Farewell to Nicole Magloire
It is with great sadness that Melody FM and Haiti En Marche learned about the death of Doctor Nicole Magloire.
She left on tiptoe, without her family, colleagues and many friends realizing that the end was near. She was taken to the hospital on Wednesday, March 11th, after feeling faint. She died during night between Thursday, March 12th and Friday, March 13th.
But who was Nicole Magloire?
First, she was a doctor - a gynecologist who worked hard delivering the children of poor mothers. But Nicole Magloire was also a great activist, who fought till the end of her days to better her country, so that once and for all, the rule of law would be established and justice would reign.
She was a board member of the Foundation of Knowledge and Freedom (FOKAL)
She was a founding member of the national dialogue on violence against women and led the efforts to establish its foundation.
Nicole Magloire was also a member of the group against impunity, which has sought to bring together plaintiffs - against the ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and human rights organizations.
In 2005 Nicole Magloire was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize within the framework of the Campaign 1000 Women for the Nobel Prize 2005.
Nicole Magloire was a brave fighter with countless friends. This was evident by the large number of friends and acquaintances who spontaneously went to her residence in Nerettes, immediately after hearing the news of her death. It was as if they all wanted to show their sympathy to her family and to show them that they were not alone.
Haiti on the March and Melody FM honor her memory and share the pain of her loved ones, particularly her daughter Kalinda, her son-in-law Maxwel, and her grand-daughter Alysée.
The funeral of Nicole Magloire will take place on Wednesday, March 18th.
Haiti teacher among 10 finalists for $1M prize
BY JACQUELINE
03/12/2015 5:33 PM 03/12/2015
PORT-AU-PRINCE - A few years ago, a group of high school students attending the modest, privately run Collège Catts Pressoir came up with an innovative thought for their physics final: They would get a broken traffic light down the street to work again.
After studying how traffic lights work, they installed an inverter operated by 10 batteries in their classroom and ran an electrical cable to the nearby four-way intersection. Weeks later, at the corner of John Brown and Martin Luther King, the lights came alive.
“Difficulties are the ingredients of development,” said school headmaster and chemistry teacher Guy Etienne, recalling the day the lights came on. “What we are developing in students’ minds is that when you are confronted with a challenge, go find a solution; don’t just cross your arms and say you can’t because it’s difficult.”
That empowering philosophy has made Catts Pressoir one of Haiti’s most prestigious private schools. It also has given Etienne the biggest recognition yet of his 34-year teaching career: He is among 10 finalists for a $1 million award that is considered the “Nobel Prize for teaching.”
“For 30 years, a lot of parents haven’t agreed with me. But today, the world does,” said Etienne, who beat out more than 5,000 nominees from 127 countries for a chance to be recognized as the world’s most exceptional teacher. “This encourages me to keep doing the work that I am doing.”
Awarded by the Varkey Foundation, the prize is the brainchild of Indian-entrepreneur Sunny Varkey. Varkey said the competition isn’t about the money, but rather drawing attention to the enormous impact and achievements of teachers. He will name the winner Sunday at his Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai. Etienne and his wife, Marilyn, also a teacher at the school, will be there.
“This is a great honor; not just for me but for the country,” said Etienne, 61. “What makes me proud is that every Haitian is identifying him or herself with this honor.”
Education Minister Nesmy Manigat, who named Etienne to his curriculum reform commission, isn’t surprised by his global spotlight.
“Guy is a leader and role model,” said Manigat, who has launch an aggressive push to fix Haiti’s broken education system — in which more than half of graduating students last year failed exit exams. “My wish is that our teachers use his nomination as a positive drive to help bring excellence to our schools.”
For Etienne, the Global Teacher Prize shortlist is the latest in a string of honors. In 2011, mobile giant Digicel named him Entrepreneur of the Year in Education. Three years later, he was named a senior fellow of Ashoka, an organization that pays tribute to the world’s social entrepreneurs.
Next month, Etienne will travel to Denmark to collect another prize. The LEGO Foundation recently named Catts Pressoir among 10 champions in its Re-imagine Learning Challenge for the school’s “skills building and ‘changemaking’ in a tough environment.”
Among Haiti’s middle class, Catts Pressoir has long been known for students’ ingenious science and technology projects, and its rigorous teacher training.
Last year, for example, students developed a street surveillance camera and offered it to Haiti’s National Police and to the government. No one responded, Etienne said. But when the government announced months later that it was adopting such a system, students rejoiced.
“They said, ‘Yes! Our idea was adopted,’” Etienne said. “What we teach them is that when you develop a project, it’s not for you. It’s for the community.”
When he isn’t teaching, Etienne is in his second-floor administrative office overlooking the concrete basketball court that doubles as a running track. His walls are decorated with plaques and students’ photos. Not far from the front door, Jeanine Vaval, 92, sits in a rocking chair, keeping a watchful eye over the students and her star pupil.
“He was my student you know,” she said proudly of Etienne, a graduate of the school
Vaval and her husband Ernest founded the school in 1955 and named it in honor of Catts Pressoir. Pressoir, a family friend, was a doctor and science professor who was forced into exile with his school teacher wife, Soeurette.
ELECTIONS:
The President summons the public to convene for upcoming elections
Port-au-Prince, Sunday, March 15, 2015: The General Secretary of the Presidency informs the entire population that it is to convene on Sunday, August 9th, 2015 for the first round of legislative elections; on Sunday, October 25th, 2015 for the first round of presidential elections, local elections and the second round of the legislative elections, and, if necessary, on Sunday, December 27th, 2015 for the second round of the presidential election.
General outcry against the Electoral Council (CEP) following the publication of the electoral decree and the transmission of the timetable of the elections, without consulting with the political parties.
Fanmi Lavalas Challenges
Dr. Maryse Narcisse, Fanmi Lavalas’s national coordinator, indicated that her party is ready to participate in the upcoming electoral contests and to win them hands down. However, she said, the party will mobilize to demand that they be credible, transparent, fair and inclusive.
The head of the majority party is stunned at the electoral council’s (CEP) decision to submit the electoral calendar to the head of state, first discussing it with the political parties, the first ones to be concerned with such a decision.
To remedy this situation, Narcisse invited the CEP to work in cooperation with the National Office of Identification to undertake efforts to support credible elections. Namely, to purge the name of deceased people, in particular those who passed away during the earthquake of January, 2010 and to register the citizens who reached adulthood, as required by the Constitution of March 29th, 1987.