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April 25, 2002
Se fini! (It's finished!)
 After just two and a half months of work, the people of Bassin-Cave inaugurated their brand new school on April 19th! It was an exciting day for the village, and people from all over the zone came out to take part in the festivities. Rumor has it throughout the area that the school is the nicest for miles on end. The villagers are very proud of their accomplishment and rightly so—not only did they work hard to build themselves a solid school, but they did it quickly, finishing construction over two weeks ahead of schedule! And it's a good thing they did, since the rainy season recently began. Finally, the students and teachers will be able to move out from under the mango trees and into their new classrooms, which will most certainly keep out the elements of rain, sun, and wind!
 After various speeches by the community and government officials and skits performed by the students, the school was officially declared open. One glance at the smiling faces in this picture and I think you'll be able to understand just how much this school means to the students and the community. It's not very often that you see American students this thrilled about education. But here in Haiti, education is a luxury rather than the norm for the majority of children, and so these kids know how lucky they are to not only be able to go to school, but to go to a solid one that isn't caving in around them like their original building was.
Before I left the village, some of the students asked me to greet and thank the American students whose support helped make the school possible. So on behalf of the students of L'ecole Nationale Antenor Firmin, the student's association of Mache Byen (Working Well), and the community of Bassin-Cave, THANK YOU!
N'a we,
Jen
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