Hello all!
Since I
did not give a full description of
what I’ll be doing, where I’ll be doing it and with whom, I feel
compeled to cut and paste the following from the Quisqueya Haiti handbook. Obviously
I don’t own any of the following material. I’ve also added mailing and actual
address to the side of the blog, just in case you wanted to know how to get
hold of me. Please remember that there’s a retrieval fee for any package (not
letters) you send.
Introduction to Quisqueya Christian School
Quisqueya
(kiss-kay'-uh) Christian School (QCS) was founded in 1974 by a group of
missionary
parents who wanted Christian schooling for their children. The school began
that fall with 35 students. For the first two years, an orphanage graciously allowed QCS to share
the facility, a three-acre campus located between the capital city of
Port-au-Prince and the residential suburb of Petionville. When the owner of the
property decided to sell, the orphanage declined the offer, and QCS bought the
property in 1976.
Approximately
300 students are enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade Twelve.
One of
Quisqueya's primary goals is to serve missionaries by
providing schooling for
their
children, and the broader goal is to provide a school for the English speaking
Christian
population of Port-au-Prince. The mission of QCS is “To provide the best
possible
US accredited education where students learn to understand, interpret and
analyze
the world from a Christian view. Quisqueya Christian school offers a biblically
integrated
program based on and correlating with the American system of education.”
Brief History of Haiti
When
Columbus landed on Haiti in 1492, he named it Hispaniola, or "Little
Spain." At that time it was inhabited by the Taino, a group of Arawak
speaking people. The Taino were killed by the thousands by disease when Spanish
armies came in search of gold. Between smallpox and slavery, almost all traces
of native inhabitants have been obliterated, though the following Arawak words were
incorporated into English: barbeque, canoe, tobacco, potato, and hurricane. The
French and the Spanish fought for control of the new world and settled their
dispute by dividing the island. The French took the western part, Haiti, and
the Spanish took the eastern part, which is now the Dominican Republic. The
French planters lived like royalty on their large plantations. In fact, Cap Haïtien, a city on the northern coast, was called "the Paris
of the New World." The planters brought slaves from Africa to work for
them and forced the Indians into slavery. Many were slaughtered mercilessly and
others died of a broken heart. During this time, social classes began to
develop. The Grandes Blancs, very
wealthy white planters, were the leaders both socially and politically. The Petites Blancs were the poor white tradesmen. The Affranchits were the children of the Grandes Blancs and the slaves, many of whom were free
and well educated in France. The slaves were the lowest class who worked hard
and were treated harshly. Unrest developed. The Affranchits sought freedom but
were denied, and the slaves, who greatly outnumbered the Europeans, became very
unhappy with their condition. Within these two groups there arose intelligent,
brave leaders who led the great mass of slaves in a revolt against the French. The
stories of their battles and tactics are unequaled. Among Haiti's national
heroes of this time are Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Pétion, Toussaint
L'Ouverture, Henri Christophe, Jean-Pierre Boyer, and André Rigaud.In an
incredible struggle for independence, the slaves liberated themselves, and
Napoleon's armies were ousted. On January 1, 1804, after nearly two hundred
years of French rule, Haiti became the first free black republic in the world
and the second oldest republic in the Western Hemisphere. Since acquiring her
independence, Haiti has experienced a tumultuous political history. Two of the
most well-known recent governments were that of the Duvalier family regime
which ruled from 1957 to 1986, and that of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide was
elected president in December 1991, deposed in 1992, restored in 1994, and
completed his term in 1996. René Préval served one term as President before
Aristide was reelected in 2000. René Préval was sworn into office on the 14th
of May 2006 as the 55th President of Haiti, and he is the current president. On
January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake destroyed much of down town
Port-au-Prince, as well as areas to the west. Some experts believe as many as
300,000 died with as many as 1.5 million people living in tents, under tarps,
and in temporary shelters. The Inter-American Developmental Bank rates this
earthquake as the worst disaster in modern history. This exacerbates existing problems
of poverty, malnutrition, lack of education, unemployment, erosion of the
natural resources, superstition, and weak government. QCS remains confident
that, in spite of difficult circumstances, God is building his church and the gates
of hell will not prevail against it.
Location and Geography
Haiti
occupies the western third (10,714 square miles) of the island of Hispaniola,
the second largest of the Caribbean Islands. The Dominican Republic is located
on the eastern two-thirds. Haiti, which means "high land" in the
original Indian language, is well named, with mountains that rise to 9,000 feet
above sea level. Haiti is blessed with many beautiful flowers, palms and
plants. However, Haiti's supply of timber, including mahogany, pine and
logwood, is rapidly diminishing.
Climate
Haiti has
one of the most pleasant climates in the Caribbean. Temperatures are high in
the coastal areas, with never-ending summer weather ranging from 75° to 95°.
The temperature is cooler in higher elevations. An autumn-like 50°-75° prevails
in the high country where berries, peaches, and strawberries grow, and the
climate has been compared to that of San Francisco. Rain seldom lasts more than
an hour or two in the evening during the rainy season. Port-au-Prince has two
rainy seasons - April through June and August through November. The driest
months are December through March. Haiti lies in the Caribbean hurricane belt,
but most hurricanes pass to the north or south of the island. Port-au-Prince is
protected by the bay and by a ring of mountains that protect the city from
storms. Thunderstorms are common during the rainy seasons.
People
The
Haitians are a proud, gracious, resourceful, courageous, and friendly people.
Blacks constitute 95% of the population, mulattos and whites make up 5%. The
foreign community is concentrated in the capital and is comprised primarily of
American, Canadian, French, Dutch, German, Syrian, and Lebanese. The population
is over 9 million people.
Language
The
official languages of Haiti are French and Creole. French is spoken by about
10% of the people, while the rest speak Creole or a blend of the two. With the
influence of American popular culture and business opportunities in trading
with the United States, English has become increasingly important in Haiti, and
English speakers are regularly encountered, especially in the capital. Many
hotels, airline offices, restaurants, and shops have English-speaking
personnel.
Religion
The
official and predominant religion of Haiti is Roman Catholicism. The early
slaves brought their African religions with them, but as soon as they arrived
in Haiti, the French priests baptized and "Christianized" them. The
French permitted them to hold their Saturday night African voodoo worship
ceremonies and then forced them to attend mass on Sunday. As a result, most
Haitian peasants seem to regard Catholicism and voodoo as inseparable and
usually consider themselves to be members of both religions. Approximately 16%
of the population identifies itself as Protestant, and there are numerous Protestant
missions working in Haiti. Many of the missions are involved not only in church
planting and discipleship, but also in education and development work as well.
Though Haiti is officially a Roman Catholic country, there is total freedom of
worship for all people. This gives evangelical missions an opportunity to
witness and establish churches and schools. The people are eager to hear the
gospel, but because of their background in voodoo mixed with Catholicism, there
are many difficulties facing Haitians who become Christians. Voodoo is a
combination of mysterious rituals, symbols, music and dances. The voodooist
believes in one supreme god, but contacts his god through the "loas,"
powerful, but secondary gods. He also believes there are spirits everywhere and
he must constantly please them through gifts and sacrifices. The peasant lives
in fear of offending one of these spirits and spends his life appeasing one god
after another, often sacrificing all he has. The "houngan" and
"mambo" (priests) are considered very powerful because they can cause
curses or blessings to fall upon a person.
