Our ABST participants had a great afternoon on Sunday visiting with 5 Haitian university students. We learned the following:
1. Education is a privilege: Only half of Haitian children have access to elementary education and only a fifth of those are able to go on to the secondary level let alone continue further to university studies. Seats at public universities are highly coveted with much competition while entrance to private universities can be prohibitively expensive. Jimmy, a student majoring in Business and Management, tells us that you don't get a second chance at this so, if a scholarship opportunity comes along, you work very hard to make the grade.
2. Education is a sacrifice: Students live at home as the universities do not provide such a thing as "on-campus housing." Gloria, another business student, is up at 5am in order to catch the bus from her village to get to Port-au-Prince for her class day that begins at 8am. She doesn't make it home until well after dark. On top of this, she still has to find time to study and complete assignments. She notes that her family doesn't get to see her much even thought they're in the same house at the end of the day.
Our new friends talked about their areas of study: Business, Medicine, Languages, and Computer Science. All of them spoke English very well. They asked good questions of our GU students to reflect on similarities and differences in educational systems in our respective countries. Our students were glad to rebut the stereotype in some movies of university-life as a "party school.". At the same time, we were led to a deeper appreciation of the privilege of education and the responsibility to use it well.
Afterward, the conversation turned to a casual and fun exchange of what we do for fun which eventually led to an impromptu version of "The Cup Song.". (I have no idea what that is, but they all did!) For my part, I was privileged to be a participant and a witness in this student exchange that brought our group into a genuine encounter that turned strangers into friends.
Fr. Michael Kesicki
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Sunday Afternoon with Local University Students
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| Tyler and Iziah with Evans and Rigerson |
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| After interrupting their conversation about "Twilight", they let me take their picture. |
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| Gloria, Patrice and Iziah teaching us The Cup Song. |
Monday, March 2, 2015
Take Time
Tyler and Patrice, our student leaders, prepared a little packet of quotes/poems/readings for us to reflect on in our down time that I have found quite inspiring and thought provoking. I'm pretty sure that it would be a copyright violation to include the whole thing here, so I will just include the first few lines and I think you'll get the gist. It's a riff on the famous Ecclesiastes verse about time. It is called 'Take time" and is by Stanislaus Kennedy:
"Take time to live-- it is what life is for.
Take time for justice -- it is the beginning of peace.
'Take time to look afresh-- it will fill you with surprise
Take time to search -- it is the secret of eternal youth'
Coming to Haiti has been an instance of taking time to look afresh: both at myself and the hecticness of my day to day life as well as those things that we take for granted: easy access to food, water, electricity, roads, trash collection, etc. We were all completely exhausted from our travel-- very little sleep and then a lot of newness once we arrived. Yesterday was a day to refresh and reflect. We caught up on our sleep (which always makes life better), went to mass in Kreyol (which was very peaceful and interesting) and met some inspiring young people (both the Haitian students who came to talk about their experiences and getting to know the Gannon students better). It was also a lot of fun to watch the Haitian and American students do this elaborate cup song together.
Today we are going to a feeding program which I know will be challenging. As a mother, I know how hovering and close to my child a felt in her early stages of life. I breastfed for two years and that not only provided sustenance to my child but a deep physical and emotional bond. It is heartbreaking to contemplate not having enough food myself to be able to nourish my child and facing the choice of having to give up my child so that she could eat.
Father Frank had read an interesting reflection written by a past visitor to Outreach Haiti that had talked about solidarity and Haitians not needing pity but people walking with them. I struggle in my reactions in the face of challenging but important issues. I feel pity about a mother not being able to feed her child, but it is also something to remember and act on in the months and years to come. It is also important to appreciate the joy, culture, and beauty of this place, which I do.
--Ann Bomberger
"Take time to live-- it is what life is for.
Take time for justice -- it is the beginning of peace.
