A little closer, and you'll know you're happy.
A little closer, and you'll know you're happy.
The recent rise in glowing (all Arise Shine) plans to buy another motorbike for several village schools in Haiti. These motorcycles, made in China, sell for more than 1,500 dollars each in Haiti, at a price far more than a teacher's salary can buy.
In fact, last year we bought a motorcycle for each school. But because there are 6 teachers in each school, a motorcycle is really not enough. If it's two, it's barely enough to ride a person and load two more.
I am here to explain the plight and helplessness of the teachers of several village schools in Haiti, supported by the rise and shine, as examples of their commuting to and from work.
Every school that rises glowing support is more than 10 kilometers away from the city where the teacher lives. The farthest Calbassier Village School is 23 km from the city of Hinche. When there is no motorcycle, the teacher has to walk to school. Even if there is a bicycle, I'm afraid it's hard to ride, because the road is really bad.
So before I started the Calbassier village school, I said to the Haitian co-worker, this school is so remote, covered up how can a teacher would like to come here for class? He answered that we must find the teacher, and we can find the best teacher.
It turns out that there are a lot of qualified teachers with good teacher training in Haiti, all unemployed and at home, so every time we have to recruit new teachers, there are a lot of people to apply. And after a fierce competition, even if it stands out, the monthly salary is only 150 dollars. If you divide the number of hours worked, you earn no more than 7 dollars a day. But the salary is already well paid in Haiti.
But since our schools are in remote villages, it is not easy to earn this salary. At a distance of 10 to 23 km, it takes 1 and a half to 4.5 hours to walk on a single trip. It takes at least 3-9 hours to walk back and forth two times a day.
Calbassier Village School just after the establishment, once I went to visit, curiously asked the school teacher said, how do you come to work from Hinche? They say they usually get up 3:30 A.M. and start walking 4 o'clock, half a run, so they can get to school before 8:30.
After class in the afternoon, the road back does not have to be in such a hurry as in the morning, but it also happens to be walking in the hot sun. If in the rainy season for half a year, that afternoon's return to the downpour, is also a frequent thing …
The headmaster of the Calbassier school told me more about the rise of deep wells that glowed in villages, not only to the benefit of the local population, but also to the teachers who came here from the city to attend classes.
He said he would bring a can of water when he set off in the early morning without a well, but the water had been drunk by the distance, combined with sweating, before he reached school.
As a result, from 8:30 A.M. class to 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and then walk home, about 5, 6 o ' clock in the evening, all day without water to drink. That's the price they pay to earn one months and 150 dollars in salary.
After we bought a motorcycle for each school each year, the situation improved a lot. On average, each teacher has 3-5 single trips a week to sit on a motorbike. But there are still 5-7 a single trip to walk.
When I was in Haiti in February this year, I had the opportunity to have a chat with a female teacher at Calbassier Village School, and I asked her, do you really use walking every morning? She said honestly, No. Sometimes in the morning feel miss the time, sick or too tired, there is no way to go.
Motorcycles can only be hired at this time (Taxi, Haiti). And a single 23 km distance, the charge is 5 dollars. If you do not share a motorcycle, in order to save money she will go first, waiting to get tired before stopping the motorcycle home on the road. It will take a few two or three dollars to calculate this trip. In other words, if not all walks a day, that teacher may have to spend 7, 8 dollars of motorcycle costs.
In three days a week (the other two days with our support of motorcycles can be seated), you have to spend 20 dollars or more transportation, one months down is 80-100 dollars of transportation. As a result, one months and 150 dollars in salary, deduct some of these expenses are only 5, 60 dollars left. 5, 60 dollars? Not less, even if the road is far away, every day sweaty running, this money is still to earn …. These are the real work life of qualified teachers in Haiti.
Bryan Stevenson, a black American human rights lawyer, summed up a simple sentence with his 20几 years of experience in helping poor families and blacks suffer from miscarriages of justice and trial-"the vast majority of important things you can't understand from a distance, you have to be close to understand (you can ' t Understand most of the important things from a distance. You have to get close.) "
Bryan's remark is also very pertinent if it is applied to the missionary workshop in front of it. The Children of God and the Church of God, if kept in the buildings of the church all day long, blocked by high walls and unable to see the outside world, the actual situation of many of the limbs of the Kingdom of God cannot be understood with their needs.
That is to say, when we study the Bible and listen to the message in the church, we refer to poverty, fragmentation, loneliness, despair, displacement,… And so on unbearable encounter, our understanding and cognition is very limited. Sometimes will it just be your own imagination? More often than not, you may not even be able to imagine.
But if you are willing to make up your mind and muster up the courage to step into the missionary workshop, many of the things you will encounter will be beyond your imagination. I promise you will be an eye-opener and really realize how a world is so different from ours,… This is the time for you to really understand how happy you are. That's why I said, "A little closer, you'll know how happy you are."
Here I wish to bless the sons and Daughters of God, and to bless the churches of God, as well as the Servants of God, who are willing to actually walk into the jebusite to see and understand the real situation of the outside world, so that our faith will become more solid. The preaching of the word (message) has also become more real and more heart-tied. Bless you.
