Creating Local Jobs in Southern Haiti

In mid-May 2017, Peace Winds staff made its first delivery of textbooks and blackboards to four schools in Saint Jean du Sud, a rural area more than five hours from Port-au-Prince. The delivery was received by kindergarteners, primary and secondary school students, and their teachers who have been longing for necessary school materials.

“It’s been more than seven months since the Hurricane Matthew.  Yet 80% of our students are still without textbooks.” said Mie Odette, the principal at Ecole Nationale de Marescot, where about 300 students attend.  Families cannot afford to buy their children any school supplies as they are struggling to make a living especially after the hurricane.  “Parents are very excited about this support.  They will be happy to have these books, blackboards and materials for our schools,” said Ms. Odette.  “We thank Peace Winds for helping all our children.”

Hurricane Matthew totally destroyed the Ecole National de Debouchette.  Since October, these students have to go to the classrooms at the Ecole Nationale de Boulay.  “Some students have to walk over two hours to get to school.  It is very difficult to walk especially during the heavy rain like today,“ said Boulay principal Mr. Laguerre.

“I can see many families recovering after the hurricane having difficulties economically.  Many students are coming to school very hungry,” Mr. Laguerre continued.  “Students have to study at a different school. There are so many hardships after the hurricane.  It’s also been very difficult to teach without textbooks.  But now all the students can have textbooks significantly impacting our school as a whole.”

Additional textbook deliveries were suspended due to the heavy rain and winds.  Terrible road conditions stopped all vehicles. The deliveries resumed as soon as the weather and the road access improved.

With your generous support through Global Giving, Peace Winds had delivered textbooks and needed materials to four schools by the fourth week of May.   Peace Winds will continue to deliver needed school supplies to over 2,000 students at all seven schools in Saint Jean du Sud Commune.

“This area has not received any support from the government, even for the water supply. My heart bleeds for the residents living in such conditions. Peace Winds is the first group who came to listen to stories about the people in this region.”                        

                  --Du Ponts Joseph Estime, Mayor of Saint-Jean-du-Sud

In outlying Saint-Jean-du-Sud, a pastoral area more than five hours from Port-au-Prince, relief for hurricane survivors has been sparse. A small amount of food was distributed in October, but the community has received little else in recent months. With no other assistance, earthquake victims have done the best they can to salvage their crops and livestock. But for many, there is nothing to recover.

Peace Winds makes a point of seeking out communities that are overlooked in relief distribution. Saint-Jean-du-Sud is difficult to access because of destroyed roads, but Peace Winds concentrated our relief distribution there.

During interviews in this underserved area Peace Winds discovered a huge need: repairing homes. As the mayor of St.-Jean-du-Sud said, "Food aid is needed but there are many families who need to fix their homes more than anything else. This kind of support is really needed for the people." Last month Peace Winds distributed CGI (corrugated iron plates) and tool kits to 1,600 households (8,000 people). Our engineer also held workshops to teach residents how to use the tools and properly secure their roofs to withstand heavy wind and rain. The tool kits included CGI, hammer, saw, gloves and nails needed to repair their houses.

A workshop participant, Bill Noel, said at the conclusion, "I learned a lot of things, such as using the correct tools, that I did not know until now. Such assistance is also given for the first time after the hurricane." Peace Winds was able to reach out to grateful recipients like Bill Noel because of your support. Thank you for helping us to assist this region.

This month we aim to reach even more in this area. Peace Winds is now fundraising to provide school supplies, desks, and teaching materials to 500 pupils whose schools were damaged by the storm.