This is the school director and teacher/preacher in Trou Jacques. This village is accessible by sea only unless one wishes to take a burro straight up the mountain four hours. The community is on the very east end of the island and sits in a triangle where the rain pours into the village and washes animals, children and homes into the sea frequently.

Most people with resourses on the mainland have moved but more than 40 families are forced to stay and sleep in fear the rain will come before they can go high in the mountain or at least climb on a building.

There are 80 primary students in the school which is dark and damaged from many rains and storms. WE visited before the 4 storms then afterward to find the village 2 to 4 foot deep in rocks washed down from the mountain. Both cisterns now unusable. Fortunately boats can carry water from Picmy where there is good water...but also accessible by boat only.

The Director/Preacher has been in Trou Jacques many years as no one else will agree to live in a community so ravaged by water that is not usable. He, like all other teachers recieve pay only about two times a year. At this point it has been over 5 months since payday. As a pastor he receives only a gratuity at Christmas and perhaps a special day.

Following the storms no one from the government in Anse a Galets came to look at damage and church officials visit when Volunteers pay for a boat. Not just a teacher/preacher, he holds the frightened people together and makes phone calls.

The community is in need of teams to repair cisterns and some engineering skills to help redirect the rain away from the village rather than straight through the town. People are poor and tuition is high, but he stays, and cares. $50.00 is all he makes a month! And he hasn't seen that for 5 months. What a wonder it would be if salary PLUS could ease him into the rapidly approaching rainy season.