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Until Darkness Falls

 
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pops_fire



Joined: 31 Dec 2003
Posts: 25

PostPosted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:18 am    Post subject: Until Darkness Falls Reply with quote

Until Darkness Falls

By M. Andre Moore, Journalist


It’s not often you see good news in print. When it slices through the violence and greed that hangs in our forethoughts like a tumor, it’s refreshing - alarming even - and it always leaves a good scar on the brain. And sometimes, if we’re lucky, that tear in the fabric of our gloomy reality, lets a little light shine on through from the other side.

I figured now was a good time as any for some of that magic light to bust out. News, as always, has been grim lately.

Iraq is still convulsing, suffering from the acute seizures of war, while the American public is nonplussed, catatonic with grief as they watch any hope of leaving that country in one piece melt into a bloody puddle. A few months from now the US will hand over the reigns to, not one lunatic, but many, groping for the same scepter so they can bash their countrymen over their heads the moment the world cranes the other way. Maybe that’s a bad analogy. It will be more like letting go of the wheel at 90mph and telling your newborn to “go for it”.

Anti-Semitism is reaching a fever pitch and is about to get worse when extremists in the Arab world see the pornographic images of US president George Bush and Israeli PM, Ariel Sharon, cavorting in the Awful Office.

And what about Haiti? After exploding into the headlines, news from the Caribbean nation seems to have slipped into the back pages, quickly drowning in an ocean of Other News.

So I dove into the darkness” until I found some light.

In 1997 Gerry Delaquis decided it was time to give something back to the island of his birth, the island he left at 19 to build a better life for himself in America, where he served in the military for 23 years. While escorting some doctors through Haiti, Gerry was overwhelmed by the state of his homeland. Not much had changed since his childhood; illiteracy was still rampant and poverty remained a major hurtle to education. He knew something had to be done to help his country, the question was what? After exploring the possibilities, Gerry concluded the best way to aid his countrymen was to foster quality education, to give his people the power to make informed choices about their future. This was the birth of Light for All (LiFA), a non-profit corporation, dedicated to educating the poor of rural Haiti.

While cruising NetAid’s website, seeking information about the number of schools that had been built in Haiti since 1996, I first discovered LiFA. Kate Kroeger, manager of the World Schoolhouse, referred me to Mr. Delaquis.

“The question to address is not how many school(s) (have) been built but how many of them can really educate those young Haitians,” he wrote in his response to my query.

“A large number of the teachers are not qualified and some never finish school.”

Gerry invited me to discuss the matter further. The following Saturday, he called me from his home in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tackling a hulking problem like educating the poor takes more than just guts, you need the ability to see the situation clearly and act with both heart and mind. Instead of building schools from the ground up, where resources would’ve been bogged down in logistics and red tape, LiFA looked at schools that were already running, offering them a “hand up” rather than a “hand out”.

Without legislation or national standards in place, qualifying teachers, was a priority for Gerry. Offering micro credits (loans) to potential instructors allowed teachers to get licensed, while raising the learning bar in the classroom.

A democratically elected Support Committee, which is made up of members of the community, is trained by LiFA to manage the school, to ensure a safe and healthy environment for their students.

Currently LiFA sponsors 6 schools (about 3,000 children) with the ultimate goal of self-sufficiency, what Gerry called Phase 2 of the project. At the time of writing 4 of those schools were ready for the next step.

I asked Gerry what other successes Light For All has achieved.

“At the end of 6 year(s) of primary school all the student(s) in Haiti have to take a National exam. The percentage of student(s) that obtain the passing grade been has been under 50% for the last 6 years LiFA (has) been working with Haiti. The first 2 years we were also getting the same result. But for the last 2 years we had (reached) 80's and 90's percentile. Last year we had 2 students among the (top) to graduate and this year we had one and the total of success for LiFA school for the year 2002-2003 was at 92% at the National exam.”

Given a chance, these children are eager to learn, in spite of the challenges, sometimes walking up to 3 hours to attend class. The current political turmoil has stalled projects like Light For All, but not reversed the strides already made.

“We may experience a slower progress this year,” wrote Gerry after I asked him about the political situation. “But we are not expecting any set back from the over all LiFA project from the position prior to the last 2-3 months. But if we received a small increase in support (we) will stay in track with progress at all the LiFA supported school/community.”

We often think warriors tread in absence of fear, that courage is tested under the gun of the enemy. After speaking with Gerry, my image of a true warrior has been dismantled and rebuilt. Out of the smoke and ashes of old ideas, I see hope.

Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)


For more information visit his website at: www.lightforall.org




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