Residents of the unfinished part of the police station part 4

Please, allow me to introduce you to Laudenstiana and her little sister Love-Kalenstia Aren't they just beautiful? Who wouldn't want to help them to go to school? They were so happy when we told them they will be returning there.

Residents of the unfinished part of the police station part 3

Something had to be done. I talked to one of the Colombian UNPOL, my friend Edwin who is also quite involved in other projects on his own, and we decided that I will go to the school and pay whatever had to be paid for the girls to go to school.Then we would submit the total bill to all the Ouanaminthe UNPOLs (8 in total for now) and see if they were willing to participate to the cost if not we would split the bill between the two of us. The next day, I picked up the father and the 2 girls and we went to the schools they have attended before money was too much of an issue to keep sending them. The other Canadian UNPOL was also willing to come with us and be part of this beautiful new adventure. While driving the 2 little girls were so happy to be in a car and on every little bump on the road they were laughing, they were so cute, you don't believe me....just wait to meet them. So, at the school we met their mother and explain to her what we were willing to do but in exchange we wanted her word that she would take the girls to the school every day which she agreed on. We paid then for all fees, school logo for the uniform and the school shirt. Then, we went to the market to buy the 11 books they needed each and finally to the tailor to buy the fabric they needed for their uniform. Once all that was done, it was time to return home. I had an opportunity to present this little project to all my UNPOL friends and explained to them that was totally up to them if they were willing to participate and share the cost between us all. They had no hesitation to split the bills and pay their part. I can see that for most of us we are here with a common goal, help the less fortunate and I'm glad that over time we don't loose focus of that goal. But enough writing, it is now time for you to meet the 2 little girls I've been writing about for so long.

Residents of the unfinished part of the police station part 2 cont'd

But knowing that two little girls were living there and were not going to school was just too much to bear. I talked to their father and asked him why his daughters were staying here all day long and not going to school. As I was expecting, money was again the issue as for most of these families. Unfortunately, the lack of money always has significant impact on the most vulnerable ones and of course I mean the children. The first thing that is usually cut in case of shortage of money is the education and anyone knows that without education one cannot expect to find a decent job in the future let alone rebuilding a country. And on top of that they are girls, which means that they will be even more vulnerable. I deeply believe in education but I also deeply believe and support girls education, because one day they will be able to speak up, fight for their rights and take their place in societies for a better world. ---------------------------------- The following is from The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) “Girls and women are often shackled by gender roles and outdated traditions, with male privilege and entitlement ensuring that when educational opportunities are limited, boys will take available classroom space. Gender roles and traditions that keep girls from school contribute an additional barrier to universal education and illiterate mothers. But an educated mother is more likely to have educated children, both boys and girls, which help ensures that universal education and gender equality will continue on through the generations. When we ensure that children have access to a rights-based, quality education that is rooted in gender equality, we create a ripple effect of opportunity that impacts generations to come.”

Residents of the unfinished part of the police station part 2

I have seen before some laundry hanging on the top part of the building but I never thought some people were living in the unfinished upper part of the police station which looks to me rather unsafe and more than uncomfortable. The pictures below will give you a rough idea of what I'm talking about:

Residents of the unfinished part of the police station

You remember seeing the picture below with the goats? As I said before, they are the residents of the unfinished part of the police station but this week I discovered that they were not the only residents. I met the person who is taking care of the goats and I learned that he also lives in the unfinished part of this building. By talking to him, I also learned that he lives with his wife and his two daughters he had with another woman.

Time to go to school

Last week I started my shift at 08:00 and when I arrived at the commissariat a young boy that I have seen before came and asked me if he could polish my boots for a little money. Seeing so many kids in the morning going to school I asked him why he wasn't going? He told me that he did not have the money to pay for it. So naturally I asked him how much he needed but he was not sure. He told me that he needed books and to pay for the school. Being a father I was not feeling well to see this young boy polishing boots while he could be at school learning something that would help him improving his condition and in the future his country. The next day I was working night shift so I told the boy to wait for me here at 09:00 tomorrow and we would go to the school together and find out was he needed. Next day at 09:00 the boy was waiting for me so we got going and walked together through the streets with people looking at us a little puzzled for the least to say. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the school but we made it. I met the principal, a very nice lady who told me that she knew the boy. His name is Joseph, he is 14 (born in 1999 but day and month unknown)and he will go the the 4th grade. The registration fee for the school had already been paid for him a while ago by another UNPOL but he needed to pay for his books and the monthly fees. I told her that I was here to pay for the books and for the whole year of school (once Joseph assured me that he would attend). Once that was done I told the principal that I would give her a call every now and then to confirm that Joseph was attending the school. She was happy that I would follow up with her and encourage the boy to go to school. On the way back I talked to Joseph and told him that if he shows me that he is really willing to seriously attend school I had no problem to pay for books and fees for the following years, however if he drops it I would not waste any more time with him. I bought him some sugar cane from a merchant on the side of the road and we returned to the commissariat. There are so many kids who need help here, of course I can't help them all but if I can help a few of them to get a better life for themselves so I'll do my best with what I have. Being part of a mission like MINUSTAH is a wonderful experience but we are part of a huge organization which does not really give a personal satisfaction of accomplishment since we are here only for a year. It's like working on a huge puzzle but you know that you'll never see the full picture while you are there. On the other hand, an individual action like the one with Joseph (as little as it is) gave me an instant feeling of accomplishing something. I came here to help and I want to return home knowing that I did.

This guy just lost control of his load while I was taking the picture

Market day on the Haitian side - The end of the day

More pictures from the border during market day

Family transportation

Gas is expensive here, so let's make sure we do only one trip ;-) 6 on a motorbike, that's the best I've seen so far.