29 March 2010: It’s hard to believe I’ve been in Haiti for over 2 weeks now and am coming to the end of my temporary assignment here. In supporting the education portfolio for Plan Haiti I’ve seen the amazing amount of work already done to ensure children can return to school in early April.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been working with education authorities, facilitating town hall meetings for school directors and inspectors to come together and express their concerns and needs. 

Great demand

Last week in Croix-des-Bouquets we anticipated about 50 participants and were surprised as over 70 directors and inspectors attended! Every available chair in the office was packed into the room, with several directors standing in the doorway and Plan staff perched on top of desks at the front of the room.

Boys studying in a school tent provided by Plan

The session was conducted mostly in Creole, which proved challenging. Still, it was clear the needs and concerns are plentiful: the need for temporary schools where school buildings have been destroyed or damaged; how to get parents and children to overcome the fears and anxieties they developed and to encourage them to send their children back to school; how to encourage teachers to come back to work and to offer them the psychosocial support they need as well as training on how to handle the psychosocial needs of their students; what to do about the camps that are settled on school grounds; and how to pay teachers’ salaries in light of the increased economic struggles.

Plan’s education strategy

Saintil Brice, Plan’s national education advisor, presented Plan’s strategy for supporting the Ministry of Education to respond to these needs, including the provision of transitional structures and teaching materials; training teachers and school directors on psychosocial support and emergency preparedness, as well as on key issues such as gender, school-based violence, health and hygiene promotion, and disability.

I presented Plan’s integrated strategy to support early childhood development that includes education, child protection and health — to target pre-school children and children aged 0-3, and provide support to pre-school teachers, parents, women’s groups and caregivers.

Supporting the government

The needs of the school directors are immense and multi-faceted. Plan’s role is not to serve as a substitute for the government but rather to support the government and to work with national and international organisations to respond to these needs in a coordinated and effective way. 

Although Plan alone can’t resolve all the problems facing the education system, we are committed to working together in partnerships to ensure children get the education they deserve.

Donate to the Haiti emergency appeal