The community of Chauffard has 8 schools. The main village of Chauffard has one and there are 7 more in Masson, Procy, Laval, Bois D’Orme, Malanga, Berly and Bongars. Student population varies from year to year, depending on the financial means of the parents. There are 12 teachers in the main school of Chauffard and 36 teachers in the surrounding schools. A small subsidy from the government, student tuition, and donations are used to pay the teachers their salaries of $40 to $101 per month for 11 months.
The effects of the Earthquake
In January 2010, the earthquake that struck Haiti collapsed 7 of the 8 schools of Chauffard. The only school not to collapse is in Bongars. We have temporary schools in place but they are not fit for purpose. In the rainy season, conditions become very difficult and the children are not able to learn.
The main school of Chauffard which collapsed in the earthquake
The 2nd Building of the school of Chauffard before the earthquake
The 2nd building of the main school was severely damaged in the earthquake
The Temporary School of Chauffard
In 2010 thanks to the generous donors of Haiti in our Hands, the people of Chauffard were able to build a temporary school to have their children back learning as quick as possible. This school consisted of approximately 12 classrooms filled with desks and a blackboard. However, the conditions were not ideal and in the extreme weather conditions the school was simply not fit for purpose.
The temporary school of Chauffard
The frame of temporary school during construction
The site of the old school with the temporary school adjacent
From the above photos it was clear a new school needed to be built. Thanks to the great efforts of Caritas we were able to give the children of Chauffard a school they deserve.