The Village School
A story of a Pastor, two hundred Children, a Community and Pride.
Les Cayes, Haiti

Phase One of this school will be dedicated to
Natalie Louise Streather
In July 2008

Updated May 9th 2008:
The $8,000 required for launching Phase 2 (land purchase) has been
committed by a wonderfully generous anonymous benefactor. THANK YOU!!!

CLICK HERE TO:
READ ABOUT THE DEDICATION - JULY 2008

To one person - this is a concrete block.
To another - it is the cornerstone of the future...

Project Background

 

There are times in this life when we are given the opportunity to change the destiny of a child, a family, many families - or even, in rarer cases - an entire village. This is an account of one of those rare opportunities.

Several months ago, while visiting Haiti to discuss another project that Project Rennwish has recently undertaken (to be announced), I had the chance to meet with a local Pastor from a small village. Pastor Vilnor is a young man, proud of his accomplishments - who has done more with "nothing" than one could ever imagine and comprehend - especially those of us fortunate enough to live outside Haiti - and that village. Pastor Vilnor asks for nothing, he has little insofar as material possessions and yet, he is the center of that villages world. In fact - he tries to run and operate a "school" in that village. He has just over two hundred students with local "teachers" - and their "school house" is his church - one very large room with a tin roof - where the pews are pressed into service as "desks" and teachers of all six grades compete to be heard over the din of other grades being taught a few inches away. Inside, on a warm Caribbean day with the sun beating down on the tin roof - you can well imagine the overwhelming heat and stagnant air permeating that one large room.

As a backdrop to this everyday scene, today - the village and villagers themselves exist in a world that few can imagine, stricken with poverty, unemployment and a daily "income" of perhaps a few Haitian Gourde (1 Gourde = about 2.5 US pennies) - there has been little hope in that community to revitalize their youth in regards to education, morals and a sliver of hope for a brighter future.

In short, the everyday challenge of each and every member of that village has been to simply survive at the most basic level - including perhaps eating one meal a day, or working their small crops - or maybe - sending their child to a school locally - so that they may have an opportunity - perhaps someday - at a better life. 

Someday…. And - today is that "Someday"

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The Challenge

Project Rennwish, Inc. is guided by some basic, yet demanding principles. Many of those principles differentiate us from other Non-Profit Organizations. In short - we do not "blindly give money".  Rather, we attempt to invigorate basic humanity and instill a "sense of pride" in peoples daily accomplishments.  In short:

• We do not want to "run" or "own" any of the projects undertaken with our "partners"; but rather - we develop long term relationships with those partners who live everyday within those projects/villages, effecting long term positive change;
  
  

• We only become involved with programs that directly effect core values of humanity and morality - such as education, care of those less fortunate, children who have no hope otherwise. We entrust our "partners" to maintain that same level of integrity and honesty - and in many cases - that partnership is with a person, a child - or in this case - an entire village;
  
  

• Our "success" is not measured by what we "operate" or "own" (we do neither)- but rather, how our investments have changed a single child, a group of children, a family - or again - in this case - an entire village in both the short and long term. It is our sincere hope that our "projects" outlast and persevere far beyond our mortal lives.
  
  

• We demand integrity, moral ethics and irreproachable principles from our partners with whom we undertake partnership programs.

If our partners "succeed";
Then we have succeeded in some small way.

Today is that "Someday"

Quietly - over the past two months, Project Rennwish, a small handful of private individuals (listed below), Jen and myself issued a "challenge" to a local Pastor, a group of children - and an entire village in completing Phase One (of three Phases).

And the response has been overwhelming. In fact - the local villagers built this school, we did not. We simply supplied the "glue" to bond the community together in this goal. They are the ones who succeeded and surpassed that goal. If you look at the pictures below - you will see children, village elders, groups of women and children "building their school". They gave freely of all they had - time, labor, pressing fruit juice and baking bread for their neighbors as they toiled to "build their dream". You can also witness older women and men alike digging the foundation, carrying 70 pound concrete blocks and mixing/pouring concrete by hand - again, simply to reach a common goal. Just to "build their school" for the children and Pastor Vilnor.

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Phase One

Phase One has been fully funded privately and is scheduled for completion in June of 2008. It will be dedicated on July 9, 2008 in a remote village outside of Les Cayes Haiti.

During the ceremony
The school built during Phase One will be dedicated to the memory of Natalie Louise Streather.

The dedication ceremony will be headed by Pastor Vilnor and will include his students, teachers and villagers. It will also be will attended by dozens of other local Pastors and leaders from throughout Haiti.

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Phase Two

Project Rennwish and Pastor Vilnor are considering purchasing a "lot" of land adjacent to the current school/project, as the existing land is too small for further construction. By acquiring this small parcel, it allows us (the villagers, Pastor Vilnor and Project Rennwish) to begin the following:

• Final construction of additional school rooms for pre-schoolers and dedicated work areas for the upper grades (8-10th graders) in the learning of arts/crafts, woodworking, sciences, etc.;

• A land lot capable of growing/cultivating , which will teach gardening/crop skills to both students and the local farmers;

• A lot size that can be expanded to include Phase Three.

Estimated Budget - Phase Two: 
$8,000 for land;
$32,000 US for construction/buildings

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Phase Three

(Details to be announced after the dedication of Phase One in July, 2008)

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Benefactors and Sponsors of this School

We are proud and humbled by the following individuals and organizations who have quietly donated to this project:

The Natalie Louise Streather Memorial Fund
Hooked On Cars

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Photos

Click on any picture for larger view
	Why we do this.... Some of Pastor Vilnor's students and teachers.  (Apparently - they were very excited to get out of class for this photo.)
	Why we do this....
	The current "school".  One room. More than 200 children in six grades try to "learn" under a single tin roof.
	Breaking Ground for the school.  Over thirty villagers continue to donate their time , labor and what precious little food they have to assist in the construction.
	This is a "village" project.
	An elder villager and her two young daughters pass out fresh bread and fruit juice they have just made to the workers.
	When one person wants to make a difference - they do.
	This woman's contribution is to be certain the workers have fresh juice.
	Filling the foundation walls - by hand, bucket by bucket, wheelbarrow load by load.
	Compacting the foundation for the final concrete floor.
	Pouring the concrete floor.
	Pouring the concrete floor.
	And the walls rise up from nothing.
	And the community builds it for themselves and the children.
	"Pride in doing something that they thought was impossible"

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The Dedication

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