Matènwa Community Learning Center Rotating Header Image

To Our Donors

March 2009

Bonjou MCLC supporters,

March was a great month for us here at the Matènwa Community Learning Center. We had 5 educators from the Episcopal school in Twen come for observation and training. They left with a book they wrote in Creole, a new vision of how their school can support local food production, and knowledge about how they can develop closer relationships with their students. A group called Support Local Production from Port Au Prince came for an exchange visit. They showed us a film and performed their play that emphasizes the value and advantages of consuming local production versus imported goods.
But the most encouraging visit was when two education coordinators from Concern Worldwide brought 28 representatives—one student and one teacher from each of 14 schools across Lagonav to observe for 24 hours. They were especially impressed with our emphasis on creative writing in Creole, discussion groups in all classes, the school garden, and the close relationships between teachers and students. This has been our long awaited dream to finally share our educational model not only with schools from the mainland and other countries, but with the many schools right here on Lagonav.
We dug up 4 large yams. The biggest one weighed 29 pounds! It was a great thing to show our visitors. We harvested cabbages, plantains, hot peppers, and carrots and planted new beds of cabbages, chard, tomatoes, beets, squash, and peppers.
Thank you so much for your support which makes all this learning possible.

With much respect and gratitude,

Co-directors Chris Low and Abner Sauveur
Secretary Millienne Angervil

***********

February 2009

Dear Friends of MCLC,

I have just returned to Haiti. Neighbors have been saying how much they appreciated MCLC donors’ support in the months that followed the hurricanes. MCLC opened its kitchen and served anyone who showed up for the daily meal. “I was surprised to see some of the people who showed up,” said Co-Director Abner Sauveur. “People were really in need. People were running around with their belongings under their arms because they had no homes.” MCLC has rebuilt several homes and is still seeking funds to repair 25 more homes.

img_70061Representatives from the Fayerweather Street School in Cambridge (Headmaster Ed Kuh, Connie Biewald, Dorla White Simpson, Meg Bruton, Kate Hubble, Lauren Mueller, and alum Sam Slavin who is now working on the border of Haiti and the Dominican republic, as well as Tina Jaillet from the Atrium School and Lesely student Owen Thomas) visited for one week to build on our school relationships. Equipped with 24-hour translators, the group did demonstration lessons in math and science and spent a lot of time talking with our community members. They came down with bilingual Creole and English books made by their first and second grade classrooms as an official kick off of our Mother Tongues Books project. They felt our school garden was extraordinary. They plan to start a Fayerweather School garden. Just last week we pulled up 4 yams, the smallest weighed 22 pounds and the biggest one weighed in at 29 pounds!
Thank you so much for your gifts, which make this work possible.

Sincerely,

Chris Low, Co-Director

************

February 2009

The New Year brought a lot of fresh energy to our work at the Matènwa Community Learning Center. We hope it brought you the same. Here are some highlights from the beginning of 2009:

img_1594_3Students have been making bamboo baskets and straw hats in an effort to bring back local “green” arts.

January 6 is Elders’ day. Traditionally, elders visit each other’s homes, eat and talk, but this tradition has been waning the past few years. In order to keep this celebration alive, we invite our elders to partake in Haiti’s independence tradition of pumpkin soup and talk about old times for our youth to hear. One highlight from this year’s celebration: a 70 year-old woman taught the youth a song that she learned in elementary school.

Children having children has become a huge problem in Haiti. Despite Courageous Women’s Theater Group efforts to shed light on this issue, they recognize that teen pregnancy is not diminishing. For this reason, Courageous Women have begun meetings attended by women young and old on “The Time of Puberty.” Older women remarked they now recognize that one reason their children are having children is because they have never talked to them about their bodies or sex.

Students on a Beyond Borders Transformation Travel trip from Eastern University visited us for 3 days. The visitors validated the great need to expand our in-country Haitian teacher exchange visits when they remarked, “You are giving a modern education. It’s something we haven’t seen in the other areas we have visited in Haiti.”

Thank you so much for your gifts which keep our school up and running—and thriving!

