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Being Human in Haiti

James English distributed more than 4,000 copies of his myth-busting book to children in the island country.

Being Human in Haiti

James English distributed more than 4,000 copies of his myth-busting book to children in the island country.

James English ’13 MA said that in Haiti, disabilities are often misunderstood. In extreme situations, disabling physical conditions can be considered divine punishment or even possession by something otherworldly.

Courtesy of TCU Press

Courtesy of TCU Press

For example, in 2016 three deaf women were murdered while walking home from Port-au-Prince, where they worked, to Leveque, a community of deaf families. They were communicating in sign language, and their attackers allegedly believed they were loups-garous, who, according to Haitian folklore, are spirit-possessed people who can transform into beasts or animals to suck the blood of babies.

To help children shift perceptions, English wrote Galia’s Dad is in a Wheelchair (TCU Press, 2017) from the perspective of a little girl named Galia. She lives in Haiti and knows her dad is just like any other dad. But he has a condition causing him to rely on a wheelchair.

English, the program coordinator for TCU’s Office of International Services, traveled to Haiti in 2011 to explore the possibility of university students becoming involved in the country. A friend introduced him to Gérald Oriol Jr., cofounder of Fondation J’Aime Haiti (I Love Haiti Foundation), a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of disabled and impoverished Haitian people. Shortly after that meeting, Oriol was appointed Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities in Haiti. English became his adviser and handled media relations, networking and technical writing.

Galia’s Dad is based on the work of Oriol, who served as Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities in Haiti for two terms, from 2011 until 2016. In that role, Oriol worked to improve accessibility in buildings and parks, teacher training, job training and rehabilitation services.

“We always had this idea, from the very beginning, that it would be amazing to have a children’s book on disability, especially that was in Haitian Creole because we didn’t know of any,” English said.

The book is published in three languages: French, Creole and English.

Teddy Keser Mombrun, a political cartoonist, created the detailed depictions of real people English met in Haiti.

English collaborated with many colleagues at TCU. Jan Ballard, instructor of design in the College of Fine Arts, researched the Caribbean color palette and designed the book’s layout. Marie Schein, senior instructor in French, wrote the French translation.

Courtesy of James English

Courtesy of James English

A small grant from TCU’s quality enhancement program, Discovering Global Citizenship, helped pay for costs associated with printing and shipping the books to Haiti, and TCU Press published the three translations of the book.

Global literacy initiatives sponsored by the University of Notre Dame and MIT helped donate and distribute more than 4,000 books in Creole to Haitian children.

The book “shows people with disabilities are dads. They like going to the beach; they like being with their daughter, just like anybody else,” English said. “It humanizes disability.”