HLD Leads Teacher Training on La Gonave

September 10, 2005
by Mark Stanczak

Haiti Lumiere de Demain/Haiti's Light for Tomorrow welcomes back to Connecticut its most recent delegation to Haiti. During their trip, volunteers led a teacher-training program, donated supplies to local schools, worked with community leaders, and documented their efforts on film and photo.

From August 21 thru August 28, filmmaker William Fitzgerald, musician & teacher Monica Attell, photographer Mark Stanczak, Pascal Antoine of HaitiXchange.com, and Denver University graduate student Katherine Dischino accompanied HLD president and founder, Louis Elneus, to the remote island of La Gonave. During its trip, Haiti Lumiere delivered school supplies and worked with local officials, including mayors, school administrators, and teachers.

Ms. Monica Attell (Norwalk, CT), a teacher and musician trained at Boston Conservatory, led local educators in a five day workshop on how to incorporate music in the classroom. As a teaching aid, music enhances students' performance in mathematics, memorization, and other key areas of mental development. Because Haitian society already incorporates music at a very basic level, music in the classroom will also act as a bridge to connect students with the critical thinking that comes from formal schooling.

William Fitzgerald (Norwalk, CT), a filmmaker renowned for his work in the music video industry, donated his services to document the recent work on La Gonave. In addition to raising awareness, the upcoming documentary will be a crucial step in Haiti Lumiere's ongoing mission of providing adequate education to the children of La Gonave through scholarships, construction projects, teacher training, and textbooks.

HLD plans to return in October with textbooks for the new school year as it works towards eliminating the dire state of illiteracy on the island of La Gonave.