Blue Pens

Blue pens have special power here in Haiti. For some reason blue is the OFFICIAL color for documents and exams. Kids can only use blue pen on their exams and are supposed to use it for all homework too. Sometimes they won't even take notes or do classwork in another color or with a pencil. If they don't have a blue pen in class that day, it's like the world has ended and they can do nothing. Nothing. It's pretty ridiculous.

Part of Haitian culture is that they are pretty formal when it comes to "official" things. Like uniforms are a big deal. Once in my senior English class last spring I had each student stand and read something. One boy got up there with his shirt untucked. I didn't notice, but the rest of the class stopped him and made him tuck it in before he could continue. That's how serious they are! So if they are supposed to use a blue pen for something, then they refuse to use anything else.

With that said, here's a picture of our blue pen bin from the supply closet. We'd like to give all the students a blue pen with their back to school packet of supplies. If we don't have blue pens, we'll give them whatever color we have. But we don't even have a lot of other colors right now.

If you are coming to Haiti this year, at any point, would you consider bringing a few packages of blue pens with you? If you aren't coming, but would still like to help our students, you can mail donations to the MTM office in Terre Haute, IN, at any time and someone will carry them into the country for us.

Mountain Top Ministries
c/o school supplies
PO Box 7053
Terre Haute, IN 47802

Also, see my post about other school supplies.