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“Bondye Papa a Bondye Papa-a, Ki le wap vini pou vin’n cherche noué” (Sweet Lord, Sweet Lord, When are you coming to carry us home) chant the pupils of the remote Beau-Roc primary school in Haiti. One of the pupils strums a guitar made out of an empty oil tin. Their headmistress, Emile Jean-Noel, is one of the few women school principals in the country. It is not rare to find 17- and 18 - year-old pupils in the primary school where Emile Jean-Noel is headmistress The only state ever established by black slaves, Haiti has suffered decades of dictatorship. Today, over 70 per cent of its inhabitants live below the poverty line with inadequate food, water, schools, or decent housing. Beau-Roc’s surroundings are stony and barren, with only a parcel of fertile land. Nevertheless, some inhabitants manage to eke out a subsistence living. For years poverty has forced the men to seek work elsewhere; harvesting sugar in San Domingo or working as dockers in Cap Haitien. Women run almost half of the homes in Beau-Roc. To alleviate the hunger pangs that prevent learning and to encourage parents to enrol their children, school meals are provided by the World Food Programme. Emile’s pupils must bring a log of wood to school every day for fuel. However, she explains, “wood is getting so scarce that they cannot always do so”. Deforestation is a major problem in Haiti. 
“We are so cut off we have massive difficulties and to run through them would take the whole day,” comments Emile, who adds that finding chalk, school books and other materials is practically impossible. “I spend all my time trying to find solutions to hundreds of problems,” says Emile, who with unflagging energy encourages those around her to make use of all available resources. Her efforts are bearing fruit to judge by the regular improvements to the school. One of mile’s successes was in convincing local women to contribute to their children’s schooling - and supplement their own income - by selling embroidery and other handicrafts.Recent political instability has meant that the country has not invested in education in ten years. Enrolment is a mere 44 per cent and a little less than a half of those entering primary school finish it. Less than a third of these go on to secondary school. In rural areas it is not rare to find 17- and 18 year-olds in primary school. Beau-Roc has 4 teachers for 260 pupils, “far too few for anyone interested in quality,” according to Emile. Though education is free, the community contributes to school books and to the salaries of “community teachers” - primary-school leavers who help the teachers out or even teach whole classes alone. Emile works constantly to improve her pupils’ environment. Under her supervision, a local mason is now constructing a storehouse for the cereal delivered regularly by the World Food Programme. A school latrine is also being built, which provides Emile with the opportunity to teach the pupils the basics of hygiene. Not only is Emile’s salary meagre, but she receives it irregularly. For her transport is a real headache. “Just getting to school is a problem,” says Emile, who lives five kilometres away and who takes the tap tap, a privately-owned bus, costing more than she can afford. “I have to leave the house at 6 a.m. to be at school at 8 a.m.” “The decision to be a rural teacher in Haiti should not be taken lightly”, Emile comments wryly. “With all the sacrifices and risks it entails, only those who are really cut out for teaching should do it.” Nevertheless, Emile loves her job. “I always feel at home with the children and, because the parents rally round and understand what I’m doing, I try to give my best.” |
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cyberschoolbus@un.org
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