January 24th, 2010:

The Matènwa Community Learning Center held preschool through ninth grade classes in the courtyards and around the outside of our round building this week. The central pillars of the round building are cracked so no one is taking the risk of holding classes inside. The Breakfast program is running smoothly and our community is organizing to receive food shipments as well as begin to harvest and sell local grains. There are over a hundred schools on the island of Lagonav. MCLC IS THE ONLY SCHOOL UP AND RUNNING ON LAGONAV. Our Local Arts Center is also functioning, holding weaving and embroidery classes, safely in my yard. We are encouraging other schools to also open their doors to start to bring education and hope back into to the lives of all of our children and families of Lagonav.

We thank you for your donations and hope that you will continue to send them so that our local initiatives can succeed in these hardest of times. Because of you, our partners, we can feel hopeful, because of you we are going to rebuild. Every voice makes a difference. Please keep Matènwa in your conversations circles.

Thank you

Chris

I just talked to Feronel who was crossing from St Marc with food. He said that there was no corn meal or millet to buy there, it was bought up on Friday but that he did get rice and cooking oil. People from the port town of Ansagale are coming to buy food from the market ladies in the mountains. They are in great fear that food is running out in Anse a galets.
The USS Bunker Hill went to Anse-a-Galets yesterday and did meet with a group which included several mayors in Anse a galets. They are seeking a needs assessment and people that they can partner with. MCLC is trying to connect them with key leaders on Lagonav including the Civil Protection Director, AAPLAG and Concern staff. MCLC wants aid to get to the people of Lagonav with the advice of local leaders on how to do it without starting fights. Apparently there was a food drop by helicopter on the other side of the island the day before that resulted in causing a large crowd to scramble and fight over what was dropped.