When I was about 11 years old, I remember my family packing up and going to live with my grandmother in her one bedroom apartment. It was me, my mother, sister and brother all living with my grandmother. My father had to go live with his mother because there wasn't enough room. A few months after moving in, hurricane Hugo hit. I remember my sister waking me up in the middle of the night screaming. Apparently a bug had crawled into her ear and she did not appreciate it (she's three and a half years older than me!). I would have slept right through it if she had not awakened me with her loud shrieks. I remember hearing the sound of a train and then it was calm and quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I asked what was going on and I always remember the answer, the eye of the storm. Apparently the eye of the storm passes over and it seems for a short period of time it seems as if the storm is over. Giving you false hope that you can take a deep breath and relax. Then it starts up again. I remember the first time going outside when the storm was actually over. Trees were down, power lines were lying in the middle of the street, no one had any power to store food or even cook. I remember going with my aunt to her house for the first after the hurricane. The water level was up to the door and we had to wade in the water to get inside. But the main memories I have of the hurricane were of afterwards. We went to the store and stocked up on water, can goods, and bread. We bought a small grill and charcoal. We all worked together to cook and make sure my grandmother didn't have to do much. We had so much fun with each other. We were excited that we didn't have to go to school. We had slumber parties every night for almost a week with my cousins, aunt, my brother and sister. Our parents were careful to make sure we had the basic necessities and we didn't mind at all! We were there for each other so it didn't seem like much of a stressing situation at all. We were a family and that was all that mattered.
The trouble in Haiti
When the earthquake it Haiti I didn't quite understand the magnitude of what had happened. How could something this devastating happen to a country already filled with so many deficits and disadvantages. All the images shown on television were horrific and the first thing that popped in my head was the children...what's going to happen to the children. I found an article that had tips for educators to help children cope with tragedy in Haiti. These children are faced with almost half of stressors listed in the course assignment. Poverty, natural disaster, huger, chaos, disease and violence, just to name of few. Some of which were not caused by the Earthquake. Most of Haiti's population, 80%, lives in poverty and the literacy rate is about 55%! ("The tragedy in," 2010) This means that the children are not getting the necessary experiences or education they need to break the cycle of poverty. The children obviously cannot focus on school when they are not getting enough to eat, most likely a proper place to live or clothes to wear. How then are they expected to survive the natural disasters that have consistently plagued their country. Many organizations are pulling together to help these children get the basics, food, shelter, water and clothes on their backs. With something this devastating, having the necessities is essential. Children were living in tents and organizations are working to put up safe houses. The organization,Hope for Haiti's Children (HFHC), is diligently working to help these children and families find safe homes, food and other supplies they have been lacking since well for decades. they are working to repair schools so that children can continue their education, providing transportation to and from school so that children can attend school and also providing lunches for these children to eat at school (Bever, 2010). These are just a few efforts to help minimize the affects of the earthquake that so devastated a country already ravished in poverty.
Reference:
The tragedy in haiti: helping children cope tips for educators. (2010). National Association of School Psychologists, Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis safety/haiti.aspx
Bever, K. (2010). http://hopeforhaitischildren.org/images/stories/pdf/newsletter/2010newsletter.pdf. Retrieved from www.hopeforhaitischildren.org
