By Caitlin McHale | Project Overseer
Things have been going well! We just finished our second trimester. The exam week ended with a group of volunteers from Eckerd College doing English activities each day from 10 - 11:30. Exams ended at 10am each morning so the kids spent the rest of their mornings learning English, and the volunteers enjoyed themselves as well.
There has been some sort of phenomenon going on and it is being taken into account as we plan ahead for the next school year. It has been our observations that Haitians who start education initiatives without receiving any consistent financial support show much more voluntary motivation than those who do receive consistent support. Those who receive consistent support tend to begin to hold back on their efforts, believing that the supporting group is making millions off of them and they should be reluctant to work without squeezing more money out of the group. I have seen many initiatives break up or die down because of this attitude. But after working in the community of Padre Granero since 2006, the various educators who have been working with various different supporting groups seem to now see reality. I think they are ready to collaborate and give a 100% effort for their community, utilizing to the best of their ability, the limited resources they receive. Leaders have stepped up who are putting their personal interests and needs aside and thinking about the needs of the community. The talk we are hearing is definitely encouraging, as we have heard lots of self-interested and discouraging talk in the past, which has hindered the work of educating those who need it most. We know that if the educators will truly unite themselves and put aside interests and politics, any visitors coming to observe or volunteer will see an extraordinary work and have a hard time keeping themselves out of it.There is also talk about contacts with the Education Department in the Haitian government being willing to provide financial support in the next year, if they see a serious effort being carried out.
We thank you for your support. There is still so much more we can do with more resources and we ask you to please continue your generosity, as we are limited by financial resources.Thank you.
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