Haiti (MNN) ― The impact of the earthquake in Haiti has had a cataclysmic impact on schools.
A grassroots education organization in Haiti called the Society of Providence United for the Economic Development of Petionville estimates a quarter of the schools were destroyed. Half of the schools were seriously damaged, and another 25% could be operational, but aren't.
A whole generation is being affected by the disruption to their education. Steve Geurink with Worldwide Christian Schools explains that "a lot of the publicity regarding the earthquake has shifted from public view. A tremendous number of schools are meeting under plastic tarps and tents and temporary structures. For them, a school is inconvenient, and in many cases, there are students that don't have the ability to go to school."
Staff and students are afraid of the concrete roof structure of most of the buildings that collapsed, which accounts for dozens of schools that could be operational.
Geurink says WWCS is collaborating with their partners in Haiti to provide a building solution that removes that fear. "Worldwide is going to be working on a truss design building, possibly using steel that will hold up in an earthquake--that will not come apart and fall like the concrete structures that they were using in the past."
The idea is to come up with a "transitional school" design that goes up quickly and can easily be made into a permanent school in the future.
HANDS teams provide the manpower to make this a reality. Time is short. "We are working with designs; we hope to have our school structure design completed by the end of October, and we will be starting construction as early as January."
The future of many people will change for the better because of Worldwide's focus. Guerink says it motivates everything they do. "Because we are a Christ-centered school, the Gospel is always a central part of the end product. The rebuilding of the classrooms is a necessity, but the REASON that you're doing it is because it's a Christ-centered school, and these children will hear about Christ."
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