"At 4.53 pm on January 12th 2010 the capital city of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, was hit by a devastating earthquake - 7.0 on the Richter scale. The time could hardly have been worse. Most of the population in Haiti’s communities were under very poorly constructed buildings or out in the busy streets.
Many of the children were still at schools. Magalie Georges, a school director in Port-au-Prince, had just sent the last group of pupils back home after the afternoon shift when the roof of her office fell on her. She was saved by Jean Frédérick Lavaud, the General Secretary of the Confederation National de Enseignants et Enseignantes de Haiti (CNEH), who happened to be with her discussing union issues. Magalie survived, but a still undetermined number of pupils and teachers lost their lives under the bricks, columns and iron that fell on them. 7,500 Primary schools and 750 secondary schools were completely destroyed. Desperately urgent support was needed for 350,000 children in Port-au-Prince and its surroundings. In total nearly half a million children were displaced." Education International Co-ordinator, Nicolas Richards. Read the rest of Nicolas' report on Haiti in ENGAGE Issue 2 published in September 2010.
The Steve Sinnott Foundation is in contact with Education International offering support in the enormous task of reconstruction following the devastating earthquake on 12th January. Haitian teachers have already started work.
Although their schools have collapsed and their homes are destroyed, the leaders of the Confédération Nationale des Educateurs d’Haïti are working with the Haitian president and education minister on the complex task of starting up classes, getting children back into school, and rebuilding an education system that was struggling to achieve quality long before the earthquake hit.
While they continue to struggle to return schooling to a semblance of normalcy, leaders of the CNEH report they are still sleeping in the open with only makeshift tents fashioned from blankets as shelter. Even their most basic belongings are buried under the rubble of their lost homes. Access to food and water is an ongoing challenge and clean water is one of the most sought-after commodities in Port-au-Prince.
Foundation representatives met with colleagues from Education International in August 2010 after their return from a fact finding trip to Haiti. Our aim is to establish the Steve Sinnott Education Centre in Haiti as part of the reconstruction.
What to do
Select GROUPS on the navigation bar above and join the "Haiti support" group. Use the discussion forum to suggest ideas and offer help. Make your commitment to support the Build an Education Centre for Haiti initiative.
Show your support for Haitian teachers by contributing to the Education International Solidarity Fund. For more details, go to Education International Haiti appeal.
Read here AFTERMATH IN HAITI, the article by Plan International's aid worker in Haiti, Claudia Bloom. The Article, about the everyday struggle for survival by women and children in Haiti appears in the first edition of the Foundation's magazine, ENGAGE. Visit the ENGAGE Issue 1 forum to comment on the article.
Watch these pages for more news from the Foundation about how you can help.