 Peyi Nou Ka Chanje by Haitian-American author Monano Pierre-Paul, is a short theatrical play in which the 6 main characters talk about the social, economic and political situation of their country and how they each would approach the changes needed in Haiti.
According to some of the testimonies submitted to Monano, this book is the first Kreyol-written theatrical play that many Haitians have read, and it has raving reviews! It is a very fun book that you will enjoy from start to finish. Download a free PDF version of the book here. Monano has distributed the book for free throughout Haiti. He has sent 10,250 copies of it back home. It is now available in over 50 libraries, schools and churches all over the country. Thank you Monano for sharing your talent with the world!
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 Credit photo: FORF By: Ford Pierre
The Longest Living Known Haitian Author On this day June 13, 2022, the president of FORF, Odette Roy Fombrun, celebrates her 105th birthday. Indeed, this icon of the Haitian education sector, also known as a writer and historian, occupies her place on the list of the deans in the age of the country. She is a prolific author whose numerous books and textbooks have largely inspired the most productive authors of her time. In short, her life is as long as her career, during which she received numerous awards. Let's discover together some points on the life of this dean emeritus, nicknamed "kok batay" by her collaborators, and who received the title of "Living national treasure". Odette Roy Fombrun's Life Accomplishments Odette Roy Fombrun, born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, June 13, 1917, is the seventh of a family of 11 children. She is the daughter of engineer Louis Roy and Henriette Denis. She did her primary and secondary studies successively at Sainte-Rose de Lima and at the École Normale d'Instituteur before graduating from the Nursery Training School in Boston. Nicknamed "kòk batay'' by her collaborators, she has devoted her life to educating young people and finding solutions to the many problems facing her country. She is the author of numerous school books designed to capture young people's interest in history (in French and Creole), geography, social sciences, morals and civics (in French and Creole), and also extracurricular books including children's literature books, detective novels and an essay, Ma vie en trois temps. As a Haitian Historian, she wrote “The Flag and Arms of the Republic'' and “The Ayiti of the Indians”. She has also produced and published hundreds of newspaper articles reflecting her passion for her country. She was a member of the commission which prepared the preliminary draft Constitution in 1987, a member of the History Society - she wrote in her journal - and a member of the committee of the BPW club of Port-au-Prince, of which she served as president for four years. With her husband, Marcel Fombrun, she spent 27 years in exile, 17 of them in Africa, where she learned and wrote about the lives of children on this continent. She has received a large number of honorary titles, including that of GRAHN, that of "exceptional woman" and that of Honor and Merit to the rank of knight, without forgetting the title which is special to her: "Kòk batay", because given by her fellow workers. Finally, mother of 5 children, grandmother and great-grandmother of more than 30 grandchildren, she is currently a consultant for Éditions Deschamps and president of a foundation she founded with her children in 2007, the Odette Roy Fombrun Foundation, for education. Also, the honorary titles received and the many honor plaques that adorn the walls of the Foundation that bears her name eloquently testify to her involvement in various social fields and the well-deserved appreciation by her large audience of admirers. In 2009, for all of her achievements throughout her centenary, she was awarded the National Treasure Prize. Even today, Odette Roy Fombrun prepares booklets for preschoolers while continuing to reflect and offer possible alternatives for a better Haiti. We have free worksheets perfect for preschoolers and higher to teach kids about The Real Haiti! Download them here.
 The Real Haiti Kids is an online portal for parents and teachers to access information about Haiti and the Haitian culture. Sure, you could spend hours and hours searching for kid-friendly information about Haiti (trust me, I've been doing this for years) and you will find some with lots of digging. However, the information either outdated, terrible quality, in 5 million different places or about an orphan or earthquake survivor. There's so much more to Haiti and Haitian culture than devastation and feeling like we need to save Haiti. We provide quality resources for parents and teachers to use to teach kids about Haiti and Haitian culture.
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I hope you enjoy these activities with your children or students. There will be a variety of resources to come. To make sure you stay connected, you can subscribe to the blog in the footer. You might also be interested in: January 25th is Multicultural Children's Book Day! Our friends at Educa Vision have some amazing books (for all ages!) and they are offering 10% off anything on their website with code real-haiti. You will find...
