Education is essential for anyone to move forward in life. At Haiti Outreach, we realize that guiding the communities to take responsibility for the long-term management of their well and for their own health is crucial for the sustainability of our efforts and their future progress. To do this, when we engage a new community, we provide 3 months of training in sanitation, hygiene and community well management before their will is drilled and inaugurated. The objective is to equip them with the skills necessary to strengthen the capacities of the community leadership committee in order to create a responsible and independent community so that our work and our efforts are not wasted.
In order for our community leaders to be fully equipped, we have to first train our animators to lead the community leaders.* leaders. How do we do this? Our pedagogy combines theory, concrete cases, examples, practice in pairs and group discussions. It allows student leaders to immerse themselves in all of the concepts once the training is over. It consists of two modules, divided into sequential units that allow learners to achieve the learning objectives and acquire the skills necessary to succeed in the field.
The first module presents the theory of our work which summarizes the values that we esteem at Haiti Outreach such as: responsibility, transparency, and accountability. In the second module, the new leaders do fieldwork under supervision to apply their new learning. The internship ends with a final evaluation, and those who succeed receive the title of facilitator and qualify for a work contract. At this point, they are ready to pass on the knowledge they’ve acquired to the community leaders.
Robenson Lucien is one of our dedicated animators. He started working for Haiti Outreach almost a year ago. Like any new animator, Robenson Lucien worked hard and convinced us of his abilities to do the job. Daily, he takes his motorbike over dirt roads and streams to train communities who want to have clean water closer to home. With great humility and empathy, he puts himself in other people’s shoes as he patiently guides them through their training.
One community member shared, “Personally, I saw Robenson get off his motorcycle, and carry it by hand over a stream to ensure we would arrive to train the community”. Stating that, “ this gesture touched me a lot.”
Due to differences in intellectual capacities, traditions, and customs it can be a challenge to engage community leaders in the rural areas. Nethertheles, Robenson consistently perseveres and works to understand and train each community with respect and dignity. He is a true servant leader and Haiti Outreach is grateful for his unyielding support in advancing our mission.
*Animators are group leaders
