Day 4 of Giving: $5 sends a child to school

 

By Ericlee Gilmore

This past June I had the opportunity to visit some of the schools that are a part of Christian Friendship Ministries. We typically travel to Haiti in the later summer so this was my first glimpse at the way the schools run. Our organization includes 6 elementary schools - some with several hundred children and others with less than 50. 

I was immediately struck by how difficult it is for these teachers in Haiti. Britus was one teacher who I got to know better and greatly admire. He teaches a sixth grade class with sometimes 70 students in the classroom. The students do not have books. Britus must use chalkboard and chalk to show examples. As an educator myself, I could immediately see how hard this was to reach different types of learners. Kids who are not auditory learners were difficult to engage. I admire Britus because he teaches all week and then travels two hours to the major city of Cap Haitien to further his own education. He helped teach me Haitian Kreyol and I helped him with English while we were in Haiti.

I spent several hours talking with the principal of the school in Pignon. I asked him what the needs were for his school, students and teachers. The top need he mentioned was helping educate his teachers more. They have a desire to attend a conference or get some other training so they can become better teachers. They do care about their students but they often feel hopeless because they have so little resources. We hope that one day we can take a team of educators from the U.S. to Haiti to help encourage the Haitian teachers and share teaching ideas.

 *You can help invest in the education of a Haitian child. Just $5 per month can send a child to school. That includes their supplies, uniforms and one meal a day as well as the money to help pay teachers and staff. This will impact the child and their future but also his/her teacher and family. To donate, see www.ChristianFriendshipMinistries.org. If you are an educator, consider participating in a short-term trip to Haiti for teacher training.