By Teresa Henry | Program Coordinator
Haiti has almost no waste management: infrastructure for sanitation, garbage removal or recycling. Only 17% of the country has any type of improved sanitation systems, and that number is even lower in rural areas of Haiti.
That is the situation in Petit Trou de Nippes where St. Paul’s School is located. There is NO garbage collection. What do the people do? Most of the garbage is thrown on the ground or sometimes burned, neither of which is good for human or environmental health.
At St. Paul’s School this fall, there is a new agricultural educator, Raphael Fernandez, who is passionate about the environment. He has designed a curriculum that interweaves environmental awareness and stewardship with agriculture. He has engaged students in trash cleanup both on the campus of the school and at the students’ homes. But with no garbage collection, where will this garbage go? Students will work with their new instructor and their families to decide what can be burned, what can be recycled and what must be buried. Agronom Raphael, as he is known at St. Paul's, has also found a use for the ubiquitous small plastic bags that deliver a single serving of safe water. The children use them at school and people use them at the market, they are sold for a few pennies everywhere. After the water is gone, there is a small plastic bag that ends up on the ground. Agronom Raphael has put them to use as small containers for starting plants from seeds. The school garden now uses these little "pots" for all their seed germinating!
It is not a beautiful solution that speaks of a “Happy Ever After” and the elimination of the garbage problem. It is the reality of their world, where there is no infrastructure for their waste. But it is a start. Students are learning about the waste, what is dangerous for their health, what cannot be recycled and what has a long half-life. And their immediate environment is cleaner, safer and better for their gardens and families.
Please help us support this creative educator along with all the teachers and staff at St. Paul’s School. Help us support faculty and students work towards practical and appropriate solutions. By donating, you are supporting Raphael’s vision of interconnected curriculums supporting the environment. Trash matters and we want to help the students of St. Paul’s put it in its place!
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