Sincerely,

Chris Low, Abner Sauveur and the Matènwa Staff

************

January 2009

Happy New Year! We write to you with much esteem. Thank you so much for your vital gifts at this time of the year. Here are some recent exciting happenings in our community:

WATER! It is a time for great celebration in Matènwa—we have a new well in our neighborhood! After some planning meetings with well diggers from Haiti Outreach the team showed up with their rig last month and struck water. Now many more families will be able to plant and water vegetable gardens with confidence instead of praying for rains that do not always come. We had had only one source serving over 500 families.

SPREADING OUR PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION:  Commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee, MCLC teachers Millienne, Ezner, Robert, and Benaja gave a five-day seminar on the Psychology Of Teaching to 25 agricultural technicians and teachers from various parts of Northern Haiti. Participants remarked how they regretted the wrongs they had done to their students by not engaging them in dialogue and thus not making them active participants of their own learning. One participant remarked, “If I had the right to, I would close most of the schools in Haiti because most teachers do not create a learning environment for students.”

PARENT STUDENT TEACHER COMMITTEE: The PST committee is both an informational community liaison and their own learning group on how to implement projects. Having finished Concern Worldwide training in proposal writing, the PST then wrote a proposal to them for 4 latrines. The request was granted and these 4 latrines are almost complete.

Sincerely,
Chris, Abner, and the MCLC teachers

* * * * * * * * * * * *

December 2008

Greetings to you all who have shown us such dedicated friendship. We really appreciate how you have continued to send in your donations so that together we are able to assure that there is no break in 230 students’ educational lives. Our families, still struggling after the hurricanes, feel supported. Our students are watching their tomatoes grow. They feel hopeful. Economically poor Haitian families give their children over to the restavec system (child servitude in someone else’s home in hopes for a better life) when they are struggling for two things: to feed and educate their children. Because of you, they do not have to struggle with such a heart wrenching decision. So if you ever doubt that your donation, whether it be 10 dollars or 1000 dollars, doesn’t really make a difference, think again. Our programs are proactively saving children from modern day slavery.

I hope you realize that when we say “our programs” we mean your programs. We have been so successful because you believe that we can execute your dreams.

Sincerely,

Chris Low Co-director MCLC

“If you have come to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine then let us work together.” Aboriginal Activist

* * * * * * * * * * * *

November 2008

We want to thank everyone for their outpouring of support during these difficult times. The Matènwa community continues to feel how much you care. All our students came to school on the first day of school. Their spirits were high. They were happy to be able to return to school after the government delayed school openings for a month.

Many families on Lagonav will not be able to send their children to school this year because of the continual rise in food prices that began last spring. Matènwa is unique because your consistent support allows our community to provide an affordable preschool through ninth grade education to the whole community. The MCLC is a stabilizing force for families as it continues to work on local food production and provides breakfast so that children are not hungry while in school.

We ask that you not forget us in the coming months as we repair homes with your generous donations. Families gathered rocks and drums of water in order to be selected by MCLC to be the first families to receive home repairs. We have repaired 10 homes so far.

On behalf of the families of Matènwa we thank you.

Sincerely,

Co-directors Chris Low and Abner Sauveur

* * * * * * * * * * * *

October 2008

We are so appreciative of the outpouring of support extended to the students, teachers, and families of the Matènwa Community Learning Center. While the devastation of the recent hurricanes has certainly wreaked havoc on our gardens, homes, and animals on the island, the spirit of our people has remained strong, due in large part to the care, compassion, and financial contributions of our supporters. This gives us great hope and comfort as we set out to help people get back on their feet. We have been feeding children and at-risk adults every other day since September 10. This has prevented starvation in our community. We are in the process of helping people rebuild their homes and their lives not only in Matènwa, but also in neighboring villages where our school children come from.

In these very difficult times, we ask that you consider being a quarterly or monthly donor to our program since we know that this year most families will be struggling to feed themselves. If we have the resources we would like to lighten their burden by providing a healthy breakfast four mornings a week instead of just three. One option is to set up a recurring auto-pay donation on our fiscal agent’s donate page or by calling them directly at Beyond Borders 610-277-5045.

We are deeply grateful for your generosity and friendship. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Chris Low and Abner Sauveur, Co-Directors
Millienne Angervil, Secretary
Secretary Millienne Angervil