Image via sxc.hu
We all know what a tragic incident that happened to Haiti on the 12th month of January last year. It was a shattering experience since the earthquake was recorded to be 7.0 in magnitude. I don’t need to detail everything, but in fair view to the incident, millions of people in Haiti were greatly injured, killed, homeless, and even hopeless.
Well, despite of what happened to the country, we all responded to help them rise up again. Nations from all around the world united to assist the people in Haiti in various ways. As for a person named Jonathan Hartmann, he also took time to do something for Haiti.
Hartmann is actually is an English professor in the University of New Haven. He helped the country by developing a program teaching English at the local Montessori school. He, along with his group spent nine days in letting the citizens learn English language to learners who had been previously schooled entirely in French.
As an article submitted by Sarah Mirza, the project “was led by the Nest for Educational Growth and Environmental Safety (NEGES), a Haitian organization dedicated to rebuilding the community through educational programs, summer camps and cultural events.” Hartmann was one of those involved, and they aim to rebuild the community of Haiti to its progressive form.
They aim to do such action because the earthquake mentioned destroyed a technical school that NEGES a build since 1998. According to Hartmann, “NEGES is trying to rebuild schools in Mon Petit Village in Leogane, a town at the earthquake’s epicenter. The organization seeks to expose the children of the village to the world of technology and to provide an opportunity to learn English.” It was actually difficult for him to do everything as it is to be done, but he was grateful that he has enthusiastic learners. In fact, two adult survivors on the earthquake tragedy were “putting their stories into books written in Creole, with English written on the facing pages.”
Isn’t this great news for the people of Haiti? Since not all people are privileged to learn English at language school like most of the Haiti citizens, still, they were given the opportunity to learn the language. It’s because NEGES along with Hartmann’s colleagues did make a difference. At some point, the stimulation to allow the citizens in Haiti to learn English is very inspirational.
