On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, The New Victorian School was completely destroyed by the 7.0 earthquake which hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti. At the time of the earthquake, approximately 4:55 pm, there were no students or staff in the facility. Only six people were in the school building. Four of the six survived; two lost their lives.
Romel Joseph, Executive Director, had just gone up to the third floor to deliver a phone message to his friend. While he was standing on the third floor balcony, the building began to tremble. Within seconds, it collapsed. Mr. Joseph was trapped under the rubble of the school for 18 hours. His legs and feet were pinned under the concrete support beams of the fourth and fifth floors. On Wednesday morning at approximately 11 am, he was freed from his “concrete tomb.” Friday, Mr. Joseph was airlifted by the American Embassy to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. He is currently being treated for fractures and other injuries to his left hand and both legs.
On January 12, 2000, exactly ten years prior to the earthquake, The Victorian School was consumed by a fire. Six weeks after the fire, classes resumed. With much hard work by all, students were able to complete the school year on schedule by attending late afternoon and Saturday classes. Construction of the buildings was slow, costly and took several years; however, The NEW Victorian School was a much more modern facility than its predecessor.
Once Mr. Joseph is fully recovered, he will return to his country and begin the reconstruction process. He is totally committed to re-establishing The New Victorian School in order to continue serving the children of Haiti. Tentatively, his goal is to reopen by April 12, 2010, in order to complete the current academic year.
For those interested in helping with the reconstruction process, donations can be made to The Walenstein Musical Organization, which is Mr. Joseph’s non-profit institution situated in Miami, Florida.
Secured
online
donations can be made at
WWW.WALENSTEINMUSIC.ORG through Network for Good, a non-profit
organization helping other non-profits make it easy to fundraise and
give to charity, anywhere, anytime - online.
Those who wish to send checks or money orders, please make them payable to:
The Walenstein Musical Organization, Inc.
2817 NW 168th Terrace, Miami Gardens, FL 33056.
Donations should be earmarked for The New Victorian School Reconstruction. All contributions are tax deductable.
For any material donations, such as school supplies, computers, and alike, please send them to:
The New Victorian School c/o Victoria Joseph,
18320 NE 8th Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL 33179.
Thank you for your emotional, psychological, physical and financial support throughout this ordeal. We will forever be grateful to you for helping us continue our mission.
RECENT PRESS ABOUT ROMEL JOSEPH & THE NEW VICTORIAN SCHOOL
Articles:
Out of "a grave," Haitian violinist keeps music in his heart. By Michael Sallah, Miami Herald.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/v-fullstory/story/1436927.html?storylink=fbuser
South Miami Middle School Chamber Ensemble plays for Haitian violinist, Romel Joseph, at Jackson Memorial Hospital. By Hannah Sampson, Miami Herald.
http://www.miamiherald.com/haiti/help-and-healing/story/1441002.html
Videos:
Haitian violinist tells story of survival. By Emily Michot, Miami Herald.
http://www.miamiherald.com/video/index.html?media_id=9520080
A Tale of Two Tragedies. CBS Interview with Katie Couric.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6126869n
A Special Visit to Romel Joseph. By Hector Gabino, Miami Herald.
http://www.miamiherald.com/video/index.html?media_id=9577208
The New Victorian School (TNVS) is a non-profit private institution located
in Turgeau, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
TNVS has been in existence since 1991. First as The Victorian School (TVS)
1991/1999), and in January 2000, after complete destruction by fire, became The
NEW Victorian School.
The New Victorian School is comprised of four sections:
The
Academic Section, Early Bird English for Children, the Music Section, and the
Vocational section for Youth and Adults.
1. THE ACADEMIC SECTION
If you are a parent looking for an excellent Christian oriented education
for your child/children, The New Victorian School is the ideal School for you.
The academic program includes a pre-school starting at age 2, and an elementary
school to 12th grade for children whose parents want them to integrate and excel
in the educational system of the United States, Canada and other English communities. The pre-School “Section Prescolaire” is for French speaking
students from the age of 2 to the 6th grade “6me Annee Fondamentale.” For
children who will continue in the Haitian education system.
The English section utilizes a Christian-oriented American curriculum, and the
French uses a combination of curricula from France and Haiti. The academic
program begins in September an ends in June. Early Registration normally takes
place from March 1st through July 31 and
late registration from August 1st through September 30th.
2. EARLY BIRD ENGLISH
If your children are in a French program and you would like them to learn
English, we have the Early Bird English program.
Early Bird English is a weekend program for children, ages 5 – 13, who wish to
learn English as a Foreign Language.
Children meet on Friday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm, and Saturday from 9 am to
12 pm.
Instruction is holistic in approach. Students have numerous opportunities to
read, write, speak, and sing songs. They also learn by watching videos and DVDs,
as well as through ESL instructional software.
3. THE MUSIC PROGRAM
Music is a very important component of The New Victorian School educational
program. Academic activities are taught extensively through singing in the
pre-School and kindergarten levels. The older students sing, and receive piano,
keyboard and Latin dance lessons. Beginning in October 2007, TNVS will have a
string orchestra with the participation of mostly students from the academic
program ages 6 through 11. Training will be given to these students free of
charge for as long as they are students of the School.
4.
THE VOCATIONAL SECTION
TNVS also offers several programs for adults including; Practical English for
beginning, intermediate and advance levels, Office
Technology, and the International Professional Secretary diploma program. Each
of these programs lasts 2 years, and the student receives a diploma when the
program is completed.
The Haitian American English Club is also one of our very useful programs for
adults at TNVS. Its purpose is to offer a distinct opportunity for adults to
meet and speak English. Those who participate in this program utilize our media
center extensively. They read books from our library and have access to our
technology room to e-mail friends and chat in English.