Educa Vision's Mission: To make a valuable contribution to the body of multicultural and multilingual educational materials, by publishing materials that connect culturally and linguistically to the students, teachers, administrators, service providers and community leaders. Educa Vision started first by focusing on the needs of Haitian students. Since 2002 Educa Vision is transformed into a multicultural and multilingual publisher. This expansion started first with the development of Caribbean Studies Press that publishes scholarly texts and references about the Caribbean and its diasporas. Later with Educa Brazil, an imprint dedicated to the publication of Portuguese titles. Today, Educa Vision publishes and distributes bilingual books in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish and Urdu. #ReadYourWorld #TheRealHaiti How is it mid November ALREADY?! This week we will celebrate Thanksgiving in US and then Black Friday! I don't know about you, but the holidays always sneak up on me quick. The same goes for holiday shopping! Skip the mall and same old gifts. Shop our unique items in our gift guide for Haiti lovers <3     Consider shopping from small businesses who work to show the beauty of Haiti. The Real Haiti Inc. is a registered corporation and with your purchases, we are able to bring more awareness of the other side of Haiti that we all love so much! November 24th is Small Business Saturday!  History is not my specialty nor my passion, but since this blog is about educating others about The Real Haiti, I did some research about the Haitian holiday Dessalines Day, celebrated on October 17th (the day of his assassination). Jean-Jacques Dessalines is referred to as one the founding fathers (or Emperor) of Haiti, but many don't speak of him because of the controversial violent massacre of thousands of "white Haitians," also known as native French people. Read more about the 1804 Haiti Massacre here.
 A Haitian educator, Louis Mercier, once said, "Whatever the means he employed to accomplish his ends, Dessalines remains the most powerful spirit in our history....One cannot be a real Haitian unless one is a Dessalinian." With gaps in the historical information, Haiti still celebrates Dessalines Day on October 17. Read more about the Haitian Revolution, Haiti's Independence here. 
Since we have little ones now, I've done something I never thought I'd do - I converted our dining room (which we actually used) to a playroom! Crazy, I know. I am an interior design wannabe with a wannabe minor in decorating.
Our home is full of Haitian art in all different forms like paintings, sculptures, statues, papier mache, woven materials and mosaics. Since I had so much of the Haitian decor already, I figured why not create a Haiti inspired playroom! First thing first, I had my husband raise the gigantic chandelier so adults would stop bumping their heads on it. Some of the Haitian paintings were already hung so that made the wall decor easy. Check out our unique Haitian paintings for sale here.
These paintings were done by my husband's cousin in Haiti. The one in the green frame was painted on a burlap sak and glued to a hard cardboard material. The frame is actually one that I found in the garbage! It was originally gold and had an ugly horse painting in it. Thankfully the Haitian painting was the exact same size! (fun fact - I love repurposing things and thrifting...it's one of my favorite things to do!)
Playroom Inspiration
If you're tired of stepping on legos and tripping over trucks, try dedicating a corner (or a room if you have the space) for the toys to make a playroom or play area. It's nice to have the toys in one area so that we could have our living room back. I have a playroom board on Pinterest where I got my inspiration! Check it out here.
Other Fun Haiti Inspired Things in Our Playroom
Add this short story book to your collection! It was written and designed by me :) Mermaid Violette is madly in love. Her friends -- a crab, fish, dolphin, jellyfish and shrimp, all wonder who Violette loves so much and can't live without. Read the book to find out who the lucky one is! The story is written in English. Bonus pages of sea creatures in English and Haitian Creole! 
Add these customizable wall art prints to your little one's room or playroom! Designed by me :)
I plan to do more blogs about Haiti inspired rooms and home decor so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!
