Dear colleagues,
On Tuesday the summit participants spent the day in Hinche, a major town near Thomonde, interviewing Fonkoze clients and a woman whose circumstances are so intractable she’s far from ready for Fonkoze’s services. During our meeting with her, I reflected that she is precisely who we have in mind when we speak of “the ultra-poor” and “extreme poverty”.
So when, late in the afternoon, we visited one of Fonkoze’s literacy classes, it came as a relief and a much-appreciated injection of optimism. The energy in the room full of ti machanns – small market traders – was extraordinary. The women sang songs about Fonkoze and about business skills, and they laughed with delight when team members showed them photographs of themselves on digital cameras. I love the rich harmony of Haitian voices singing, and the sights and sounds in that room reminded me just how inadequate the written word is as a medium for appreciating Haiti.
Later I spoke to two Fonkoze staff members. Lorelei O’Hagen, a former Peace Corps Volunteer who has been Fonkoze’s supervisor of literacy monitors, told
me: “Learning to read and write is contagious – it’s a contagious excitement. I say, ‘What does it mean that I can read your writing?’ and the women say, ‘It means that we can write!’”
More advanced literacy classes involve reading about business skills and reproductive health. “It solidifies their reading skills,” Lorelei told me. “Also, I think it shows them the importance of reading, because there’s information in there that’s relevant to their lives.”
Lorelei told me about one ti machann she knows, who told her: “Now I can’t lose anything, because everybody knows that those are my boxes. I put my name on everything. Now I control what I buy, and no one can take my things.”
Mildred Boivert, Fonkoze’s new Director of Literacy, is a Haitian-American raised in New York. “I’ve always loved Haiti; I’ve always felt at home here,” she told me. “The more I came, the more I saw the need, and as a Haitian-American I felt an obligation to come back and do something here.”
“Literacy to me is the key to life,” she said. “It opens so many doors. Lack of literacy is a way of keeping people down. We’re dealing with adults, but once they see the importance of education they’ll pass it on to their children. It’ll be like an epidemic.”
Best regards,
Ethan Casey
Fonkoze/Zanmi Lasante summit publicity
http://www.fonkoze.org/summit.htm
________________________________________________
Message sent using UebiMiau 2.7.2
On Tuesday the summit participants spent the day in Hinche, a major town near Thomonde, interviewing Fonkoze clients and a woman whose circumstances are so intractable she’s far from ready for Fonkoze’s services. During our meeting with her, I reflected that she is precisely who we have in mind when we speak of “the ultra-poor” and “extreme poverty”.
So when, late in the afternoon, we visited one of Fonkoze’s literacy classes, it came as a relief and a much-appreciated injection of optimism. The energy in the room full of ti machanns – small market traders – was extraordinary. The women sang songs about Fonkoze and about business skills, and they laughed with delight when team members showed them photographs of themselves on digital cameras. I love the rich harmony of Haitian voices singing, and the sights and sounds in that room reminded me just how inadequate the written word is as a medium for appreciating Haiti.
Later I spoke to two Fonkoze staff members. Lorelei O’Hagen, a former Peace Corps Volunteer who has been Fonkoze’s supervisor of literacy monitors, told
me: “Learning to read and write is contagious – it’s a contagious excitement. I say, ‘What does it mean that I can read your writing?’ and the women say, ‘It means that we can write!’”
More advanced literacy classes involve reading about business skills and reproductive health. “It solidifies their reading skills,” Lorelei told me. “Also, I think it shows them the importance of reading, because there’s information in there that’s relevant to their lives.”
Lorelei told me about one ti machann she knows, who told her: “Now I can’t lose anything, because everybody knows that those are my boxes. I put my name on everything. Now I control what I buy, and no one can take my things.”
Mildred Boivert, Fonkoze’s new Director of Literacy, is a Haitian-American raised in New York. “I’ve always loved Haiti; I’ve always felt at home here,” she told me. “The more I came, the more I saw the need, and as a Haitian-American I felt an obligation to come back and do something here.”
“Literacy to me is the key to life,” she said. “It opens so many doors. Lack of literacy is a way of keeping people down. We’re dealing with adults, but once they see the importance of education they’ll pass it on to their children. It’ll be like an epidemic.”
Best regards,
Ethan Casey
Fonkoze/Zanmi Lasante summit publicity
http://www.fonkoze.org/summit.htm
________________________________________________
Message sent using UebiMiau 2.7.2
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