10 girls; • assist in the salaries for and certification of teachers; and • provide partial financial assistance for building a secondary school in Leogane.

Haiti Proposal Rebuilding Haiti

Through the Empowerment of Girls

A Collaborative Project of The Canadian Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph

U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph

Annunciation School Leogane, Haiti

EDUCATION OF GIRLS Situation in Haiti

Most parents in Haiti do have the means to pay private

tuitions, yet they understand the value of education and

realize it is likely the best and only way out of poverty for

their children. Many of the families earn less in a year than the cost of the

tuition.

Yet they make tremendous sacrifices to send their

children to school. They go without meals, work at

whatever jobs they can find, live in meager conditions to

save money. Even with these sacrifices, they might not be

able to afford the 13 consecutive years of

schooling necessary for a high school diploma in Haiti.

Only about 5% of the children who start school will be able to finish. Half of children do not attend primary school, majority of those are girls. Education of girls is a key factor to bringing about social transformation. An educated girl is less at risk, less vulnerable to abuse in all its forms.

Goal 1: To financially support the education of 10 girls through elementary and secondary school. Meet the children we are committed to educate. These are nine of the ten girls who are presently in second grade. (School year 2013-14) They are bright, beautiful and full of energy. Their names are: Taila, Sorina, Rose, Kemberlie, Laurie, Princesse, Sheidna, Geraldine, Rose , and Ferlanda Their teacher’s name is Erline.

Public education is not available for everyone in Haiti, and so, in 1998, the Annunciation community responded to the need in Leogane and built a school. Annunciation School was begun for poor and uneducated children of the area. Annunciation School in Leogane consists of grades one to six in eight classrooms, and a kitchen, lunch/all-purpose room, and restrooms for 180 students.

Girls at Annunciation School in Haiti The children receive a uniform and all school supplies. English was taught in all grades. Many improvements have been made to the school since the start. Hundreds of books have been purchased and donated in order to expand the library and the school now has two laptop computers.

During the 2010 earthquake, the lunch/all-purpose room was damaged beyond repair and a new one was completed the following year. This is the rebuilt kitchen where the meals are prepared for the children.

The students receive one meal a day at school. Often this is their only meal.

50-60 students are enrolled in this seventh grade classroom.

Goal 2: to provide funding for the on-going training and education of teachers. Education levels in Haiti are low. Haiti’s literacy rate of about 53% (55% for males and 51% for females) is below the 90% average literacy rate for Latin American and Caribbean countries. The country faces shortages in educational supplies and qualified teachers and its rural population remains underrepresented in many of the country’s school classrooms. The 2010 earthquake exacerbated the already constraining factors on Haiti's educational system. Half of Haiti’s teachers have only a 9th grade education. Education and support of teachers…leads to a better education for children. Meet the faculty at Annunciation School. The faculty (seen above) consists of six teachers, an aide, and a part-time English and Physical Education teacher. In addition, a tutor is available every day after school.

Sister Alta, Principal of Annunciation School, with Jack Pelner of Mission Haiti

The Sisters of the Companions of Jesus manage the school on our behalf. Mission Haiti Inc. assumes responsibility for the maintenance and finance of the school.

Sr. Jean – Principal and Sister Idoline – Director of College Coeur de Marie.

This is the new office. Previously, a temporary structure had been set up as an office. The door on the far right will be a computer lab/library.

Rebuilding process: this shows the land after the earthquake and now on which the secondary school is being rebuilt.

GOAL: To provide partial funding for building of secondary School

College Coeur de Marie Secondary School

Goal 3: To provide partial funding for building of a secondary school. College Coeur de Marie/Heart of Mary Secondary School is presently in process of rebuilding. The earthquake completely destroyed another school in Leogane, and when over 200 secondary students showed up at Annunciation, the Sisters of the Companions of Jesus opened their doors with welcoming arms. Not quite sure how, Mission Haiti Inc. jumped on board to help. Mission Haiti applied for and received grants from the Congregation of St. Joseph, Generous Promise Grant Fund. With the support of the Sisters of St. Joseph, funds for teachers, supplies, food, and administration was able to be provided for the students.

College Coeur de Marie / Heart of Mary Secondary School is in the process of rebuilding. Even in the rebuilding the students attend school.

Students in 9th grade.

Note from Sister Susan who visited Leogane in June, 2013 “This is Dieunis (taking his final exam to graduate). He lives at Bethleem Farm and has lived there since he was 4 or 5. Mission Haiti Inc. gave him a scholarship this year to attend the University of Notre Dame in Les Cayes. He is studying agronomy. When I was there in June, it was finals. They had half the kids attending school per day to help with finals. This way the kids could spread out within the classroom. Typically they are sitting very closely to one another. Finals are very stressful. Students in Haiti must pass all their final exams in order to advance to the next grade. The students received a very good meal that day.”

High School students preparing for final exams. This picture shows the teachers reviewing material and working with students to help them prepare for the final exams last June. They really do a nice job with the students. They made a lot of nice accommodations to help the students be successful and to ease their stress that week.

le dessein de Dieu: tisser un charisme de communion dans notre monde

El proyecto de Dio: Tejiendo un carisma de

Comunión en el barrio global

God’s Design: Weaving a Charism of Communion in the Global Neighborhood

Presentation courtesy of Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden