Stories of Love

Sabrina, Paul and Lovely

These are the names of children at the Anis Zunuzi School, situated amidst the poorest slums outside the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sabrina is probably 7, although her exact age is unknown. She loves reading and playing hide and seek with her friend. She's in grade 1. Her mother is a good cook and sells rice and beans with spices, sitting on the roadside in front of their house. Her father is a bricklayer, but work is scarce and he makes little income. Paul's mother is a widow, with no income to support herself and her two sons. Paul loves sports, learning the computer and studying English. He's in grade 4. His former school didn't have any of these activities. Lovely is 15 and in grade 8. She loves to sew, draw, dance and read. She wants to go on to study agronomy. Her father works for the telephone company, but wages are low, and it's difficult to find the means to keep her in school. She has five brothers. Girls often drop out of secondary school because priority is given to younger children, and many girls that age become pregnant.

Each day, 230 children like Sabrina, Paul and Lovely attend Zunuzi School during two sessions. The afternoon session is for students who cannot show up to morning classes. Often these are “restavec” children, brought into the city from the provinces to serve as domestic help. The tuition at the school is $30 per student per month, but the children are so impoverished, most are unable to afford even partial tuition. The school was originally built in a rural area, with no public transportation, no electricity and no telephone. After the school was built, electricity finally reached it. Then, 10 years later a phone was installed. Eventually, the slums of Port-au-Prince spread around the school and violent crime in the area increased. Haiti experienced 7 political revolutions in the last 20 years which so disrupted the society that young people refuse to work the land and instead look to relatives overseas to support them. This dependency creates apathy and a sense of hopelessness.

In the midst of this continued social disruption and destruction, Zunuzi School became an oasis of hope for a way out of poverty. The most pronounced character of the school is beauty. The school grounds are filled with trees, flowers, and clean white buildings with courtyards. Students are recognized for their good character and are trained how to analyze, reflect and solve problems. They're also taught to express themselves clearly in their native Creole and in French, to listen to others' ideas with respect, to work cooperatively and to be aware of world events. Art and music is incorporated at every level. The beautiful grounds are used for sports and other events, and offered for use to other schools that have no place for students to run and play.

In spite of a dire lack of resources, the local staff have proved their commitment to change and persevered over a long rough road to lift up Zunuzi School's capacity. Each year they work with Mona Foundation to refine their vision of how their programs will grow to serve more children.

Because each year, another little Sabrina or Paul or Lovely, wandering the forlorn city slums, will peek through the school's gate and see the future of what they and Haiti can become. We want to invite them all in.

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