Haiti Project brings aid to village, insight to student

Emily Strasser Guest Writer

At least 100 Haitian school children stared solemnly at me. Every time I said “bonjour,” they replied in unison, but after I used up my few Creole phrases, they were still standing there.

“Do you know this song?” I tried, knowing they wouldn’t understand me, but gesturing to my head, and then shoulders, starting “head, shoulders…” I trailed off, uncertain. One child in the back caught on, and started singing it in French. And then they were all singing at the top of their lungs.

It was our first afternoon in Chermaître, a rural village in the mountains of Northwest Haiti. The Vassar Haiti Project has been raising funds to build a school and to support teachers’ salaries and a nutrition program in Chermaître for seven years. This was the Project’s second trip to Haiti. Nine of us went, including four Vassar students—Ken Simons ’08, Grace Tan ’09, Raluca Besliu ’11 and myself—and five community members including Andrew and Lila Meade, the co-Chairs of the Vassar Haiti Project. We spent a week in Haiti.

To reach the village, we drove for over an hour on bumpy dirt roads, then hiked another hour into the mountains. Ten- and 12-year-old schoolgirls carried our 50-pound suitcases on their heads up the mountain. Without any bags, even those of us in shape were sweating, panting and guzzling our water.

When we arrived at the school, the children greeted us singing, and led us to a classroom with cake and coffee. The one-room school was still in use, but the seven-room school, built entirely by funds that the Vassar Haiti Project raised at its art sales, was sturdy and beautiful, and will be opening in the fall. The whole village seemed to have gathered to greet us.

That afternoon, we brought out soccer balls, jump ropes, Twister and puzzles. We laughed and played, tried to explain games without a common language, sat with parents and met their children and took in the beauty of the mountains and the welcome of the people.

The next morning, we arose early with the crowing of the rooster to set up for the day. All day, we measured, weighed and documented the children, with the help of some village leaders. Deb Hillard, a nurse, and Caryn Halle, a holistic health counselor, focused on assessing the health and nutritional needs of the village. Outside, a long line of jostling parents and children waited to be called in. Curious children peered in through the windows.

The kids entered, wide-eyed and solemn. Many guessed at their ages, and we were sure some came through twice. We quickly turned 150 carefully sorted goody bags into 300 so that we had enough for every child. We just had to laugh and pull together as a team to revise all of our carefully thought-out plans on the spot. Greg Flaherty, a project member, brilliantly created a “picking up trash” game to get the children involved in cleaning up.

Later in the day, we handed out soap and toothpaste to the parents. People pushed to get some, afraid we would run out. While we had been outside playing, talking and laughing with the villagers the day before, we were now inside and they were outside, and we had stuff they wanted. And who could blame them for wanting toothpaste?

The next morning, we didn’t want to leave. One sweet old man named Emmanuel told us that he was very sorry to say goodbye, and hoped he would see us again soon. We agreed, and meant it. Several children walked us down the mountain, taking turns carrying our bags and holding our hands so we wouldn’t slip. I am not sure, in the end, who gave more.

I was worried, going to Haiti, that I would be overwhelmed by the poverty and misery I saw. And it was hard and devastating to see. Yet what I had not anticipated was the joy and vivacity.

Playing tag with the children in Chermaître, I realized how much children everywhere have in common, despite vast differences in life experience. I also realized that the people of Chermaître do not despair over their lives. They know that their lives are hard, and they want cisterns, fruit trees and lunch programs that will ease their daily burdens, but they also have a lot of joy and hope in their lives. I needed to see this, and it gave me new inspiration and commitment to working with the Vassar Haiti Project.