Carol Guy-James is the project coordinator of the Peter Hesse Foundation. She has been closely involved with the foundation’s work in Haiti for the last 30 years, coordinating the establishment of Montessori pre-schools and the training of community members to staff the schools. After the tragic events in Haiti on the 7th of July, Carol wrote this statement.
"After months of escalating political instability and gang violence, Haiti’s president was assassinated on Wednesday 7 July. People are afraid of what will come next, and worried that the armed gangs will take over. There have been multiple attacks in Port-au-Prince, resulting in the loss of civilian lives. Many people from the city have fled to the countryside to seek shelter with host families or in informal shelters.
Haiti’s children are exposed to ongoing violence, fear, stress, and trauma. Circumstances to which no child should be exposed and in which no child should have to grow up. The Peter Hesse Foundation has been working in Haiti for almost 30 years and has over 4000 preschool children a year under their Montessori umbrella. We intend to continue to offer hope to those children in the most critical age where experiences shape a child's capacity to learn, to get along with others, and to respond to daily stress and challenges."
