Port-au-Prince, Haiti – It’s not your typical classroom—there are no walls and no desks. But for the children of Zanmi Beni, it’s the perfect place to learn.

Facing a large chalkboard, they sit in their wheelchairs and white plastic chairs under the shade of a few mango trees, surrounded by picnic tables and benches.

Before coming to Zanmi Beni, these children languished in one room at Port-au-Prince’s General Hospital. Few, if any, had ever been outside to play or enjoy the fresh air.

I listened and watched as the children laughed, giggled and happily recited the alphabet out loud with the teacher.

A young boy was called up to the front and with ruler in hand, began to recite each letter of the alphabet. He paused when he got to the letter F, unsure of how to pronounce it.

“Eff,” chimed 10-year-old Naftali from her wheelchair in the front row. “Eff,” she called out again, this time with her friend next to her joining in.

“Bravo,” said the teacher, affirming their correct response.

Naftali smiled with pride. Then, giggling with delight, she turned toward her friend and they gave each other a “fist” pound in celebration of their successful collaboration.

One of the teachers told me later that Naftali is her best student because she is so willing to learn.

Education is just one of the many activities these children now enjoy. They receive nutritious meals, 24-hour care, physical and speech therapy, and play time both in the pool and on the grounds of a beautiful property populated by fruit trees such as mango, papaya, coconut and plantains.

“Their physical and social improvement since coming here is like night and day,” said Loune Viaud, who works with Partners in Health in Haiti.

“They are smiling, moving, and interacting,” she continued.

This is especially true for children like Naftali who has been diagnosed with a less severe form of cerebral palsy. Not only is she excelling in the classroom, but the staff is hopeful that with continued physical therapy, she may soon be able to walk.

For now, however, she’s quite content to sit with her fellow friends and students under the mango trees … practicing the alphabet, counting to ten and enjoying the fresh air.

Tags: Caribbean, Education, General Hospital, Haiti, OBI, Operation Blessing, Orphan Care, Partners In Health, Port-au-Prince, School, Zanmi Beni Children's Home

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 15th, 2010 at 8:11 am and is filed under Caribbean, Haiti. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.