Summary

“My family doesn’t eat regularly. We eat once a day. Sometimes we spend two days with no food. It is never enough. Sometimes, a good neighborhood shares his or her food with us.
I sleep on a carpet on a dirt floor. There are a lot of big rats in the house.
I am an understanding person. I love painting.  Sometimes, I realized some beautiful painting.” Nehemie Senoble

Household

My name is Néhémie Senoble. I am 11 years old. I was born on May 20, 1987, at Chancerelle Hospital. I am living in Cite Soleil 19 with my mother. My mother’s name is Rosenie Michel. She is 42 years old. My father’s name is Renold Senobe. He is 46 years old. My mother has 8 children. Two of them are being taken care of by my oldest sister. Her name is Nadege Senobe. She is 28 years old. The 8 children of my mother are:
Nadege Senoble, who is 28 years old
Siege Senoble, who is 27 years old
Frantz Senoble, who is 22 years old
Georgina Senoble, who is 18 years
Rachelle Senoble, who is 16 years old
Samuel Senoble, who is 14 years old
Sara Senoble, who is 5 years old
Nadege has a son, Roubens Senoble, who is 1 year and 6 month old. Siege Senoble has a son, Robenson, who is 10 month old.

Living conditions

“I used to attend school, but this year I can’t go. This year I am supposed to be in 3rd grade. I used to attend Sainte Louise de Maria.
My mother used to sell sandals, braziers, parties to help us. She had to stop because she was vandalized and robbed during the political upheaval in this country. This year, Rachelle Georgina and I don’t go to school.  Nadege, Serge, and Frantz go to vocational school.
Job Opportunities
My mother knows a lot about business. In fact, she had been doing business for 5 years though she stopped 2 years ago.
My father is mechanic and he used to be a tap-tap [shared taxi] driver. Unfortunately, 6 years ago he was in a terrible accident that left him paralyzed. Nowadays, he can no longer drive. He sometimes finds somebody who can ask him to fix a car.
The house is not ours. My mother rents it for $300 Ht [$42 US] per 6 months. The house has two rooms. We are 10 people living in it. Some of us sleeping on the carpet. There are two beds, and one table in the house.
We don’t have a toilet. We throw garbage and sewage on a piece of isolated land. There are a lot of big rats in the house. There is electricity. We pay $10 Ht [$1.42 US] per month.
Education
I used to go to school. This year I am supposed to be in 3rd grade. However, as I explained before, this year my mother can’t afford to send us. I would like to go back to school and graduate. I missed the academic year 2007-2008. Nevertheless, I would really like to go back to school during the coming one.
Health and Food
I don’t know whether I am sick because I don’t go to hospital often. This is true also for the members of my family. People in the neighborhood have migraine, fever, cold, and vaginal infection. My family doesn’t eat regularly. We eat once a day.. Sometimes we spend two days with no food. Some other times, my mother cooks something for us to eat but it is never enough. Sometimes, my mother buys food for us to eat on credit. Sometimes, a good neighborhood shares his or her food with us.

Community information

The mother, Rosenie, speaks: “There is a cistern close to our house but it is not safe to drink. But w have to drink it. It cost 7 gourdes [$19 cents US] for a bucket. It is not easy to find the 7 gourdes, sometimes we have 2 days without water because though there is a public tank here it only comes sometimes. When it comes it costs 3 gourdes [$8 cents US] a bucket.
Health care situation
There is a Hospital named Sainte Citrine. It is a public hospital, and costs $20 Ht [$2.85 US] for a visit.  And sometimes we pay for medicine about $160Ht [$22 US], it depends on kind of illness.
Education system and opportunities
We have a school here named Action Chretien. It is about 10 minutes to get there, and costs about $60 Ht for the year. It is a special cost for the poor, and there is another regular price. I don’t really know it.
Legal political
In this area we don’t have police but we are organizing ourselves to live here safety. We don’t want unknown people to come in this area without a known person who comes with him or her. When unknown person come we have to know who you are.

Personal qualities

I am not a stealer. I love other children. I like to play. I love to help others. I don’t get angry easily. I would like to thank my partner in advance. I would like him or her to help me go back to school. I would like him or her to help us have our own house. I would like my partner to know that I will not stop praying for him or her. I would really like that he or she helps me. Some people used to come to Cite Soleil to give us false hope. After they leave us, we never hear from them. I can hope on you. I am waiting for your support eagerly. I am a peaceful person. I love to share ideas with other children. I like to study. I am understanding person. I love painting. Sometimes, I take my pencil and begin to draw on a black board. Sometimes, I realized some beautiful painting. So I would like to go study painting. I can imagine a lot of things and I draw them. I am thoughtful person I can say.
Dreams
The most important thing for me is my education, my health, and my life. If I find somebody who is willing to pay my school tuition for me, I would be very delighted. I would like to leave the zone and live in a house in a better location. I would like to stop sleeping on a carpet. I would like to study computers.

Life Plan

Sponsorship plan

Immediate needs:
Health, Food, Beds
Development:
Go to school, learn computer, business for her mother.
Dreams:
House, become a computer technician or painter

Interview details

This Interview was conducted by Nathalie Norgaisse and Corrected by Evenel Saint-Vil. July 2008.