BVI : Members of The Rotary Club of Tortola have just returned from a visit to Haiti where they attended the opening of two schools funded primarily by donations from the BVI. The schools will provide education for more than 500 hundred Haitian children.
The two schools were the Primary School in Simon, Les Cayes and the Good Samaritan School in Ile a Vache. The projects were part of Rotary’s response to the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake.
At the opening of the school in Simon on Tuesday, 13 June, Rotary International and the people of The British Virgin Islands were celebrated for their contributions which went to rebuild the school, which was cracked badly and deemed unsafe following the quake.
Kenneth Morgan, Vice President of the Rotary Club of Tortola, represented all three Rotary Clubs in the BVI, participated in the opening ceremony by making remarks in French, and received accolades for the outstanding generosity of the people of the BVI. Moneys raised from a telethon in the BVI held immediately after the earthquake were largely responsible for the rebuilding of the six-classroom school.
“It was an honour to represent the Rotary Clubs of the BVI at the school opening in Haiti. Many, many people in Les Cayes asked us to convey their gratitude to each and every person who contributed to the earthquake fund,” Morgan said.
Ulysse Pierre Gerard of the Rotary Club of Les Cayes said: “Words cannot express my joy and gratitude to you all for everything you are currently doing for the children of my country. I am even more proud of you seeing that you made all this with all your heart and the desire to help. I believe that all this will be a reward that only God can give, for his blessing will last forever. I congratulate you and ask you to continue to live that love to help others because there is more joy to the giver than who receives.”
In addition to the primary school in Simon, the Rotary Club of Tortola was very proud to partner with Michael A Gardner, a long time resident of the Virgin Islands, a fascinating entertainer and a Caribbean humanitarian, to open the Good Samaritan School on the outer-island of Ile a Vache.
The BVI knows Michael as “Beans” the Pirate entertainer on Marina Cay and Leverick Bay for his Happy Arrrr show. The Rotary Club of Tortola raised money at many “Pirates with a Porpoise” events at Myettes and Leverick Bay to raise money for building the school. Following the earthquake, the population of the school more than doubled, putting even greater strain on an already inadequate facility.
At the opening ceremony for the new school on Sunday, 10 June, the engineer expressed gratitude for employment for the people of the island for the construction of the school and for its ongoing service to the community. Amazon Jean Yvres, the major of Ile a Vache, was present at the opening of the Good Samaritan School and reinforced that the work of Rotary enriches lives and brings equal opportunity to all of the children.
Rotarians who visited were pleased to note that the school is of excellent construction and built to such a high standard that it will double as a hurricane shelter: something else the community did not have previously.
“This is a very exciting day. The people of Ile a Vache Island are very proud of the building. It created many jobs and is the biggest construction on the island. Now more students can attend and get an education. The old school was not big enough and was not safe,” Said Ulysse Jean Miserge, a resident of Ile a Vache.
In addition to the six school classrooms at the Good Samaritan School, there are now latrines as well as a cistern for clean and safe water. Health and sanitation is critical and the kitchen allows for preparation of a meal a day – sometime the only meal the children have.
Members of the Rotary Club of Tortola also visited Caye a Lou where a project to construct water cisterns has been completed and there are plans for a future project to construct latrines. The group also travelled to the island with Michael “Beans” who boarded the boat with guitar in hand and entertained the children at an orphanage in Madame Bernard, Ile a Vache. The children echoed his music, clapped and smiled: bringing joy to children is clearly one of Michael’s missions in life.
Stephen Cooper, chairman of the Rotary Club of Tortola’s Haiti committee, commented on the trip: “Being in Haiti gives broader knowledge of the landscape, communities and how much work there is yet to do. We all had a wonderful visit, which was made so much more enjoyable by all of our friends at the Rotary Clubs in Haiti especially the members of the Les Cayes Club who organized the openings of the schools and who chaired the projects ensuring that the buildings were constructed on time and within budget. Personally, a highlight for me was walking up the track in La Hatte, Ile a Vache, into the field and see the brand new school , clean and painted in the bright morning sunlight. I could hardly believe it was the same piece of flat, empty ground that I saw two years ago.”
The BVI delegation comprised Tom and Barbara Gerker, Jonathan McCarthy, Cate Stephenson, Michael Riegels, Kenneth Morgan and Stephen Cooper. Rotarians paid for their own travel and accommodations.
You must be logged in to post a comment.