Basic information

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.