For the week of April 21, we celebrated two major events: “Book Day and Earth Day”. A large book exhibition was organized to encourage students to read, to dream, to create, to experiment. In addition, in a country where there is hardly any vegetation, we became aware of Mother Earth, we committed ourselves to caring for the trees and plants we have at school and we planted some trees that we planted in our garden. All the children looked forward to this day because new stories, science books, history books… appeared. It was quite a spectacle to see children from kindergarten through 6th grade pass through the library, which was hosted by the older children and open to visits from other schools in the area.
Life with the advent of violence changed us, but not for that reason, we stopped celebrating these two great world events, in a simpler way. This year, although the sisters were not present, the school staff organized different activities, including a reading and writing contest, where the winners received gifts, making life present and dreaming of a different country where we can all grow, live in peace, harmony and make our country reborn.
This is what happened with the 6th grade students, who finish their cycle at the Vedruna school, who year after year wait for their coexistence where they work on values. It had been planned for the month of February… and due to the strong violence, it had to be cancelled. Instead of going away for a weekend, we settled for staying in the school setting. We also gave up the beach at Lake Azuey, in the Quisqueya Natural Park. Despite so much contradiction, we are happy because we have the possibility to go to a pool in a sector that is closer to the border with the Dominican Republic, in order to protect the children and staff.
The important thing about this reality is that we are becoming resilient, creative and resourceful with what little we are left with. We learn not to be demanding, but rather to discover those loopholes that present themselves to us, in order to live with joy and hope.
We give thanks to God for the personnel who every day make the Vedruna charism become a reality, a source of life, dedication, growth and is projected to bring values, strength and hope to help the resurgence of a different Haiti where everyone can grow and live with dignity.
Sr. Camilla de Jesus, CCV
