Damye seeks help
PHOTO BY JEFF ROSLOW
Cliff Matousek speaks to members of the Rotary Club about Literacy for Haiti and tells them about what has been done for the city of Danye through this loan program. To his right is one of that town's representative, Emanyel Filius, who is the town's pastor and school principal, and to his right is Ed Vetter, the principal of Bartow IB where students at that school have adopted that city and raised money for it.
PHOTO BY JEFF ROSLOW
Cliff Matousek translates from Creole to English as Emanyel Filius speaks to Rotary Club members about his hometown of Danye, Haiti, and the Literacy for Haiti project.
For the past three years, students at Bartow International Baccalaureate adopted a village in Haiti. And when children there made necklaces with a Haitian coin on it, students here sold it, raised about $4,000 and sent it back to them.
It went toward building a school in the mountain town of Damye, where the illiteracy rate is 80 percent. While it didn’t completely fund the school, previously there was no school there for the 300 students. Now there is a building where six classes can be held.
