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Web-Site: www.haitihero.org                 E-Mail: info@haitihero.org

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Haiti Day 22 and 23: Teaching English and Learning Kreyol

Michele and I keep trying our best to teach English to as many Haitian students as possible in one day! Today I had 50 middle and high school students in my class and yesterday Michele taught 55-60 elementary and middle school students, all in the same class! You have to look at the pictures I am posting, and realize that the only materials we really have are chalk and a chalkboard. To compound the situation the classes are either taught in classrooms with broken down walls, or under large tarps that have been placed outside. This has not stopped the 200 students from coming each day to receive an education. The students dutifully enter the gates at 8:00 every morning. The first class session runs from 8:30-10:00. After a 30 minute break from 10:00-10:30 classes resume from 10:30-12:00 at which point the school dismisses the students. Michele and I like to stay around the school though for about another hour, because there is always a small group of students that want to speak with us. The small group of students speaks only Kreyol, and it forces Michele and me to practice all the words and phrases that we know. The most common phrase heard during these conversations is, “Kirby, ou te mange sourit ye?” Did you eat a mouse yesterday? Ever since I told the kids jokingly that I like to eat mouse soup, it has become their favorite question for me! Additionally, Michele and I have begun to interview the students about their lives and how the earthquake has affected them. It is sad to hear the stories about families that have lost their houses, children that have lost their mother or those that have now become orphans as a result of the earthquake. It is these specific children that H.E.R.O. is committed to helping. Please take moment to visit our website at www.haitihero.com to learn more about what it is we are trying to do.

Thank you.
Steven Kirby, President

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