I started my journey with Be Like Brit in 2013, the summer before my senior year of high school. I asked my mom to join me on a Britsionary trip to Brit’s Home as I was too young to go with a group by myself. We both fell in love with the children and staff at Be Like Brit as well as the country of Haiti. The next three summers, I returned as a Britsionary and each time learned a little more Creole and left larger pieces of my heart behind.

I recently graduated from Westfield State University in December 2017 with a degree in Special Education and a concentration in Ethnic and Gender Studies. Throughout my college years, I completed short-term study abroad courses and teaching volunteer opportunities in both Nicaragua and Ghana. While there is a special place in my heart for those places and the connections I have made through those experiences, my heart has lead me back to where I feel most at home… in Haiti.

I am so thankful that I will be here at Brit’s Home through the end of the school year. Throughout my time here, I will be working with Be Like Brit Academy as well as the rest of the teachers and teacher assistants to implement developmental learning strategies and a Universal Design for Learning in all classrooms. After school, the children attend classes led by these teachers here at Brit’s Home to complete homework and further their studies. They also attend English classes each evening Monday through Thursday. I will be working with those educators as well to create a cohesive and interactive English program for our children.

In my free time, I work out on the field of hope next to Brit’s Home. Somehow, I always find myself stretching, running, and lifting alongside one or more of the children. Exhausted in the heat, my workout ends just as one of the children encourages me to run one more lap or do 10 more leaning rows. It’s truly a metaphor for my life that the children push me to work harder in every workout I complete just like they push me to be the most patient, loving, and caring teacher and person that I can be. Each day presents itself with a unique challenge and an undeniable love from 66 children and so many staff members. It doesn’t get any better than that.

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a Special Education teacher, in fact, my third grade teacher predicted that this would be my line of work. I may have always known that Special Education would be my path, but I never imagined doing what I love here in Haiti, the place that I love so much. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to spend 6 months at Brit’s Home doing what I love, with the people I love, in the country that I love.

-Jessica Hanam