Program Description:
Last winter Jessica Filkins spent over a month in the northern Bahamas interviewing Haitian immigrants for her thesis: Haitians in Limbo: the Plight of Second Generation Haitians in the Bahamas. The focus of her work was on the issues surrounding citizenship, however she was most emotionally struck by the poor living conditions in which the children of these immigrants are being raised. These Haitians have saved up all their money and risked their lives to make a better life for their children in the Bahamas. Yet, due to the hostile social and political infrastructure of the Bahamas, they have found themselves forced to raise their children in a degrading environment. The second generation Haitian Bahamians (those born in the Bahamas to parents of Haitian descent) are not only held back from achieving their full potential by racism and obscure citizenship laws, but are further disadvantaged by degrading and abusive living situations.
Marsh Harbor, where Jessica did her thesis research, is the largest city on the island of Abaco. It is not statistically a third world community, however, behind the store fronts, hidden by a few bushes, lie what is known as Pigeon Pea and the Mud, the largest Haitian slums outside of Nassau, the nations capital. These adjacent communities are made up of clusters of closely-packed, tiny, one-story plywood hovels. Between the shacks, crisscrossed wires and pipes lie in the muddy, trash filled paths.
Ronale, a native resident of Pigeon Pea who has retuned after living in Florida, is greatly concerned for the well being of the children who are growing up in these sub-standard living conditions. He says, “there is no place for the kids to play,” and describes leaving for school as “leaving the concentration camp.” According to Miss Evince of the Social Service Department “most of the child support clients are Haitian nationals.” Both she and Ronale are concerned about the frequency of under-reported rape and child abuse occurring in Pigeon Pea and The Mud. These children of Haitian descent are in desperate need of good mentors and would greatly benefit from a safe, creative and fun after-school activity.
Jaclyn Brannon (a certified art teacher) and Jessica Filkins (a working artist) will be in the Bahamas on January 1st 2012 to start an after-school art program for the children in the Peas and the Mud. Ninety percent of the children attend Central Abaco Primary School, where, until this year there have been no art classes taught. With the support of Ronal and other community members, we are volunteering our time to create this after-school art program. The creative process can be incredibly therapeutic, helping to relieve personal trauma. Right-brain stimulation is essential for developing minds.
We will be teaching after-school art classes, in two sessions. Classes will be held twice during the school week, with a longer class on Saturdays. The classes are broken down into two different age groups: 5 to 8 year olds; and 8 to 12 year olds. The 5-8 year olds will have class immediately after their school day; following them, the 8-12 year olds will have class. The weekend class will focus more on team building and group art projects together. While during the week, we will focus on mixing skills with creative self-expression.
Mr. Thompson has been gracious enough to let us use his office building to conduct the classes. The building is conveniently located within walking distance of the school as well as Pigeon Pea and the Mud. The after-school program will run from January to April 2012. Depending on the success of our fundraising, we plan to train local community members and older students to continue the program after we leave.
We are seeking funding for the purchase of art supplies; snacks; and to cover travel expenses to and from Marsh Harbor. A detailed outline of the budget can be found below. We would greatly appreciate any donations of money or art supplies so that we can make this program happen. Any surplus of donations will be used towards the establishment of an on-going, locally supervised program.
We look forward to a successful program!
