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Peter-Hesse-Foundation
VALUES + VISION
+ Dr. Rupert Sheldrake
Things are crazy here in Haiti. Road blocks, burning tires, and gun fire. P-a-P is just wild. I am house bound since two weeks. All the roads are blocked. All schools and most business are closed. People who work on a daily basis, like street vendors and day labourers have no money. Yesterday one of my teachers called me and said that they are out of drinking water. I have lots of drinking water but I cannot get to them because all the roads are blocked. I am sure their food is also low. Most Haitians do not have refrigerators (60% of Haitians do not have electricity!) so most people buy the things they need on a daily basis. I feel terrible because I know that there are many in that situation. Since our teacher training center is in a sleepy town outside the capital, our trainer managed to keep classes going through it all, but on Monday we closed because all the schools in Liancourt closed as well. We cannot seem not to be in solidarity with the demonstrators. One of our partner preschools opened and demonstrators stoned the school as a warning. I am so against violence and it breaks my heart that this is what children are learning as a problem solving solution.
Thanks for all the inquiries and moral support.
Normal day to day activities go on as usual in Haiti except for the days when there are sporadic out breaks of demonstrations, gang activity or other disruptions. It is almost always unclear which areas are going to be affected so most people wait for the signs that it is going to be a normal day before they go out to fetch water, buy food and charcoal for daily cooking, or send their kids to school. Are the street vendors out today? Are there any cars or other vehicles on the street? Friends and families call each other to ask „How are things in your area? Is it safe to go out?“
Most or our partner preschools are functioning most of the time, except when there are violent disturbances in their area. Luckily for us our teacher training center is in an area which is mostly quiet so our activities go on as usual most of the time.
In the meantime, most people are just trying to pursue a better quality of life for themselves and their families, and holding on to hope for better days ahead.
Glad there is still laughter
Environmental stewardship is catching on at our teacher training center is Liancourt. In Haiti the deforestation is alarming. People still use charcoal and wood to cook, so trees are being cut down daily. After the earthquake we decided to build a teacher training center which would show an example of solutions that individuals or small groups could do to make a difference to the environment. One of our activities is planting trees and making magic square vegetable gardens. Our student teachers who are involved in these activities, are especially important, since they can pass these activities on to the next generation.
Student vegetables squares
Although the school year was punctuated with periods of inability to attend classes because of violent demonstration and roadblocks, our students teachers remained motivated and are now sitting their final exams.
The school year has already ended for over 3000 children in our partner schools, so all the little ones are already on vacation.
Hats off to our graduates who persevered through a year of political unrest, roadblocks and anti-government demonstrations to pursue their teaching Diploma.
Your hard work deserves recognition. Congratulations on your well-deserved success.
I hope you feel great about what you’ve accomplished. Now that you have graduated, you can use your knowledge to further the education for Haiti’s children. Many children will benefit from better education during the lifetime of your career. We look forward to seeing you at our yearly in-service training camp at the Foundation’s campus in Liancourt. We will be visiting some of you in your classrooms as well. Feel free to call us for advice about anything in your classroom.
Welcome to the Montessori family!
Haiti is a bleak place for children. Of 1,000 children born, 359 die before reaching their fifth birthday. The high mortality rate is caused by the lack of food and clean water, and insufficient access to basic healthcare, including immunizations against childhood diseases already eliminated in many other countries. Over 40% of Haitian children never get the chance to go to school. This trend certainly does not produce educated citizens who can make a meaningful contribution to the development of their country.
This last year has been even more challenging because of the turbulent political situation and prolonged street violence. However, the situation cannot continue forever and The Peter Hesse Foundation will continue it’s support to poor children in Haiti who need it more than ever.
Report on the current situation as reported by Aljazeera:
our partner schools in Ivory Coast, our partner schools there completed the academic school year 2018/2019. Nine new Montessori teachers were trained in Ivory Coast including one teacher from Mali. The Foundation will assist her to open the first Montessori school in Mali in the coming academic year.
In Haiti the academic year 2018/ 2019 was tough. The school year was punctuated with periods of inability to attend classes because of violent demonstration and roadblocks. However, all our partner schools were able to function intermittently depending on if the roads were barricaded or not. In spite of the difficulties 28 new Montessori teachers were trained and graduated our teaching training program in July 2019.
During the crisis in Haiti, the Peter Hesse Foundation continued its work for improving education. With schools in Haiti closed for the first trimester we used the time to produce two work books, one for teachers to evaluate children’s progress, and a language workbook. These books will be used in Haiti as well as Ivory Coast and Senegal and Mali.
The Foundation reestablished contact to Senegal with the Montessori school which was established there in 1996 with technical help from the Foundation.
Planning meetings were held through zoom and other social media to organize a 10 month teaching training in Senegal next year.
Peter-Hesse-Foundation, Düsseldorf
in Bürogemeinschaft mit
W. P. Schmitz-Stiftungen
Volmerswerther Str. 86
D-40221 Düsseldorf
Tel: +49 (0)211-39-83-770
E-Mail: p.hesse@solidarity.org