3 Oct 2011

HAITI / NEW SCHOOL YEAR

Haiti’s President Michel Martelly, UNICEF and WFP help launch the official opening of the new school year today in Port au Prince. This year, more than 140,000 children that have never enrolled before are now attending school. MINUSTAH

Posted at: October 3, 2011 5:11 pm

Duration: 02:15

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: HAITI / NEW SCHOOL YEAR
TRT: 2.15
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH, CREOLE, ENGLISH, NATS
 
DATELINE: 3 OCTOBER 2011, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI
 
SHOTLIST:

1.Wide shot, children arriving at school
2.Med shot, children in school yard
3.Wide shot, children in school hall
4.Wide shot, arrival of President Martelly
5.Wide shot, Press conference hall
6.SOUNDBITE (Creole) Michel Martelly, President of Haiti: 
"Step by step, we are going forward on the way to bring every child at school for free."
7.Close up, children in class room
8.Wide shot, children in class room
9.SOUNDBITE (French) Francoise Gruloos-Ackerman, UNICEF Resident Representative Haiti:
"It is a support to all poor families. 750,000 school bags and tools, 15,000 to 20,000 teachers assisted, and trained, including fast training for teachers, etc. So it is hardware and software."
10.Wide shot, people arranging school kits
11.Close up, UNICEF school bags
12.Med shot, UNICEF staff member arranging kits
13.Close up, meal being prepared
14.Wide shot, women cooking in school yard
15.Med shot, cook preparing meal, from over shoulder
16.SOUNDBITE (English) Myrta Kaulard, Representative of World Food Programme (WFP) in Haiti:
"For poor households, nowadays, the cost of food is very, very high. So ensuring the children eat a full nutritionally balanced meal when they come to school is making sure that they eat well, but is also alleviating household budgets."
17.Med shot, Martelly giving school bag to pupil
18.Tilt up, from bag onto Martelly and UNICEF representative Gruloos-Ackerman
19.SOUNDBITE (Creole) Jonas, Student:
"The country has nothing to offer us. There is no opportunity for the youth. So, one can become mad. But today President Martelly is giving hope to the youth."
20.Wide shot, children drinking water in school yard
21.Close up, hands of children being washed at pond
22.Med shot, boy washing hands
  
STORYLINE:

A new school year got underway in Haiti today (3 October). It is a special year as President Martelly announced that 772,000 children are going to have free access to school, including 142,000 additional children who had never attended school before.

At an official ceremony at Ecole Nationale de Tabarre in Port-au-Prince, Martelly launched his programme "Education for all."

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Michel Martelly, President of Haiti: 
"Step by step, we are going forward on the way to bring every child at school for free."
 
The package, which aims at providing education for a largest number of children in the country, including the most vulnerable ones, is the concretization of a constitutional right that school should be free and mandatory for everybody.
 
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has a large programme in support of the government in terms of educational assistance.
 
SOUNDBITE (French) Francoise Gruloos-Ackerman, UNICEF Resident Representative Haiti:
"It is a support to all poor families. 750,000 school bags and tools, 15,000 to 20,000 teachers assisted, and trained, including fast training for teachers, etc. So it is hardware and software."

Since the 2010 earthquake, UNICEF has been a strong partner to the Haitian Government, reconstructing destroyed schools and training teachers.
 
The World Food Programme (WFP) is also offering assistance; through their contribution 1.1 million pupils are going to receive free daily meals in schools.
 
SOUNDBITE (English) Myrta Kaulard, Representative of World Food Programme (WFP) in Haiti:
"For poor households, nowadays, the cost of food is very, very high. So ensuring the children eat a fool nutritionally balanced meal when they come to school is making sure that they eat well, but is also alleviating household budgets."
 
"Education for all" was one of the main Presidential campaign programmes for Martelly, who proudly stated that after promises, it is now time for action.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Jonas, Student:
"The country has nothing to offer us. There is no opportunity for the youth. So, one can become mad. But today President Martelly is giving hope to the youth."
 
The implementation of the "Education for all" programme comes as refreshing news in a country that had to deal with a major Cholera crisis and where 600,000 people still live in IDP camps since 2010.