This fall, teachers at the Eben Ezer School in Milot lined up pre-schoolers hand to shoulder and for the first time walked them to the brand new bathrooms.

Merceda, the 46-year-old woman hired to staff the bathrooms, handed out swatches of toilet paper from the large commercial rolls sent down from the Great Works School in South Berwick. She taught them how much to use, how to sit on a toilet, how to flush, and how to make sure they washed their hands well when they were finished. With running water and electricity, this basic need could be met for the children in Milot.

At lunch, the children were given a hearty dish of rice and beans, food paid for by the donations from dances, churches and school collections . And later in the week, the smaller children were invited to play in a playground constructed this summer. Older kids looked on through the chain link fence, enthralled by the school’s latest acquisition.

Since 2009, the school has gained electricity, which comes from both a solar panel and a generator donated by the York Rotary Club of Maine. It has added a well, a second story, and most recently, thanks to a donation from the Kittery , Maine, Rotary, a new Apple computer. One teacher, Mirline, showed interest and so was trained on using a computer.

The main project Life and Hope is looking at right now is part of a plan to make the school more self sufficient. We hope to buy a few acres of land for a farm. We could grow and sell vegetables, milk and eggs, bake cassava bread for sale and help feed the children. We already have chickens and 17 goats, but they need more area to graze.

Right now, Milot area is a hot bed of possible activity and land prices are increasing every day so buying land would be a good investment. The Clinton Foundation and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (which runs the only cruise ship into Haiti right now) are both looking at or in the midst of large investments in the area. (See this article)

Besides the farm, Life and Hope hopes to have a small guesthouse to host visitors and create an income for the school. We also envision selling student paintings and coffee in local hotels and as well as from school grounds. We dream of a school that can at least partly sustain itself.