Last January "09, I was in Worcester, Massachussets  visiting  a Saturday program that a fellow from Liberia runs for African  children in a public school that has a community school style approach. My daughter went with me. I was told there are three community schools in Worcester that are opened from 7:00 A.M to 10:00 P.M , Monday to Saturday and until 7:00 on Sundays. These schools were opened in the l970s under community school provisions. Though I was lost for 2 hours coming back, worrying about being caught in a snow storm,  I had a nice day.  The program is  interesting.. The founder is collaborating with Holy Cross , Assumption College, and U/Mass Medical Center to run the ACE (African Community Education) program. The universities run the weekday afternoon programs and report to him. He is present for the Saturday program.

The founder , staff, volunteers and teachers  were there when I went that Saturday. . There were 75 students from grades 5-12 in the school on the 10th of January .He has 3 outreach workers who maintain contact with the schools. All together the program has 15 teachers and 120 volunteers. I spoke with a school committee member and the assistant principal who were there also. The entire city and the politicians are behind that program. I was told Lieutenant Governor Murray assisted the ribbon cutting.  The son of  a school committee member teaches Voice/choir to the students. There is dance and drama also. Students rotate from Math, to tutoring , computers, homework help, to Language Arts , to Music to dance from 9:30  to 3:30. There is also one to one basic skills teachings  for those who had limited schooling from Africa and small groups for those who need extra help.  It's interesting that  three universities collaborate with him to run the out of school/after school program for African children . A lot of people come all over to visit the program. Can Haitians in the U.S envision something like this?

He started with 20 students three and half years ago, between the weekday and Saturday programs, he now has 225 students. It's remarkable what this gentleman who arrived here  9 years ago from Liberia had managed to put together. It seems that he started the program when he was in the country for only 5 and  half years. He told me the students have gone to visit to Harvard . Others from srveral school systems have come to visit. Priests have come to visit. He speaks with religious persons, but they are not directly involved in the program.  I was told that  Assumption College  had hosted  the program once in its campus. The students were there a whole day instead of the regular school where the program is usually held. 

Knowing the conflicts among Africans, to work with people from 12 African nations is commendable. I am involved with Africans also. I have gone to the Nigerian masses in Roxbury and got to know that community. I knew when the Jesuits at formelu Weston Jesuit and BC started the ministries for Kenyans, Ugandans, Congolese and Ghanaans I am one of the co-founders of the Congolese ministry. Though Haitians had taught and worked in Congo, they share the same parish in Lynn, both nations share the French language. They can'  tcelebrate masses and meet together on common issues. I ran an environmental  education series  two years ago at a Catholic church  in Lynn. I had to repeat each session separately though I speak French and Creole. Haitians and Congolese would not meet together. I went to a first mass in Baltimore while in DC last summer, I noticed that French  Cameroonese did not participate in an elaborate first mass service that English speaking Cameroonese  were having. They probably speak the same non European dialect. However, I did see a beautiful African choir composed of Africans and Haitians from ST. Camillus parish in Silver Spring.

With the low literacy rate in the Haitian community - a country with 80% illiteracy, every church, every building , every place where Haitians meet should  have an adult literacy center and an enrichment program for children and youth .  I wonder who is advocating so Haitian communities in the country can get grants from the stimulus package or be employed to run similar enrichment programs.

Observations by Nekita Lamour