It Begins Again ...

Events of Saturday, June 27th

As Patrick Faustin and I leave the front gate to go review the week's progress on Madame Ellie's house, we are greeted by nearly seven hundred fifty people. Today is the entrance exam for the selection of the class of 2017.  350 applicants and their parents are quietly waiting to enter for the test. Before the year ends, another one begins. 

So many people ask about the selection of students, I thought it might be interesting to have a scene by scene of the day.  I have also asked John DiTillo (next year’s Lead Volunteer) to give his impressions on the day as a whole, from the point of view of seeing next year's work unfold before him.

7:30 AM

Michelet Lofficial, himself an LCS graduate from 1998, former Head of Operations--Haiti, and now the first alumni Haitian Project Board Member, addresses the crowd. [This has to be the most disciplined and quiet crowd in Haiti. The feel is quite a contrast from the recent food lines and World Cup revelry.] Michelet points out that many will not find their name on the list of 100 students who will be given a personal interview based on the results of today's exam. He recognizes that there will be sadness, but it is important to accept the rules of the exam and entrance process. 

I follow Michelet's excellent advice in perfect native Kreyol with the first waterfall of non-native Kreyol the students, at least those who are chosen for LCS, will hear over the next seven years. I point out that everyone is a human being of immeasurable dignity and value; however, LCS is seeking particular students. These students are not better people, just better suited for our school. They are not winners, but workers chosen for a mission--to rebuild Haiti. While there will be sadness, I point out that everyone wins today because the country wins today. To make the point concrete, I inform the hopeful LCS students that we hand a student a bucket, a shovel, a pickax, and a wheelbarrow far more often than a pencil, pen or book. I ask the crowd to read the words on the wall behind them: ‘We are ready to rebuild Haiti, how about you?’ After a few more comments, I ask the crowd. "What does LCS offer?" They respond in unison, "A shovel, a pickax, a wheelbarrow." Smart kids, to be sure.  

8:00 AM

The exam begins with the first section: Math

Applicants are in the classrooms; Parents sit waiting in small groups scattered around the school courtyard in the same pattern as the shade. There is not an audible voice on the campus.

8:45 AM

Second Section: General Knowledge

Having gained a bit of confidence from their first exam, the applicants have become a bit chatty during the short break. But the mood remains somber among the waiting parents, as the applicants do not have time in between to reconnect with them.

9:45 AM

The official mid-exam break begins. Now the school's courtyard is alive with chatter.  Children and parents mingle, taking in impressions on the first sections. As soon as the applicants make their reports, they are off to group among themselves. It is amazing to see how excited they are. They want education--that is clear. They are thirsty for it. The courtyard is like a garden of freshly bloomed flowers--the children dressed in their best outfits and energized by the atmosphere. They are alive with hope; their intelligence and high spirits are pouring out of them--they have even energized the overworked staff, who are smiling like we just started the year today.

10:00 AM

It is quiet again. The French exam is underway. Kreyol is the mother tongue of all Haitians; however, French is an important language for academics. This may change over time, but LCS has taken the "negative block" of being educated in a second language and made it a skill. LCS students come to understand empirically that language is communication and communication is best done in the language of the listener. Kreyol will always be our most local community language, but we sing, pray and speak 3 others daily as well. LCS students are proud Haitians who choose to speak whatever language it takes to be heard.

11:00 AM

Final Session: Science

It begins quietly and ends quietly. Slowly children and parents start moving to the main courtyard. The exam is over.

11:45 AM 

Final Dispersal

There are some signs of fatigue, especially among the parents. Many left home at 5:00 AM to arrive on time or ahead of time; they began working to get to the exam long before that. No one is more aware than these parents that only 3% of Haitian children finish school. They know because they did not finish and they have seen many of their children go without education as well.

The list will go up on July 9th. There will be tears that day, but for now, it is all smiles and thank yous.

Today is a great affirmation of an important fact: There is hope in Haiti because Haitians are a people of hope.

John DiTillo stayed to help with the Month of Formation for our younger students. As a bonus, he participated in the administration of the entrance exam. Below are his thoughts on our final month. 

     Recent Gospel readings have rung true with the experience of saying “Yes” and staying on as a Volunteer during the extended academic period this June. Jesus reminds us that “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” Here in Haiti, these words give us hope that we might move on from the destruction and chaos in the wake of the earthquake and forge forward, without turning back. 

     At LCS, forging forward looks like students moving small mountains of rubble, to be transformed into the foundations and walls of new homes. It looks like a classroom full of Haiti’s future leaders studying silently despite the absence of their teacher. It looks like pairs of young men and women carrying loads of rocks in buckets between them, each with a notebook in their free hand as they study for this week’s final exams—simultaneously working with their hands and minds to rebuild their country.

     Fellow Volunteer Corey Paulino and I have teamed up with Haitian Staff to emphasize discipline and hard work. Showing up on time and the joy of seeing a job through to its fulfillment are perhaps the most important lessons we will witness to our students. Our aim is to finish the term strong, so that we might begin the next one on solid ground.

     Finally, we are worn out. June is hot and the days are long. But this exhaustion is also a blessing. The only acceptable response to Jesus’ ultimate gift to us is to give all that we have in return—to keep our hands to the plow until we are exhausted and empty. Empty, but so very full.

Peace,

Patrick