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fundraiser

An Evening of Education and Hope 2009

Jan 17th, 2009
by Joanne.
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Your Invitation

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Atrium School

69 Grove Street, Watertown, MA
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

joannes-project-picture_edited_3

Matènwa Community Learning Center

Annual fundraiser

On March 21st, 2009, the Friends of the Matènwa are hosting An Evening of Education and Hope to tell the story of a remarkable school in the remote mountain area of Matènwa, Haiti.  Especially challenged by an autumn that brought several devastating hurricanes to Matènwa and to other impoverished communities of Haiti, the Matènwa Community Learning Center has poured its energy into home reconstruction, feeding those most at risk, and sustaining its educational and community programs. It has led by example in these hardest of times.  Please join us in celebrating and supporting this inspirational school.  We are fortunate to have as our guest speaker, Jean-Robert Cadet, an advocate for Haitian children’s rights and the author of Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-Class American.

The Matènwa Community Learning Center offers a model of hope and change. The teaching encourages children’s curiosity, develops their skills of inquiry and investigation, and provides projects that impact their community. It is a place where children are taught first in their native language, Creole.  Founded thirteen years ago by Abner Sauveur, a local Haitian educator, and Chris Low, a Cambridge-based educator, the school has grown, serving 242 students as well as engaging hundreds in the community.  Furthermore, it trains and inspires many educators in other parts of Haiti.  Matènwa’s adults are also working together to solve shared problems. Some of the Center’s solutions include a community library, social programs addressing human rights, adult education, an agriculture program, and a growing arts program.

The Matènwa Community Learning Center receives no public funds while serving one of the most economically poor areas in Haiti. It costs the school $300 a year to educate each child; on average students are asked to pay less than $10 per year.  In addition, the school feeds all Matènwa students a full hot and healthy meal three times a week, at a cost of  $18,000 a year.

Join us for this special evening. We hope to see you on March 21st at the Atrium School in Watertown. If you cannot join us, please consider making a donation. Your support directly impacts the lives of the children and families of Matènwa.

Sincerely,

Friends of Matènwa

Tickets are $60 each.

Hike for Haiti Yields Funds for Matènwa Community Learning Center

Oct 15th, 2008
by admin.
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The Belmont Day School is an independent school that began partnering with the Matènwa Community Learning Center (MCLC) about a year ago. This year, students, family and friends pitched in to support the children of Matènwa through a fun and healthy activity. Here’s their story.

Hike and Hope for Haiti

Chris Low and Benaja with Belmont Day School Students

Eighth grade French students organized a fundraising hike to raise awareness about the needs of the Matènwa Community Learning Center in Haiti. We began our partnership last year when French teacher Jennifer Friborg introduced her seventh grade students to Chris Low, Cambridge-based educator and Matènwa school co-founder. Last spring these students took part in an e-mail pen-pal exchange with the school in Matènwa.

Students and faculty alike were so impressed by the ways in which the school is spreading democratic ideals by teaching children, providing community activities for adults, and serving as a teacher-training center that BDS embarked on this ongoing partnership. Over its thirteen year history the school has become a leader in progressive education in Haiti, a country where only 50% of children go to school.

In response to the urgent need for food following the early fall hurricanes, the eighth grade French students led a special fund-raiser.

imageTeachers and students throughout the school participated in a 1-mile hike through the woods surrounding BDS. The French students had placed signs along the trails to highlight important landmarks in Haiti as well as photos of the school. The eighth graders’ hike was sponsored by family members, friends and faculty in order to help them reach their goal to feed all of the 230 students at the Matènwa Community Learning Center for one month.

The goal of feeding the school for a month was reached and surpassed by the school community raising over 3300 dollars. And along the way, the whole school became more aware of the country and familiar with the Matènwa Community Learning Center.

We are grateful for the care and concerns that the students at the Belmont Day School show for the students of Matènwa.

December 2004

Dec 30th, 2004
by Chris.
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December 2004

Dear Friends of The Matènwa Community Learning Center,

Despite all the upheaval, violence, and uncertainty dominating Haiti today, there is still a lighthouse of positive energy pouring out of the Matènwa Community Learning Center. Situated in the mountains on the remote island of La Gonave, with no paved roads to reach it, the community is relatively safe from the ex-military rebels, the Lavalas Chimeres, and foreign military that continue to threaten the population. Over the past year it was not guns we feared, but the increasing hunger. From September to February prices had almost tripled; more than half our students were not able to afford a balanced meal more than a few times a week. While many schools closed during the turmoil, MCLC stayed open, and the dedicated teachers and students remained focused on finishing the year. Yet by March, attendance began to wane and those who did come were falling asleep by 10 am because they were famished. MCLC responded with an emergency breakfast program for our students and students at another nearby school in order to keep our community stable.  We did not want to risk having Matènwa parents decide on giving their children away into child servitude for lack of food.  We were able to do this without hesitation because of Anna Grimaldi Colomer’s donors of Puerto Rico, our supporters generous response to our urgent email plea, and student funding efforts at The Horace Mann School in New York. After a month of healthy breakfasts you could see a difference in the children, and we finished the school year with great accomplishments.

MCLC received visitors from California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico who shared their talents in and out of the classroom. We shared our model of peaceable classrooms with 6 other schools in teacher training facilitated by educator Kristy Stoesz. Another classroom was added making it a preschool through ninth grade program with 226 children and 2 adult literacy classes. Wozo Productions produced a video MCLC is featured in called Circles of Change. This shows MCLC using what we believe are two of the best educational practices in Haiti today. Several teachers went on trips within Haiti and to the U.S. for educational exchanges. MCLC was written up in Latinamerica Press.org, July 2,2003, which resulted in two teachers receiving a year of Montessori training in Port Au Prince donated by Peter Hesse of Germany. The Courageous Women theatre group performed their social justice plays for audiences around Haiti with support from Women’s Rights International. The Women Artists of Matènwa were written up in the Fall issue of Ms Magazine, by Edwidge Dandicat; and with the support of Ellen LeBow, they are now selling online at www.artmatenwa.org. MCLC is also advising groups in the community that are working on soil conservation, tree planting, and increasing potable water availability. Last fall Teaching For Tomorrow in Puerto Rico presented me with an Outstanding Leadership for Children Award which came with a financial award that supported many of our school programs. MCLC is a beacon reaching across Lagonave and across the water to other Haitian communities on Haiti’s mainland.

This summer, after having been away for only 4 months, I was saddened to see that neighbors and staff were visibly thinner. Even the highest paid staff is able to feed his family only once a day.  I felt determined to return to the US and make sure that Matènwa has what it needs to continue to succeed. I spent much of the previous school year fundraising outside of Haiti, and will continue to do so, because I believe successful development happens when it is not dependent on the presence of a foreigner. The MCLC staff has proven their competencies by conducting a dynamic program despite drought, civil unrest, and hunger. They are hard working and hopeful, eager and humble. They hope for another year of the Matènwa children and adults being enriched through learning. It is your partnership with MCLC that has allowed it to achieve so much. This is a gift to be proud of. We are grateful for Beyond Borders for acting as our fiscal agent. We thank you all and hope you will continue to support our educational programs that emphasize the practice of peace, dialogue, and social justice.

Anpil men, chay pa lou
With many hands, the burden is not heavy

Chris Low
Co-director MCLC

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