Tonight, 10 hours after arriving in Haiti, we were asked to think of one word that reflected the day we had experienced. For most, our day started around 2 am as we traveled to airports in Montreal, Toronto, and Dallas and onward to Miami and then Cap-Haitien. Generally, things went really smoothly and we arrived in Cap-Haitien by early afternoon.
Our group participants offered some diverse words such as: excited, exhausted, anticipation, joy, and even, hamburger! My word was solidarity (Creole: solidarite).
Solidarity is a word that means more than empathy or togetherness. It also has a connotation of action. Our work in Haiti is not just one of words and shared sentiment. We are committed to improving the teaching abilities of educators across the country. We are also in agreement that we ourselves (as Canadian educators) do not have everything figured out and that we can also learn from our Haitian colleagues. This is a great opportunity for inter-cultural learning. We are solidified in this commitment AND we are acting on this commitment.
It is a privilege to be in solidarity with Canadian and Haitian educators who want to be exemplary teachers.
Some pictures from our day:
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| Some of our team on the Cap-Haitien airport runway |
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| Wondering what it looks like to have 40 Canadian educators in a small airport lobby waiting for the customs officials? Look no further. |
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| Cap-Haitien has some very novel businesses and micro-enterprises like this one committed to women entrepreneurship. |
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