March 3, 2010

Education continues on La Gonave thanks to the generous contributions from people like you and for the tireless work of Haiti Partners colleagues like Enel Angerville!

Enel Angerville, came to Port-au-Prince yesterday. The earthquake damage including fatalities on La Gonave is small in comparison to Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities but the impact is significant in several ways:

– A large number of houses, schools and churches that are still standing have significant cracks.

– People are afraid to spend time in them and the government has declared that schools with damage should not function.

– Majority of families on La Gonave that were already barely surviving don’t have means to receive the tens of thousands that are migrating back from Port au Prince.

This vast migration to La Gonave and other areas brings sickness, foot and water shortages, and higher prices, not to mention completely overwhelming hospitals and clinics that were already inadequate. An estimated 600,000 homeless people from Port-au-Prince seek refuge with extended family in countryside

Despite the challenges, Enel and his colleagues push on tirelessly. See photos below of students at Haiti Partners partner school–Bèl Platon Community School–under tarps. The numbers of students have grown because few schools have reopened and parents want their children’s education to continue. We see in photos the participative methods that Haiti Partners promotes which involve large group and also small group work with importance placed on each person having a voice and being invited to fully engage.

Enel works closely with a network comprised of 27 churches. We see photos below of a recent 2-day training that Enel organized. He brought in 2 experts in helping communities deal with disasters: being ready, what to do when it’s happening, and techniques and approaches for dealing with aftermath.