Haiti: When will we go back to school?
Thursday 4 February 2010
Today I have seen and am beginning to understand the sheer scale and complexity of the situation in Haiti. Having arrived a few days ago and until now having only driven through various parts of Port-au-Prince, I was amazed at how many buildings were still standing. But today as we really moved around the picture was totally different. School buildings are completely flattened and teachers are nowhere to be found.
Speaking to children and parents the picture becomes even more harrowing. Every single person has in some way been affected, losing direct family members or friends.
One 14-year-old girl stood in the midst of her school (well, the rubble that remains of it) telling me how ready she is to return to school, despite losing friends who were in school at the time. She tells me that this is the first time she has stepped near the school again, because she was caught up in aftershocks. She lives under a makeshift shelter in the sports ground of the school with nothing.
She hopes things will be back to normal and school will start. Another girl tells me she wants to start school to stop worrying about things — at the moment she has nothing to do all day and sits and thinks about the earthquake.
As we enter the site where the Ministry of Education building used to be, we are confronted with cranes, and people wearing neon-yellow high-visibility jackets. The clearance of the building has already begun. Ministry officials were scrambling on the rubble to salvage education records, and are sadly still pulling out dead colleagues who were in the building at the time of the earthquake.
Only now can I really begin to understand why we are finding it so difficult to get school data — the system has totally collapsed. Even the Director General of the Education ministry is sleeping out in the open and is himself trying to find a way to move forward and get schools up and running again.
As we drive through the streets, with overcrowded camps dotted along the roadside, I see a young woman squatting in the gutter and another girl showering on the roadside. The conditions in the camps are certainly no better with serious overcrowding and a lack of food and shelter, and nothing for children to do.
I’m amazed at the children’s reslience though when I see a group of girls perform a dance and song for me, with huge smiles on their faces.
Every single child asks me the same question — when will we go back to school? One older girl asks me whether she will be able to sit her exams this year.
I feel so useless because I don’t have an answer. But it only compels me even more to get temporary schools up and running, even if only in a desperate plea to help at least some of these children return to normality and get their education back on track.
As I head to my tent in the grounds of our office at 11.30 pm after another long day, I at least feel fortunate that I have a bucket and water to shower with. There are so many children out in Port-au-Prince who are sleeping out in the open or, if they’re lucky, with a sheet over their heads, worrying about when their schools will start again.
Tags: earthquake, School
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February 8th, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Hi Charlotte – thank you for posting. It’s difficult to picture what it’s like over there and how children are feeling (especially about going back to school), but your blog really brings it closer to home. We’ve so much work to do but it’s fantastic that education is getting a look in now as it is so deserves. Please take care and keep up the good work and morale!
February 8th, 2010 at 1:08 PM
Dear Charlotte,
So sad to note the devastating effects of the earthquake on children and their education. I agree with you 100%, rebuilding the education system amongst many others must be a top priority and of utmost importance to all at whatever cost. Greater investments in the education of this generation of children will gurantee childrens brighter and dignified future, a better Haiti- and consequently a better Globe!! Ride on
February 10th, 2010 at 10:19 AM
Dear Charlotte
My daughter and I would like to come out for June, July and August if there was any way we could help with educational support. I am a writer/workshop leader and work in schools. My daughter is a newly qualified primary teacher. We have lived and worked in Zimbabwe and Senegal. Is there any kind of structure now that we could offer our time too? many thanks for your time and hope you’re managing to re build moments of education again for some young people. Warm wishes Penny Rae
February 10th, 2010 at 3:54 PM
Dear Charlotte
It really is hard sitting in London to realise how bad it must be on the ground in Haiti. Thanks for the updates, its heart warming to hear about the kids that want to get back to education. Keep up the good work, we miss you back home.
Rob
February 11th, 2010 at 4:31 PM
Dear Penny,
Thank you so much for your message. We really are encouraged to know that there are people like you and your daughter who are looking for ways in which you can do more. While we appreciate your offer, Save the Children is unable to support volunteers in emergency settings, as these require the technical qualifications, experience and the full training needed to working in difficult, high-risk environments.
We do hope that you continue to take an interest in our education work and that you follow our response in Haiti. Our team of education experts are on the ground, working extremely hard in collaboration with the national government, many other NGOs and UN agencies to make sure we are reaching as many children as possible who are missing out on school. They will be encouraged to hear of your support.
With warm wishes,
The Education Team
March 6th, 2010 at 8:10 PM
Seeing you and your message from Haiti I feel hard to express my respects for your contributions to the humanitarian cause and especially for children “the anchors that hold mothers to life”. I am glad to have met you personally in Islamabad, Pakistan in the cluster meetings. Charlotte, I would highly appreciate you and Save the children and like to know anything that i could possibly do from Pakistan to help our Haitian children in any way.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:25 PM
How does this tie to one of the previous posts? Maybe I’m blind… because I could’ve been on a differnet website. lol Nevermind. At any rate, it was a solid post. Bye
Janet Jenkins
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June 8th, 2010 at 6:51 AM
This is definitely a topic thats close to me so Im happy that you wrote about it. Im also happy that you did the subject some justice. Not only do you know a great deal about it, you know how to present in a way that people will want to read more. Im so happy to know someone like you exists on the web.