"I want you to build houses because I don’t want to see people without a home"

leka Thanks to Save the Children, classes have begun again for the children of Cejecodema School in Martissant, Port-au-Prince.

The land was cleared of rubble through our cash for work activities. After that, Save the Children provided classroom tents and supplies so that more than 130 children have a safe place to learn. This is the first temporary school we set up after the earthquake. For many of the children – like 4-year-old Leka – this is the first time they have had an opportunity to attend school.

Leka's story

For the school principal, Madame Maxilene Leonard, this day hasn’t come soon enough. She says she feels relieved to finally have a safe place to teach her students.

For a few children here, like children all over the world, first day at school was a little overwhelming – there were some tears. But not Leka – she was proud and happy to be here. She sings to us in a shy and sweet voice. It’s a happy children’s song and it’s clear that she enjoys expressing herself and participating in other structured play activities at this school.

Leka also wants to speak about her fears. Though she is quite young, she is wrestling with feelings that seem beyond her young years. “I am not afraid of dying” she says. “Some people cried when they saw people die. I cried when some of my friends died but I feel safe here now. I don’t want to see any houses fall anymore. I am excited to learn my alphabet and to go to school.”

For these children who survived the January 12 earthquake, but whose homes and schools were damaged, the large outdoor tents give them a place to continue their education, play and interact with each other in a safe environment. In the areas hardest hit by the earthquake, Save the Children is providing these safe, temporary classrooms to help vulnerable children recover from the disaster. The agency plans to set up 300 temporary classrooms over the coming weeks. Save the Children will also repair some less damaged structures.

Madame Maxilene Leonard, the school principal, says she expects attendance to increase to 400 very soon. “Yesterday we received these tents from Save the Children. Our school was destroyed by the earthquake and it was unsafe to return to it. We feel much safer now that we can be outside. We still need supplies: we need chairs and a blackboard and we need water and toilets. We find that most of the children here are needy, we try to give them some comfort and care. I think that Save the Children is really helping to give them this comfort by providing us this space and this tent.” Soon, Save the Children will also provide safe drinking water and latrines to the school.

In a country where only 51 percent of children attended school before the earthquake and where, on average, children only complete four years of schooling, this disaster has compounded already daunting challenges in education. To ensure that children continue to have access to education, Save the Children will work with both government schools and with private and community schools.

Before we left Cejecodema School, we asked Leka how we can do more for children like her. She said: “I want you to build houses because I don’t want to see people without a home. We can now stay dry because we have a plastic sheet. I would also be glad if you could buy me a car or a motorcycle!”