 Have you searched Amazon for books about Haiti or resources in Haitian Creole? There are some, but nothing compares to the collection that our friends over at EDUCAVision Inc. have! There are tons of amazing books and resources for everyone of all ages, interests, and styles of learning. EDUCAVision is offering 10% off anything on their website with code real-haiti. Check out the variety of multicultural books and resources in English and Haitian Creole here! HAPPY HAITIAN FLAG DAY!  Haitian Heritage Celebration & Unveiling of the Haitian Cultural Collection! Lantana Road Branch Sat, May 13, 2:00 pm Beloved Haitian author Jessica Fièvre will discuss her experiences as a writer. Enjoy a festive afternoon with dance performances by Dayana Dolne and more. Event offered in English and Creole. (90 min.) Preregister. Haitian Heritage Month Film Lantana Road Branch Thu, May 18, 2:00 pm "Deported." ©Third World Newsreel. (72 min.) Follow the plight of Haitian criminal deportees from North America. Shown with permission. Not rated. Preregister. Haitian Heritage Month Film Lantana Road Branch Thu, May 18, 6:00 pm "Deported." ©Third World Newsreel. (72 min.) Follow the plight of Haitian criminal deportees from North America. Shown with permission. Not rated. Preregister. Celebrate Haitian Heritage Book Festival Main Library Sat, May 20, 2:00 pm Meet the winners of the School District of PBC Haitian Heritage Month essay contest. Join host, Bito David for a celebration of Haitian authors and literature. Featured authors include: Regine Coicou Stewart, Diane Allerdyce, Dovilas Anderson, Margaret Papillon, and others. Program offered in English and Creole. (2 hr.) Preregister. Haitian Canvas Painting Lantana Road Branch Thu, May 25, 5:00 pm Paint a scene reminiscent of the beauty of Hispaniola to celebrate the rich culture of Haiti. Limit 24. (2 hr.) Preregister. Coloring Club: Haitian Heritage Month Edition Lantana Road Branch Fri, May 26, 2:00 pm Coloring is not just for children! This fun activity fosters creativity and has stress-relieving benefits. (90 min.) Preregister. Haitian, Am I: An Exhibition of Arts Lantana Road Branch Sat, May 27, 12:00 pm Exhibit Treal celebrates Haitian Heritage with the arts of the newest generation of Haitian artists. (4 hr.) Preregister. Haitian Heritage Month: Book Discussion Lantana Road Branch Tue, May 30, 2:00 pm "The Farming of Bones," by Edwidge Danticat. Copies are available at the research services desk. (60 min.) Preregister. Children's Classes & Events Haitian Heritage Month: Interactive StorytellingBelle Glade Branch Wed, May 17, 10:30 am The Louines Louinis Haitian Dance Theater, Inc. presents "Dance-A-Story," a performance of traditional Haitian tales with audience participation, drums, dance and rhymes. All ages. (45 min.) Preregister. Tales & Riddles From HaitiBelle Glade Branch Sat, May 20, 1:30 pm Telling stories around the fire is an important part of Haitian culture. Join us for a series of oral Haitian wisdom, proverbs, jokes, riddles and stories. All ages. (45 min.) Preregister. Haitian Craft! Lantana Road Branch Sat, May 20, 3:30 pm Create a colorful Haitian Drapo sequin flag. Ages 5 & up. (60 min.) Preregister. Teen Classes & Events Haitian Heritage Month: Teen Book Discussion Belle Glade Branch Tue, May 16, 10:30 am “Untwine,” by Edwidge Danticat. Guest speaker: Lana St. Hilaire from the School District of PBC Multicultural Department. Copies are available at the children's desk. Grades 6 & up. (60 min.) Preregister. Haitian Heritage Month: Teen Book Discussion Belle Glade Branch Tue, May 16, 4:00 pm “Untwine,” by Edwidge Danticat. Guest speaker: Lana St. Hilaire from the School District of PBC Multicultural Department. Copies are available at the children's desk. Grades 6 & up. (60 min.) Preregister. Library website for more info and pre-registration.   For the second year in a row, the Tyrone Bryant Library in Ft. Lauderdale, FL invited us to display Haitian photography and artifacts that we have collected. This year, we were asked to do an activity with children as part as our education for Haitian culture. Of course, we said yes! The event was story time with kids and a kite making workshop - Endy's favorite memory as a child in Haiti. We weren't sure how the kids would react, especially since it's a pretty tedious craft. I was given a stack of books to choose from to read to the kids. As I went through them to choose one, they were either long and boring, full of "facts" or they were completely untrue and negative information about Haiti} earthquake, poverty, illness, etc}. This was not the cultural education that I wanted to share with the kids. So, I chose a book with nice pictures and ad-libbed it through story time, providing my own knowledge and asking the kids about their views of Haiti. I asked the kids to raise their hands if they are Haitian. About 10 did, but I couldn't help but notice a teenager smiling without raising her hand. I knew she was Haitian. She didn't want to admit it, though, which of course I called her out on and told her she should be PROUD. She was shy, pretending she wasn't Haitian. When we started the kites, she sped ahead of everyone and was almost done with hers by the time we were all on step 2. She started to help the other little kids. A few of the little kids knew a lot about Haiti. They said Haitians are creative, there are snakes there, there's sand there, they eat griot and rice and they use goude for money. This all made us very happy, but I am so glad we did this activity with our local community because it just motivates me more to write my own book so we can share it with those who know little or nothing. I am putting it out there again, so I am held accountable, to provide a book for kids that they will feel proud to be Haitian at the end of it. Or, they will know about the real CULTURE in Haiti, not the one the news tells us about {voodoo, stealing, violence}.
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