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| Image by Riva Precil (copyright) |
Li, Li, Li! Read
http://www.lililiread.org/ Email: LiLiLiRead@gmail.org
About Li, Li, Li!
Psychosocial, Promotion of Literacy, Job Creation
Who: Li, Li, Li! (which means Read, Read, Read! in Haitian Creole) is a storybook reading out loud program in Creole for Haiti's children who became homeless or displaced because of the catastrophic January 12, 2010 earthquake. Founded in February 2010, Li, Li, Li! is a not-for-profit program based in Haiti and has been reading in the camps since April 2010.
What: Li, Li, Li! provides an engaging, interactive, and fun hour-long activity for children displaced by the earthquake that addresses the trauma and anxiety children are suffering, encourages literacy, creates a model for parents to read to their children, reinforces Creole, and contributes to job creation.
In addition to reading books written in Creole, Li, Li, Li! translates other language storybooks into Creole and often uses puppets and dolls to animate the stories as well.
Our trained readers are dispatched in teams of two for storytelling hour at various tent/tarp camps and other transitional settings -- both in rural and urban areas.
Li, Li, Li! also trains staff at transitional centers to read out loud. Li, Li, Li! provides the training, supplies appropriate children’s books in Creole, and continues to participate and monitor their reading sessions to insure success and continuity.
Li, Li Li! also works with partner organizations to bring critical services to camps such as tents, medical care, and most recently, vital information geared to children on how to prevent, recognize and seek help for Cholera.
Where: Li, Li, Li! reads in approximately 25 tent settlement camps per week and reach more than 3,000 children per month throughout Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Carrefour, Tabarre, Cite Soleil, St. Mary mountain in CanapeVert, Delmas, Pernier, Santo, Fontamara, Croix-des-Bouquets, etc.
When: Li, Li, Li! conducts reading sessions Monday through Friday, as well as during the weekends when necessary. At the invitation of the children, and the camp councils, we also participate in special events at the camps and transitional centers.
Our dedicated readers face many challenges in carrying out their work including heavy rains, landslides, earthquake aftershocks, insecurity, forced evictions of camp residents, camp conflict, political demonstrations, general strikes, election-related violence, gang warfare, the proliferation of weapons, and now a Cholera epidemic!
Why: The January 12, 2010 7.0 earthquake in Haiti killed more than 230,000 and injured 300,000 persons. As recently as October 2010, 1.5 million people remain in more than 1,300 spontaneously organized tent and tarp camps in Port-au-Prince and surrounding regions. Only approximately 30 percent of these camps are managed by organizations, receive regular resources, and less than 20 percent provide recreational or educational services for children.
Psychosocial. As a result of the January 12, 2010 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, children experienced tremendous trauma – both physically and emotionally. Their post traumatic stress continues to be compounded by continued aftershocks and fear of another severe earthquake, the continuing death toll amongst those who have survived, the uncertainties of finding loved ones who survived, and most recently the outbreak of Cholera in Haiti. Also, countless children continue to suffer and struggle with the pains of injuries, physical trauma, rehabilitation, and post earthquake illnesses.
Story time hours help children release tension, find some new joy and give them some colorful, engaging images and stories that they can use at night when trying to go to sleep -- despite their difficult sleeping conditions, physical pain, anxieties and sadness.
Literacy. More than half of Haiti’s school-age children have never been to school and now even greater numbers of children are unable to access schooling. 80 percent of the schools were destroyed or damaged. This makes our program even more important to help expose children to books, literacy, and key subjects such as science and nature, the environment, other cultures, history, conflict resolution, sports, health, literature, etc. All of these important subjects are shared through reading out loud.
Creating Jobs for Haitians. Our trained readers are all Haitian, are victims of the earthquake, live in transitional housing, experienced trauma and losses. Nine months after the earthquake, only a tiny percent of pledged aid has been released for Haiti. Haitians need jobs and training so they can support their families, repair their homes, seek out new housing, pay for their children’s education, and participate in the transformation of their nation. We hope that our reading program can generate interest and jobs in the field of literacy and universal education for children.