*Ti moun Annou li!
Reach Out and Read Goes to Haiti
*Children, Let’s Read!
The Need
• One of poorest countries in the World
• 55% of adults not literate (UNESCO)
• Highest Rate of Infant, under-5 and maternal
mortality in Western Hemisphere (UNICEF)
• Only a little over half of primary school-age
children are enrolled in school. Less than 2 per
cent of children finish secondary school.
• On-going emotional toll on Haitian children after
earthquake
The Opportunity
• In his inaugural speech, President Michel
Martelly proposed providing free education for
all children. And former President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, when he returned to Haiti recently, said
that he hoped to make education the main focus
of his efforts. (Huffington—28 July 2011)
• Ground swell of healthcare and other
professionals around the world poised to bring
help and healing to children of Haiti using books
after 2010 earthquake
The Mission
• Tí Moun Annou Lí!’s primary goal is to increase the
quality and quantity of books available to the children of
Haiti by partnering with healthcare professionals to be
key messengers of the importance of reading aloud.
The program also works to identify, write and publish
culturally and linguistically appropriate books for Haitian
children. In addition to spreading the powerful but
simple message that reading aloud has long-lasting
benefits for young children’s development, healthcare
professionals have first-hand experience in witnessing
the profound impact that books can have on healing,
both physically and emotionally.
The Facilitators
• Bronwen Anders: community pediatrician
UCSD, San Diego. Experience with ROR
in multicultural settings in San Diego and
American Indian clinics, and Northern
Mexico. On the Exec Board of Section on
International Child Health AAP, and
involved with volunteer coordination of
pediatricians in Haiti.
The Facilitators
• Nicole Prudent: Native Haitian behavioral
pediatrician working with Barry Zuckerman and
with extensive experience in Haitian-American
population in Boston.
• Danielle Laraque: President of PAS, longtime
advocate for Haiti’s children. She is Chief of the
Division of General Pediatrics at Mt Sinai; active
in ROR NY and working with the Haitian
Pediatric Society to create a better vision for
Haiti’s children post-earthquake.
The Facilitators
• Edwidge Dandicat: Beloved author of novels, shortsstories and non-fiction books about Haiti, her
birthplace. Widely read by Haitians, the Haitian
Diaspora and Americans wanting to learn more
about Haiti. Her husband Fedo Boyer, has published
2 picture books in Creole and has delivered them to
Pau P for our circulation. He has also translated the
ROR bookmarks.
• Denize Lauture is a Haitian writer of beautiful
children’s books. Dr Laracque and her husband are
helping to disseminate his books in English and to
get them translated and published in Creole.
The Facilitators
• Dr. Barry Zuckerman is a well-known
developmental pediatrician, one of the
founders of ROR and a supporter of this
group since its inception
• Dr. Robert Needleman: another founder of
ROR and a developmental pediatrician
with experience using books in times of
disaster.
• Jackie Miller and Brian Gallagher from
ROR headquarters in Boston.
The Facilitators
• Jacqueline Gauthier is current president of
Haitian Pediatric Society and trainer of residents
for program at two teaching hospitals in Pau P
• Jacqui Labrom is a longtime supporter of Haitian
arts, Haitian enterprises (her travel service has
taken Americans to many Haitian restaurants,
resorts and enterprises in Haiti,) keeping her
services up after the earthquake. She has
personally housed and fed many volunteer
groups, hosts gatherings in the PauP library and
is a key connector for travellers for this project
The Facilitators
• Michaelle Auguste is an educator living in PauP who
is a keen and has already helped immensely to
identify the mechanics of dealing with post
earthquake PauP. She has links with the Haitian
Psychologist Association.
• Leora Mogilner is a pediatrician at Sinai with
Danielle Laracque, on the NY board of ROR and
very interested in seeing this project succeed.
• Daniel Severe is a psychologist, working with Dr.
Jacqueline Gauthier at Hopital St Damien in the HIV
clinic committed to helping with the mechanics of
circulating the books.
The Facilitators
• Lisa Lord is an educator with a long experience of
helping Haitian nationals and teachers to develop
Creole books locally with local artists. She knows
about the value of story telling for healing for
comfort and healing and has books available on
their website.
• Leslie Gerson works for the US State Dept. and
lived many years in Haiti with late husband
advocating for the Haitian people. She has long
mentored Haitian artist Carlo Valtrain and has been
interested in helping to produce more culturally
relevant books about Haiti, illustrated by Haitian
artists.
The Facilitators
• Ellen LeBow is an artist and illustrator who has
been working on the island of Laganov for 13
years with an economic stability program for
Haitian woman artists.
• Dr. Jane Hale is a French and Literature
professor from Brandeis who has worked for
many years promoting literacy in Haitian
communities in New England. She has been
instrumental in sustaining the ROR equivalent
program in Lesotho with the Baylor AIDs
program, including publishing the first books in
Sesotho.
The Facilitators
• Marylou Shevsky is a health educator who has worked
with her pediatrican husband in WA for many years
putting together nicely culturally appropriate books for
Headstart.
• Fritzie Honore is a MCH Haitian nurse who works with
Nicole Prudent and is just back from Haiti where she has
explored the mechanics of spreading our program to
other sites
• Genevieve Dagobert: Haitian born early childhood
educator currently working with the IRC, founder of Le
Petit Monde de Ginou, dedicated to the tenets of ROR
and hoping to implement the program in her current work
sites.
The Facilitators
• Jocelyn Trouillot: educator and founder of
Universite Caraibe, writer, publisher of many
Kreyol books available to our program in Haiti.
• Dr. Genevieve Poitevien: Dean of Quisuqueya
University (UniQ) with programs throughout the
city to promote literacy
• Darlene Alexis: Dean of education at Quisqueya
University, supporter of our mission since we
have begun talking.
The Facilitators
• Tara Millbrand: coordinator of ROR San Diego,
committed to helping to get us off the ground
administratively until we can secure a halftime
administrative coordinator
• Dr. Perri Klass, Medical administrator of ROR,
one of the founders and primary pediatrician
champion of the program, supportive of helping
us to consolidate our efforts.
• Janet Crow: Pediatrician @ UCSD, longtime
ROR supporter with an interest in Francophone
literature. Coordinating ordering of Frenchlanguage books from Scholastic Canada
The Facilitators
• Traci Williams, Bruce McCintosh, Alisa
Nicholas, Sean Palfrey, Elisabeth
Montgomery are pediatricians who have
(or will) volunteer in Haiti and are kindly
taking books and the message of ROR
down with them. We hope they will be able
to remain advocates of the program and to
promote its activities in their AAP
chapters.
The Locations
1. Les Petits Freres et Soeurs—HIV clinic run by
Jaqueline Gautier
2. Hopital de la Communaute Haitienne-teaching
hospital
3. HUEH (University Hospital) Resident Clinic
4. Diquini Hospital
5. Hopital de la Paix
All sites are in Port au Prince
The Children
The Children
The Learners
The Challenges
• Coordination of program with local
pediatricians and other healthcare workers
making it self-sufficient from outside
• Locating and/or publishing children’s
books in French/Creole in Haiti to diminish
cost of books and stimulate local
authors/artists along with the local
economy
• On-going training for students, residents
and community healthcare workers
The Challenges
• On-going training for students, residents
and community healthcare workers
(currently using ROR training that needs to
be translated into French)
• Communication to people in the US and
other countries who have interest in Haiti
and would like to provide financial support
until program can become self-supportive
Mercí