When we sat down with Magdaline Desamour in April 2019, I was struck by the poise of the teenage girl who is a student at the EcoVillage School. The cheerful, well-groomed 16 year old was glad to talk to us about the school that she loves and has attended since the 3rd grade. She proudly wears the blue and white checked uniform of the National School System of Haiti. The cleanliness and pressed appearance of her uniform is remarkable when I consider her 45-minute walk to school along dirt roads from her home in the nearby village of Matbonite.
Magdaline was in the 6th grade in 2019 when we talked with her. The 4-year delay in her schooling is not unusual in Haiti because access to education is difficult for many children and external factors can sometimes delay opportunity to attend school. For Magdaline, she missed school during the time when the earthquake of 2010 closed many schools across the country.
She attends the EcoVillage School along with two brothers and one sister out of her eight siblings. I wonder how such a large family can thrive in these rural parts of Haiti. But the teenager’s smile belies the difficulties of daily life and exemplifies the resilience of the people we meet when we visit Haiti.
Magdaline told us that she studies Mathematics, French, Social Sciences, Experimental Science and Kreyol. In the 6th grade, there is one teacher that teaches all the subject areas. She shares that French is her favorite subject. This is the official language of schools in Haiti. As a former French colony until its independence in 1804, French has persisted as the Official language of government, education and the media.
Magdaline and her siblings are among the 70% of students attending the EcoVillage School that live outside the villages. This is consistent with the vision of Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, the founder of our partner organization MPP who wanted to make sure that a quality education was available to all the people in the area and not just those families transplanted here after the Earthquake of 2010.
We are reassured of the success of the school as Magdaline tells us {via translation} “I love my principal and I love my teacher because they give me a great education. He teaches us lots of new things. He gives us knowledge of many things. My previous school; it wasn’t that great. But when I started coming here; it is a great experience. “ She continues by telling us “I would love for this school to continue on the path of a great education.”
We hope that she will pass the National Exam and proceed on to high school. Opportunity beyond that is uncertain for sure but you get the sense that she knows any opportunity would not be possible without the primary education she is getting now. That education is only possible because of the school that we helped to build. A school conceived and operated by Haitians and supported by our many American donors.
contributed by C. Calia
Monseur Wuldriqueand the 6th grade class at the EcoVillage School in 2019.