This is an adventure we could probably write 10 blogs about. This fall we feel like our eyes have really been opened to a lot of the issues with the school system in Haiti. This is the first time we have been present for the distribution of the sponsor money to the schools and families. Have you ever been to one of those ponds full of big goldfish where children can buy little pellets of food and throw them in the water? Then the fish bubble up to the top, piling on top of each other and trying to get at the food...with that image in your mind you can understand a little bit about Haitian schools.
WARNING: This blog post might be a huge downer for you, but understand that school is in such early stages of development here, and God can do great things!
When someone chooses to sponsor a child in school here the money goes towards several different things. Probably the biggest three are the actual payment of tuition to the schools, the books, and the uniforms. There are also backpacks, medications, shoes, and other items that kids receive. Mission Haiti currently has about 1500 students at something like 40 different schools, so the master list is always being updated with who has received what, who has transferred to what school, who did and didn't pass last year (more on that later), and other pertinent information.
At every point in the paragraph above problems can and do arise. Take tuition as an example. If you give it to the parents to pay the school, all kinds bad things can happen. Use your imagination. If you give it to the school, all kinds of other bad things can happen. Probably the most prevalent is a complex network of kids saying they go to a school, striking a deal with the director there to pretend they actually go there, and then splitting the money with him. This really happens! Well, the good news is Pam finally reached the end of her rope this year and hired a professional school inspector to make sure the money we are giving out is actually being used properly. Of course this leads to a lot of angry people not being able to work the system anymore, but is should reap big dividends for those who play fairly.
Mission Haiti directly oversees four schools, but even that statement needs to be qualified. Each of those primary schools has a director who is actually in charge, but through the sponsorship program Pam actually pays all the salaries, virtually all of the tuition, and virtually all of the building projects, so obviously she has a big say in what goes on. And yet there is always so much conflict and resistance at every step in the process. It can be incredibly discouraging. For example, she recently gave one fo the schools all of their books for the year, and they turned around and charge the parents money for the books, so many kids don't have books. Sometimes you just want to buy those directors a plane ticket, personally take them on a tour through any decent school in Miami or wherever, and open their eyes to what could be. In their defense, they really have no idea what school CAN be like.
Then there is the parents' support or lack thereof of school in general. Someone could easily write an entire book on this topic, because it is so complex. Many parents would simply like their kids to be home working. That is the reality. When carrying water, doing laundry by hand, and preparing/cooking food takes so much time, it is nice to have many hands doing the work. There are also a few parents at the other end of the spectrum who have an idea of what school can be like, are disgusted with the lack of quality in local schools, and try to come up with other options. Patchouko and his wife fall into this category.
This next paragraph will blow your mind and cause you to pray...
There is also the issue of passing from grade to grade. Some of most difficult times are after 6th, 9th, 12th, & 13th grades (they do one more year here, like in Europe). The kids in our little community have to take the same exams as the kids in Port who go to big expensive private schools. So the tests are very hard, at least for our kids. Many of them don't pass and have to try again the next year. They can be stuck in the same grade for many years. But that is not all. Then there a times when a student doesn't pass, but can bribe the director with money or other favors (yes, I'm implying what you think) and pass anyway. I hear about this happening in the high schools. We hope it doesn't happen in the primary schools we operate. Then there is one last scenario you probably figured out already which is very hard to prove. Some students are very smart, but receive a failing grade on the exam. When they ask the director about it, he may in an off-handed way ask for a bribe. If the student doesn't comply they don't pass. Some students believe they really did achieve a passing score but were not allowed to move on because of not giving the bribe. May God have mercy on the soul of any directors who have done these things!
Then there is the government's involvement with the schools. The new president has promised to help schools in Haiti be great. Two pieces of evidence seem to indicate nothing has changed. At the end of last year national (public) school teachers stopped coming to school because they weren't getting paid anymore. Now this fall the president moved school back an entire month to begin on October 4th. This happened last year, too, under the old, corrupt regime. Cutting school is an obvious way to save money at the expense of the children of Haiti. And the tradition in Haiti is to not really start attending regularly until the 2nd or 3rd week. So I went in to teach English yesterday at the local high school, and way less than half of the kids were there.
This blog post does not even delve into the lack of resources, books, quality teachers, creative programs, and other obstacles faced by the schools, but you get the idea. Haitian schools are in a sad state. Of course when you meet a young man or woman who somehow find a way to push through it all, master French and other languages, and blaze some trail to a real career of some sort, it is very inspiring. I think Pam and the rest of us at Mission Haiti feel like we have a very long way to go until we can say the schools are “good” here, but there is at least a sense that things are improving year to year.
Please remember the Haitian schools in your prayers today, and the adventure of those of us who are directly involved.
Thank the Lord today for the School you attend(ed)!
-The Grimm Family Adventurers
No comments:
Post a Comment