Alternative Classrooms

During the fall semester, students found time to organize and participate in a wide range of extracurricular events. From hiking in the mountains to hosting lectures and concerts to organizing clinics, here is a sample of what we have been learning outside the classroom.

Hiking Haiti

The leadership program organized the third annual HELP hike over two days in October. Sixteen students and 11 staff hiked from Furcy through the La Selle Mountains and La Visite National Park, spending the night with a family in Seguin, before descending the mountain to Marigot and ending at the beach in Jacmel. It was a challenging and rewarding experience that required teamwork and determination, giving participants the chance to see a new part of Haiti, get to know their fellow staff and students, and practice the pillars of HELP - respect, rigor, courage, sacrifice and service.

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Second-year student Djimy Saintil (agro-economics ’17) was delighted to visit a part of the country he had only seen on video, and was prompted to think about how his studies are pertinent to what he saw: Last semester, I saw a documentary about La Visite, one of the most important preserved spaces left in Haiti. So it was very moving to find myself at the center of the park, among the pines and the waterfalls. At the same time, I was surprised to see that, despite the numerous efforts to protect the trees, people still have not stopped cutting them down!

I was also reminded of the will of the Haitian people to work hard despite their difficult circumstances. I saw men, women, and children carrying on their back the carrots and leeks they had grown on the smallest pieces of land. To me, this implies that if our farmers had access to more arable land, we would no longer need to import so much food from neighboring countries.

So the hike was a great experience on many levels – recreational, athletic, and educational. It was an opportunity to relax and have fun while also working towards a collective goal. I returned reinvigorated and better able to work and study!

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Fellow second-year student Marion Mackenson (environmental management ’17) was struck by the abundance of nature and the scarcity of infrastructure: As we started to gain altitude, the clouds became closer, the air became cooler, the noise of the city became quieter, and the green of the landscape became clearer. But contrasted with the natural beauty we saw were the difficulties faced by the area’s inhabitants, who live without access to hospitals, schools, or even passable roads to transport their harvest. It was striking to see the delicate and disparate balance of the land’s riches and the people’s lack of resources.

Creole à la Mode

Dr. Yves Dejean, Haiti’s most prominent linguist and a founder of the movement to promote Creole language in the Haitian education system, spoke at HELP in mid-October. Dr. Dejean is the author of numerous books and articles addressing the importance of Creole as a means of improving education. When he started teaching at the State University of Haiti in the late 1970s, he was the only professor lecturing in Creole. At HELP, he spoke about Haiti’s complicated linguistic politics and their detrimental effects on the quality of education. He also discussed the feelings of “identity shame” that speaking Creole still evokes for some Haitians, and urged students to look at the language’s strengths and rich history.

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Freshman Jean Kensle Figaro (administration ’18) was inspired by Dr. Dejean’s message: The presentation was exciting and powerful. He showed us that our native language is very well organized and even beautiful. I agree that it is important to teach Haitians in Creole, but there is a lot of work to be done. First, we have to value our language rather than being afraid or feeling degraded when we use it. We also need to continue to enrich and improve Creole, especially by adding scientific terms. Hearing Dr. Dejean encouraged me to care more about Creole and to fight to promote its use in Haiti.

The connections between Dr. Dejean’s presentation and the concepts of HELP’s leadership classes were clear to fellow first-year student Leonardo Virgo Charles (administration ’18): Though Creole is supposedly “the language of the illiterate,” Dr. Dejean explained many reasons why it is important to the country. Because both French and Creole are the official languages of Haiti, I agree that we should not promote one over the other in order to dominate and feel superior to others. Dr. Dejean showed me that, just as we cannot deny our origins, we cannot deny our native language.

Fellow freshman Valencia Prisca Brutus (administration ’18) concluded: Dr. Dejean is one of the rare Haitians who fights for our mother tongue. He understands that others will never appreciate Creole until we, its native speakers, do so.

A Vision for the Future

Also in mid-October, a team of volunteers from our longtime partner the Haitian Timoun Foundation (HTF) held an optometry clinic at the HELP Center. Seven students assisted Dr. Todd Pfeil and the HTF delegation, enabling a total of over 220 people, including neighborhood residents, to receive free eye exams and consultations, many of them for the first time ever. HTF put together a video of their time in Haiti, including footage of the clinic at HELP. Many thanks to Dr. Todd and everyone at HTF for making this event possible!

optometryFery Brunis and Eddynio Estime, both third-year pharmacy students who volunteered at the clinic, talked about how important organizational skills were to its success: Participating in the clinic was a great pleasure. It allowed us to work in our field while helping our fellow students and their families. For most of the students assisting with the clinic, it was our first time being responsible for putting on this kind of activity and ensuring its success from start to finish. We were able to develop our skills by organizing a large-scale event and managing a group of diverse participants.

From the White House to Our House

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited HELP at the beginning of November, along with U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Pamela A. White, and the Haitian Minister of Education, Vanneur Pierre. They toured the Center and met with staff and students to discuss the challenges that young Haitians face in accessing higher education. Secretary Duncan later tweeted that he had a great conversation with Haiti’s “future leaders.”

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The visit made a big impression on Wilkins Jean-Gilles, a 2013 graduate who now works as an accountant at HELP: Secretary Duncan is someone who has worked with, and learned from, the disadvantaged in his own community. And he now has the chance to fight to address some of the most important issues his country is facing. I think he is a great role model for young people, especially those being trained at HELP to be future leaders of Haiti.

Inspiring Sounds

Also in November, HELP welcomed the popular Haitian musician BélO who spoke to more than 80 staff and students about how his parents, who could not read or write, did everything they could to provide him with an education. BélO’s career started to take off when he was still in high school but he postponed recording and touring in order to fulfill his promise to his parents to graduate from university. It was worth the wait, because since 2005 he has released three popular albums, toured internationally, and won numerous awards including the 2006 Radio France International Discoveries Prize.

His message to HELP was to never forget one’s roots and to remain humble and focused in spite of success. “I am first and foremost in service of my country,” BélO has said. “It is the source of my inspiration, and I hope to positively impact the economic, political, and social situation through my songs.” BélO closed with a duet with HELP staff member John Roberge on violin (check out the video here).

Freshman Maureen Petit-Frere (law ’18) talked about how BélO’s performance could spur people to action: His work is really important for Haiti because it helps the world to see our country in a different light. This in turn changes our own mentality and propels Haiti on the road to progress. We need artists like BélO who make a positive impact on young people and on society.

Senior Nemdia Daceney (economics ’13) was especially impressed with the down-to-earth attitude of this popular musician: BélO’s visit was a true inspiration. He is one of the few artists who are not ashamed to talk about their personal story and share their humble past. He also had the courage to pursue his university education even when he was under pressure from producers to launch his music career. He shows that it’s possible to do what you love while still prioritizing education. BélO has taught me that no matter how famous you may be, your past is what makes you who you are and to deny it is to destroy a part of yourself.

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Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, Visits HELP!