From baking Haitian food to holding a school-wide pledge-a-thon to selling kindergartner-created greeting cards,  small hands became helping hands last month as Lower Manhattan elementary students did their part in aiding Haitians in a variety of ways.

P.S. 234 students fanned out among parents, relatives and neighbors collecting pledges that Principal Lisa Ripperger estimates will top $10,000. The effort was followed by one Friday-morning  classroom period devoted to thinking about Haiti in storytelling, meditation, poetry, drawing and song.

Ripperger said she and her teachers knew right away that they needed to help the children respond quickly when the students began coming to them, wanting to know how they could help.

“We hope all of our students will see the power they have in working collectively toward making a contribution to the Haitian people,” she said.
At P.S. 150, a one-day bake sale, with some food donated by Bazzini, brought in $1,397.25. The kids were still feeling proud when a Haitian-American visitor (see below) visited their class.

“There was this guy,” announced an amazed 4th-grade girl, “and he came over and he bought like $10 worth of stuff and he gave us $100!”

Within a few days after the earthquake, the children at P.S. 89 were out raising money. The 3rd graders sold “Smencils” (scented pencils) and miniature chocolates. PTA co-chair Carolyn Happy, the school parent in charge of fundraising, said the kids’ enthusiasm helped generate interest and in just two days, the school raised more than $600.

“The kids were very clear about why they were doing this,” Happy said, recalling their shouts of “Support Haiti” to passersby. “Kids seeing other kids so excited inspired them to buy chocolates and pencils. The free coffee being offered helped, too.”

The parents and staff at P.S. 397, now only kindergarten classes meeting in temporary quarters at Tweed Courthouse, were still brainstorming late last month about what they should do. “This is definitely something that’s on everyone’s mind,” said the principal, Nancy Harris. “We are taking our cues from the kids and want our efforts to have the greatest impact.”

Their neighbors at Tweed, P.S. 276, wanted to devise a relief program that would connect to their kindergarten curriculum about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The children were asked to think about what they could do to make a difference in the world. They made greeting cards about peace and love using oil pastels and watercolor washes. The cards, filled with happy images of rainbows and butterflies, houses and hearts, were sold to parents, with the donations going to Haitian relief.

In class, the children talked about what they knew about the disaster, and teachers jotted down their comments.

“Because of the earthquake, a lot of the houses in Haiti fell down and a lot of people, like 100, were hurt,” one kindergartner said.

Carl Glassman / Tribeca Trib

Primrose, a native of Haiti with family still in Port-au-Prince, speaks to 4th- and 5th-graders at P.S. 150.

Crisis Is Brought Home to P.S. 150
By Carl Glassman

Primrose came to P.S. 150 late last month to talk to the children about her native Haiti. Now living in Manhattan, her son, daughter, brother and 93-year-old mother remained in Port-au-Prince. Since the earthquake, she had not been able to contact any of them.

Despite her worries, she was not at the school to talk about herself. She had a different message for these students, who had just helped raise money for her devastated homeland.

“On behalf of the kids in Haiti, I thank you,” Primrose, 68, told a gathering of 4th- and 5th-graders. “From the bottom of my heart I thank you.”
She told them what it was like for many children in her country now. “They have nothing. No hospital. No place to live. Many kids they don’t have parents.”

The children offered ideas. “Maybe since a lot of people are hurt and the hospitals are getting overcrowded we could send planes over to there to bring people to our homes,” said one boy. “Take less food than you think you need. That way you won’t be throwing any of it out,” said another. “I have a lot of toys I don’t want,” a girl offered.

Aurora Jones-Owens, mother of a 2nd-grader, had invited Primrose to the school. She and Primrose had become friends in Haiti as volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. Both wanted the kids to know, as Jones-Owens put it, “the riches that we have, and how fortunate we are.”

And not just materially. A former teacher, Primrose said she came to the U.S. 21 years ago after the Haitian government burned down her school as retribution against the principal’s brother who had spoken out against corruption. Even now, she said, she did not want her last name in print because her brother is in the country and he, too, has been a target. “There is no democracy. Here you can express yourself if something is going wrong,” she told the students.

For all the talk of tragedy, more warmth than sadness filled the room. As Primrose’s visit came to an end, the children, almost reluctantly, filed to the door.

“I love you all and I wish you a lot of success,” she said, bidding the children a heartfelt goodbye.