Just a few days after the relocation of internally displaced persons who occupied the premises of Marie Jeanne High School in Port-au-Prince, the Ministry of the Interior and Local Authorities (MICT) initiated works to make the establishment ready to welcome students during the second part of the school year.<\/p>

In this public establishment dedicated to the education of young girls, the last occupants have just vacated the premises. Thousands had found refuge there. After their departure, it is time for sanitation and repair works.<\/p>

On the site, located on Lavaud Street, workers are busy. Some are painting to give new life to the building that has served as a refuge for many families. Others are piling up trash in anticipation of its collection by the Port-au-Prince city hall.<\/p>

Under the supervision of city hall brigadiers and MICT inspectors, the works are progressing at a steady pace. On the two floors of the building, workers are doubling their efforts to complete these first two phases.<\/p>

“Our intervention concerns the sanitation of the space and the painting of the building,” said Raymond Cadet, head of municipal engineering at the MICT. He specified that since the start of the works last Saturday, 17 trucks of waste have been evacuated from the site and its immediate surroundings.<\/p>

To successfully carry out these first two phases, a budget of 4 to 5 million gourdes has been allocated, Mr. Cadet informed. According to him, 45 people are mobilized for the painting work. Other workers, recruited from among the locals, are participating in the sanitation of the area.<\/p>

The official also indicated that the works are carried out in concert with the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) and the Port-au-Prince city hall. He emphasized that these first two phases should be completed by the beginning of next week.<\/p>

Sanitation and painting, however, are not the only needs of Marie Jeanne High School. The electrical network and the sanitary block also require work before the return of the students.<\/p>

Asked by Le Nouvelliste<\/i>, Étienne France Louisseul, departmental director of education for the West, emphasized that MENFP exercises oversight over the works. The ministry is already planning to continue the renovations after the MICT intervention.<\/p>

According to Mr. Louisseul, the works should be completed by December to allow classes to resume on site.<\/p>

Contacted by the newspaper, Yonisse Alusma, director of Marie Jeanne High School, hopes that students will be able to return to their renovated premises by the end of November.<\/p>

This resumption would allow all students to gather in a single establishment. For now, the high school operates between the Sœurs de la Charité de Saint-Louis de Bourdon College and the Sainte-Rose de Lima institution. Due to a lack of available classrooms in Bourdon, students attend classes in rotation. A situation that the director laments.<\/p>

Enthusiasm is not limited to the administration. During a site visit, Le Nouvelliste<\/i> met with students from the high school. Djoulie, currently in Secondary I, joined the establishment in 7th fundamental year. She recalls attending some classes in the school auditorium at the beginning of 2024, before being unable to return.<\/p>

“I am happy at the thought of coming back. Currently, we cannot attend classes regularly, but if we return to our site, we will be able to do it daily like all students,” she testifies, eager to return to her school.<\/p>

Today, the high school welcomes nearly 900 students. This number remains below what it was before the internal displacement crisis.<\/p>

Destroyed during the earthquake of January 12, 2010, Marie Jeanne High School is one of the public establishments that benefited from bilateral aid for its reconstruction. In 2024, just days before its inauguration, displaced persons fleeing gang violence occupied the site. Two years later, the establishment is preparing to welcome its students once again.<\/p>