The more time I spend in Haiti, the more I understand the importance of small initiatives in helping to build and re-build a sense of hope and promise. Such was the case with the creation of a guitar class at St. Vincent Center for Handicapped Children.
The last week of November, in partnership with Haitian and American artists, I facilitated an art camp at St. Vincent’s. It was a wonderful experience and Mona Augustin, the drama instructor, was particularly popular. His guitar was an integral part of one of the two original plays that he wrote. At the end of the week, Jonas, a blind young man who was of his students, asked Mona if he would be willing to teach guitar. Mona asked me what I thought. Since I feel it is critically important to deliver on a promise, especially when there is a difference in culture, I said that we had to get permission from the school administration and then collect some guitars before making a commitment.
Mona communicated this to Jonas and we began working to fulfill Jonas’ dream. We received easy approval from the Director of St. Vincent’s and then launched a campaign to collect gently used guitars. While Mona scouted the Port au Prince markets, I contacted Gary Rabinowitz, a dear friend of mine who has participated in Tabasamu and is also a gifted musician. I asked him if he was willing to search for used guitars and he enthusiastically agreed. We were off and running!
Soon, Mona found a guitar. We met at the Cathedral and I gave him the money to buy it (the price usually goes up when a Blanc or white person makes the scene). Then Gary e-mailed that he had found two guitars on Craig’s List and had made appointments to go see them. This was followed by another call from Mona who had negotiated a price on two other guitars. Again, we met at the Cathedral and “closed the deal”.
Once Gary had the two guitars in his possession, the next task was arranging for people to bring them to Haiti. The first recruit was, David Zadick, a dental colleague and friend of Trey Wilson, who I had only met virtually. After a couple of e-mail exchanges I posed the question “Would you be willing to bring a guitar to Haiti?” “Sure”, he said. I contacted Gary whose only concern was that he did not have a case. Halted only momentarily, he constructed a sturdy box, lovingly packed and padded the guitar and handed it off to David. David needed to bring a lot of dental supplies, so he unpacked the guitar, lovingly repacked it with cotton rolls, 2” x 2” gauze squares and other materials. He then took a picture for Gary, so Gary would be assured that the guitar was secure. I met up with David at Partners in Health in Cange, volunteered for a couple of days and took possession of the guitar.
Tonia Richard, my family’s dental hygienist and a member of the Tabasamu team, was the next emissary. Tonia was also blessed to be able to meet Mona and many of the St. Vincent students interested in the class. In addition, she had the privilege of giving Mona an extra set of strings and two “love” notes from Gary, wishing him all the best and sending his regards to the students.
Friday, March 13 (can you believe it?!) was the first class. There are 16 students and about 70% of them are blind. Mona started with a full introduction to the guitar and the various chords. He also did some vocal work with them, which not only familiarized them with the sound but also strengthened their choral ability (I have just learned that there is no choral program at St. Vincent’s so this is going to be an added bonus to the program).
It started with the dream of one blind student and, “step by step” (a popular Haitian expression), the dream became reality. In a country where daily life is an intense struggle, especially for those with physical challenges, it is wonderful when a young man can share a hope and see it bloom. This initiative was also proof that a handful of people from separate countries, various stations in life, different professions and even diverse faiths can come together to bring a small project to fruition.
There is a desire to grow the musical program at St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children well beyond this guitar class. If you are interested in helping Jonas’ dream, please post a comment on my blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment