Konbit
Reaching for the future: Pas A Pas (One Step at a time)
By Rev. Mary Kate Schroeder
July 2009
During the summer, school is not in session in Petit Trou, but preparations are taking place for the next year. The team for the next Education Mission (November 2009) has been meeting as well and listening to how that aspect of the CHP mission can support the work at St. Paul’s School.
Konbit scholarships support the children of St. Paul’s. They also support the school and the teachers. As with any school, the teachers and staff are an essential piece. At St. Paul’s in particular, it would not be the oasis and institution that it is in the community of the Nippes region without the teachers and staff. Père Kesner Gracia has a knack for finding excellent, dedicated and talented teachers to work at the school. Most of them live at the school, sharing a room with two or three other teachers (and when small mission groups come, the teachers make space for missionaries to have rooms in the dormitories also!).
In my travels to Haiti last year and this year, I’ve gotten to know one of the staff members, Guilot Tibert. We first got to know each other by the Kreyol lessons he graciously (and patiently) offered to me! He assures me that “pas à pas,” or “one step at a time,” I’ll get better! Guilot has been part of St. Paul’s since he was 10 years old when he became a student at St. Paul’s in Petit-trou. He was born in Port-au-Prince (in the Carrefour neighborhood), the only boy in a family with 7 children. He grew up without his father, and his mother died when he was twelve.
After finishing 6th grade at St. Paul’s, he went to the next grade at the national school in Petit Trou and then the private high school in Anse-a-Veau, about an hour east of Petit Trou. Having finished what we would call high school (in Haiti it’s referred to as “classical studies”) at that point, he enrolled at the Episcopal University of Haiti, known as BTI. He has finished three years there, and every opportunity—school breaks and summer breaks—he continues coursework there in Accounting and Administration.
When I asked Guilot why he’s chosen to work at St. Paul’s, he said that Père Kesner has had a profound impact on his life and because he has received much grace from St. Paul’s and wants to share that with the next generation. He also believes that education is the fundamental base of a society, and that without education, development isn’t possible. He’s committed to improving the lives of Haitians and in particular, in addition to overseeing staff and also managing construction projects at St. Paul’s, he teaches some mathematics and computer science at St. Paul’s.
What doesn’t show up in writing this letter is Guilot’s tremendous love: of education, of the students, and of the mission of St. Paul’s. He offers a welcome and a patient conversation to missionaries and visitors alike. He supports teachers and Père Kesner’s work in the community, with an inexhaustible joy.
Your support of St. Paul’s Konbit scholarships and the school provides for dedicated teachers who are—along with you—changing the lives of the community of Petit Trou. One step at a time, pas à pas. I’m sure he would join me in saying “Mesi Anpil” or “Thank you very much” for your support!