Children return to school in Haiti
Photo courtesy of Plan staff.
Haitian children at a primary school in Croix-des-Bouquets are jumping for joy at being able to return to school. The Toronto Star captured video footage at a Plan supported school project showing excited children dancing and singing. Watch the video.
Routine important for kids
Lessons and learning are important, but post-quake the regular action of going to school is a stabilizer for children. Plan Haiti’s Technical Advisor for Education, Brice Saintil, spoke about the trauma of the earthquake on children: “You can’t change what happened but you can change the way you remember it.” One of the most important ways to help children heal, he says, is to get them back into a routine.
To help the process along in Croix-des-Bouquets, Plan has provided building materials for new school projects as well as several sunshade tents for the interim. And Plan will be building transitional classrooms in the coming weeks. Training sessions, for school teachers and directors, are also underway hosted by Plan and the Ministry of Education.
The big picture
To date Plan has helped more than 5,900 kids get back to class, in over 40 temporary structures approved by the Ministry of Education, in Jacmel and Croix-des-Bouquets. Setting up temporary school tents is vital to re-establish routine.
Plan knows education is essential to Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction, and our back to school campaign casts a wide net to include: educators, parents, students, and community. Plan is working with all of these groups to ensure that children will have a safe and secure space to move forward with their education.
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