As any teacher will tell you, the task of forming young minds and hearts is not an easy one. It involves long days of being “on,” trying desperately to instill a love of the truth in one’s students and long nights of grading and planning. There are students who seem to soak up knowledge like a sponge, and some, who seem at times, impossible to teach. Even in the developed world, where most teachers have the latest educational technologies at their fingertips, teacher burnout is a common phenomenon.
But if you ask Laurette Menor, a young teacher at the St. Jean Bosco school in Bois de Laurence, Haiti, about how she faces the challenges that come with teaching children all day, caring for her deceased sister’s children, three younger siblings, and ailing father outside of school, and trying to make ends meet on a salary equivalent to $100 a month, she simply responds, “It’s just life.”
Far from being burnt out, Laurette is invigorated by her work as a teacher, and uses music and storytelling to help her students engage in the learning process. She’s passionate about giving her fellow villagers the opportunity to contribute to their happiness through education: “You want to be happy; you need to feel good from within. To make this possible, you should have a sound mind and a balanced life. Education will help one to become independent and self-reliant in society. Being educated, no matter what kind of job you have, eliminates insecurity; you are in possession of an organized understanding of the world. Education may not be the key to happiness, but it definitely is the key to many things that come together to make you happy.”
While most of us aren’t able to contribute to the education of our Haitian brothers and sisters in the way Laurette does, there is something we can do: with a small donation of $10 a month, you can sponsor a child’s education in Haiti at St. Jean Bosco for an entire school year, and help keep Laurette and her fellow teachers’ salaries intact. Even if you are unable to support St. Jean Bosco financially, we humbly ask for your prayers--especially for our committed teachers like Laurette, who cannot face the difficulties of everyday life in Bois de Laurence without the grace of God.
You can change a Haitian child’s life in 2017 by becoming a school sponsor for $10 a month. Will you join us on this journey?
