(By Trip member Ian): Today our group
split in two and headed to different schools. I was with the group that went to
Pinson. It took about two hours for us to hike to the school. The hike was
equal parts beautiful and challenging as I suppose walking up mountains tends
to be.
Upon our arrival at Pinson our group was introduced to staff and
students in waves. We got to see the classrooms and provide the students with
letters written in French by some Sarnia students as well as a poster created
by a Sarnia kindergarten class. The Haitian students took time to return the
favour by writing their response letters and creating their own poster. Once
those projects were out of the way it was time for a little more informal
interaction so we headed to the school yard with balloons, stickers and soccer
balls. After some mutual play the newly stickered children (who appeared very
happy to put as many stickers on themselves as they could) showed us some songs
and dances.
We had a ton of fun at Pinson
and were given an interesting peak into life at the school. There were many
things to take away but one of my deeper realizations was that hitting a
balloon in the air with friends is fun no matter where you do it. Our time to
go came quickly and we headed out on the next leg of our hike to meet the other
group at Gilbert.
(Trip member Amanda who was at
Gilbert) The group that had spent the day with the students in Gilbert had much
of the same experience. Our hike to the school was not as long, but we were met
by students who were at first a little apprehensive about us. Nothing some
crayons and stickers couldn't fix as we also engaged in an activity of sharing
letters from a grade 2 class from Sarnia and inviting them to write notes back.
The stickers used in this activity were definitely the highlight. The students
were also happy to find out that the skipping ropes and soccer balls they had
asked for would be arriving with our group! After some time of visiting
we waited for the Pinson group to travel to us.
Once the group was all back
together we shared lunch with the staff at Gilbert. Following lunch we got to
peek into two Alpha Literacy programs. The adults there were working on their
literacy, but took a break to sing us a song, answer some of our questions
about the program and their involvement in it and share with us what they had
learned. This was a good chance to be both proud of the participants and the
ongoing impact Rayjon has had in Haiti. Once we got back to the bus Jobest who
was the translator who accompanied the group to Pinson asked us to stop in to
meet students at a school he teaches at which is focussed on teaching language
(French, English, and Spanish). During our time together Jobest also made a
point to note to one of the group members how appreciative he is of the way
Rayjon carries out partnerships in Haiti with long term goals. He used the
analogy that feeding someone once will fill them up but supporting them in
improving their own situation can lead them to not be hungry long term.
In closing it has been a very
long day and we were all happy to get back to the accommodations for another
delicious dinner and a good night's sleep.
Tomorrow we will start by
visiting a Museum then travel to Cap Haitian.
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