'Take time to look afresh-- it will fill you with surprise
Take time to search -- it is the secret of eternal youth'
Coming to Haiti has been an instance of taking time to look afresh: both at myself and the hecticness of my day to day life as well as those things that we take for granted: easy access to food, water, electricity, roads, trash collection, etc. We were all completely exhausted from our travel-- very little sleep and then a lot of newness once we arrived. Yesterday was a day to refresh and reflect. We caught up on our sleep (which always makes life better), went to mass in Kreyol (which was very peaceful and interesting) and met some inspiring young people (both the Haitian students who came to talk about their experiences and getting to know the Gannon students better). It was also a lot of fun to watch the Haitian and American students do this elaborate cup song together.
Today we are going to a feeding program which I know will be challenging. As a mother, I know how hovering and close to my child a felt in her early stages of life. I breastfed for two years and that not only provided sustenance to my child but a deep physical and emotional bond. It is heartbreaking to contemplate not having enough food myself to be able to nourish my child and facing the choice of having to give up my child so that she could eat.
Father Frank had read an interesting reflection written by a past visitor to Outreach Haiti that had talked about solidarity and Haitians not needing pity but people walking with them. I struggle in my reactions in the face of challenging but important issues. I feel pity about a mother not being able to feed her child, but it is also something to remember and act on in the months and years to come. It is also important to appreciate the joy, culture, and beauty of this place, which I do.
--Ann Bomberger
Sunday, March 1, 2015
A little bit of Pitch Perfect
Haitian University Students
The sun has set, and the temperature has cooled. We are hanging out like old friends as we wait for our nightly group reflection. I am so excited for this reflection because so much has happened today!
One of the most provoking parts of the day was when we had the opportunity to chat with students from universities in Haiti. Did you know only the top 3% are accepted to the Haitian state universities? These students take an entrance exam, and only the top of the top are admitted.
During our discussion, we asked them questions about their experiences at University. They told us about the competition amongst students. They also told us that this is their one shot at success. If they do not do their absolute best or falter for one minute, they'll lose their ticket out of poverty. Many of the students planned to come to America when they completed their degrees.
Perhaps the hardest part of the conversation was when they asked us about our universities. One of the women asked us if the parties were as amazing as they looked in the movies.
"Tell us about the crazy activities you do!"
This hit me like a brick wall. I was deeply saddened that this country thinks that life as a University students in America is like American Pie or The House Bunny. I tried to explain that life was not like it appeared in the movies.
My peers and I discussed the competitiveness of Gannon University. We also talked about spending late nights studying. Though there can be get-together in Greek Life on campus, it is by no means that majority of our students who participate.
With this discussion, I was left counting my blessings for having my opportunities at Gannon University. It also left a want to portray America in a different light, and to work hard to do so.
Things are well. We are well-fed and well taken care of.
With that, I wish everyone a good evening. Remember that we are all blessed!
Sending love back home,
Cristiana
One of the most provoking parts of the day was when we had the opportunity to chat with students from universities in Haiti. Did you know only the top 3% are accepted to the Haitian state universities? These students take an entrance exam, and only the top of the top are admitted.
During our discussion, we asked them questions about their experiences at University. They told us about the competition amongst students. They also told us that this is their one shot at success. If they do not do their absolute best or falter for one minute, they'll lose their ticket out of poverty. Many of the students planned to come to America when they completed their degrees.
Perhaps the hardest part of the conversation was when they asked us about our universities. One of the women asked us if the parties were as amazing as they looked in the movies.
"Tell us about the crazy activities you do!"
This hit me like a brick wall. I was deeply saddened that this country thinks that life as a University students in America is like American Pie or The House Bunny. I tried to explain that life was not like it appeared in the movies.
My peers and I discussed the competitiveness of Gannon University. We also talked about spending late nights studying. Though there can be get-together in Greek Life on campus, it is by no means that majority of our students who participate.
With this discussion, I was left counting my blessings for having my opportunities at Gannon University. It also left a want to portray America in a different light, and to work hard to do so.
Things are well. We are well-fed and well taken care of.
With that, I wish everyone a good evening. Remember that we are all blessed!
Sending love back home,
Cristiana
Visit with the Haitian University students
We had a wonderful afternoon with the Haitian University students! Together, we shared stories of our college experience and learned so much from each other.
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