The Value of Education

"I spent all of my savings to send my 4 children to school this year. Education is an investment for the future, it is something my children will always have and no one can take away. I was not educated, but my children can be. I am so proud of this.”

Delmas 32

Last Friday at Architecture for Humanity's monthly meet-and-greet, we were shown a wonderful film by Frederick King of Fountainhead Films that documents the participatory planning process in the community of Delmas 32. From my own personal experience, community engagement is not easy because communities are not organized in a normal situation and scattered post-disaster. The number of people shown in the film is a real testament to the leadership present in this community and the effort put forth by its organizers.

Organizing Haiti

This week, a graduate architecture studio from University of Pennsylvania is visiting Haiti, hosted by Architecture for Humanity. Last night, five student groups presented their studio projects on Haiti for critique and discussion. They developed theoretical infrastructure projects around ideas of rubble, ravines, voodoo, tap-taps, and IDP camps. The reviewers, including Leslie Voltaire, were kind since none of students had ever been to Haiti before. The first half of their study back in Philadelphia was accurately named, "Remote Sensing." I'm sure their projects will develop new depth and understanding after their visit here.

Laughing at Monsters

Boys sing at the beach.

I spent the weekend in Jacmel for the Kanaval (Carnival) festivities. It felt good to openly gawk with wonder and to participate in a cultural celebration with both Haitians and ex-pats. What a simple pleasure it is to be able to take photographs of a magnificent and proud Haiti. I pointed my lens and instead of it saying, "You are sad and foreign to me," it sang, "You are beautiful and I admire you."