Here at Be Like Brit, we are always growing! Whether it be new staff members coming on board to better serve the needs of our children, or new children enrolling in our program, it seems not many days go by without a new addition of some kind. Soon, it will be Petit Bruno gracing us with his presence in the halls of Be Like Brit — We know as we grow in size, we will grow in people, too! While we always look to employ members of the local community, in some areas we believe it’s necessary to bring in someone who has been trained in the West to help us build the capacity and ability of our own programming and staff to deliver the best we can provide to our children!
We announced on Facebook a little bit ago that we would be welcoming Amanda to Haiti and to Be Like Brit this month! Amanda arrived after some delays and an overnight in Miami on Friday, July 11, 2014 – to start out on a 3 year journey with us and the children at Be Like Brit. As we strive for constant and never ending improvement and to raise the bar and the standard of care for orphanages in Haiti, we recognized one very indisputable reality: Education and teaching strategies in Haiti at the preschool and fundamental levels are very narrow in their scope. While we recognize that our children need to know how to succeed within that system (a system which mimics the French system – rote memorization, repetition, etc.) we also know the developmental stages of our children are at a point where now is the time to flood their minds with everything we know to be effective! As a kindergarten teacher in the U.S., and as someone who has volunteered twice at Brit’s Orphanage, we knew when we met Amanda that the value she could bring to the children was limitless! We are so excited to have her start with us here this summer!
One of our primary objectives with Amanda and her skill sets is focusing on the ABCMouse program, which will teach our children many concepts but ultimately teach them English, too! We know that in order to be competitive in the job market or successful in attempts at higher education in Haiti or abroad, fluency in English will give our children many advantages over non-English speaking people. We have been incredibly blessed by Peter Smith of Kid Orange Tech who has donated an additional 5 interactive learning centers for the children of Be Like Brit! From such a chance encounter, the result of the commonality of Lynn University, our children now have all the resources they need to dive in to this program with full force! Amanda’s experience as a teacher in the States has included the use of the ABCMouse program, and we know that experience will be invaluable for our children and their progress with the online learning academy!
Amanda will also be heading up our professional development strategies with our own teaching staff, and working in concert with our schools and the teachers who work directly with our children. We know that over time this relationship with our schools and teachers will ultimately benefit not only our own children but all of the children who attend their classes! Be sure to keep your eyes on our Facebook and Twitter pages for exciting updates!
Here is what Amanda had to say about her new adventure:
Bonswa! I would like to introduce myself and share with you a little bit about my background. I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher, but never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would end up working as an educator in Haiti. And yet, here I am, ready and willing to take on the challenge that I have been presented with. I have had many experiences in the past few years that I believe will be very helpful in my new career path here at Be Like Brit. I have been a teacher for 4 years now in Fall River, Massachusetts. I started as a part-time special educator at the small Catholic elementary school that I grew up attending. It was great for me as they didn’t have special education when I went there so I was giving back to the community where I came from, an important value to instill in all children. Then I became the middle school Social Studies and Religion teacher, which will help with the religious education that I will be providing to the children. After my 2 years in Catholic school, I then moved on to work at the Fall River Public Schools for 2 years as a kindergarten teacher. The knowledge that I gained from those years will become the foundation upon which I will begin to build the curriculum for the children at Be Like Brit.
When Len and Cherylann approached me and discussed the possibility of moving to Haiti to take on the education of the children, I couldn’t help but think of what a wonderful opportunity this would be for me. I couldn’t imagine how excellent it would be to help provide these children with something that I think of as a natural right. Education is of such value in Haiti, and I’m more than happy to be a part of that for these kids. The value of being able to speak English is becoming more and more evident to me and as that being a major part of my role here, with the aid of the ABCmouse program, I am beginning to see the necessity of my role. I look forward to each and every day as every day will present a new opportunity for me to explore something new with the children. I truly feel that during my time at Be Like Brit I will be so blessed by what the children and staff will teach me. I look forward to sharing the next few years of experiences with you!
We’ve also had some other special guests this past week! Our Medical Director Susan flew down last Sunday to help Jonathan get the children caught up on their immunizations and other preventative health measures. Treating the children for parasites like worms on a bi-annual schedule is imperative to their healthy development and overall well-being. We know that the environment at Be Like Brit is a very controlled and clean environment, but our children do spend lots of time outside our walls and out of reach of our protective measures. Working with some of the contacts we’ve made since January of 2013 in the state hospital system, Susan was able to secure vaccinations for all 45 of our children free of charge! She also was able to get a local laboratory to come to Be Like Brit to plant PPDs to test the children for TB. Given the state of the government hospital and health care system in Haiti, this is no simple feat! In fact, as Susan and I went to visit the hospital in Petit Goave, we saw this at the gate:
The gates to the hospital had been ripped down and thrown in the courtyard. A casket adorned with flowers sat in the main entrance. A sign reading, “Is it true the Ministry of Health is dead’ blocked our way and caught the attention of passersby. Mattresses from beds inside the hospital were tossed out windows and strewn about the courtyard. The hospital doctors, nurses, and staff stopped coming to work, claiming that the government had not paid them in more than 10 months. We were told that vaccinations weren’t available as the Ministry of Health hadn’t delivered them to hospitals. There was no way, we were told, to get these materials for free for our children. Thanks to Susan’s efforts and to the local state hospital in Grand-Goave, we’ve secured that material for our children. Despite claims that “the Ministry of Health is dead.”
We have also been busy screening children for eligibility and enrollment into our program here. We are still 21 children shy of fulfilling our mission of 66 children, and our search is on and in full swing! Susan and I had the opportunity to visit a school in Cite Soleil this past Monday – one of the worst and most dangerous areas in all of Port-au-Prince. Under some firm security measures, she and I, along with Francky and our driver Boss Harold made the trek to the capital to meet with the children whose families had brought them to meet us for a chance an enrolling them in to our program.
Always heartbreaking, but still bound by the constraints of law and the formal process and procedure, we were disappointed to learn that none of the children who had been brought to us would qualify – be it the absence of necessary paperwork or not qualifying as an orphan, we left saddened by the very difficult realities with which we were presented by desperate parents and grandparents, begging us to take their children from them. Our hearts were heavy, but our mission is clear. We cannot take children simply because of poverty. If that were the case, we would already be full far beyond our capacity. Nonetheless, the situations tug at the heart just the same…
Our good friend Eileen is back in Haiti this week, too! One of our newest Board members, Eileen is on to help transition Amanda in to her new position and to talk with all of us about our roles, so she can learn more about how the day to day operates here in Haiti! We’re so blessed to have someone with Eileen’s talents and skills on our Board and help guide us in the right direction! I think some of the children are just plain happy to see her – a familiar and friendly face around here!
Len and Richie are here, too! We’ve already started the delicate task of swimming lessons with the children in groups – one-on-one instruction is the safest and ONLY way we’re willing to do this! Len and Richie started off strong this morning after church with Eileen, Amanda, and Susan on hand as back up!
We have a very busy week ahead, and soon will be welcoming our newest Britsionary group to Be Like Brit! Be sure to stay tuned for all of the updates and happenings over the next 7 days! As always, we thank you for helping us help the children of Haiti at Be Like Brit!
