On April 19, 2023, armed gangs attacked Source Matelas. Now, three years later, we remember that day through the voices of those who lived it. Today’s reflection is from Vielda, who was teaching kindergarten at Grace Emmanuel School when the shooting began less than half a mile away.

“Till now the Lord has helped us”

On April 19, 2023, my class was at recess and I was working with some of the children on reading their lessons. I had just finished listening to them read when I started to hear gunshots.

As the shooting was sounding closer and closer, I gathered all of the kids and gave them their backpacks and lunchboxes. We all ran to the school office and waited to know what the leadership was going to do with all of the kids.

Even though I was scared, I didn’t show it. I didn’t want to believe yet that an attack was happening. There was always rumors that the gangs were attacking.

But after hearing more, I realized it really was the gangs that had come this time. We couldn’t go out the gate, so we ran to the canal to go out under the drainage grate and save ourselves and all the children.

Escape

On the walk to Cabaret (about 1.5 miles), I made all the preschoolers and kindergarteners hold on to each other in a line. I found another teacher to help me so the kids didn’t break the line until we arrived in Cabaret.

During this time, the kids didn’t understand yet what was happening. I didn’t show them that I was panicked and that helped a lot. They needed to feel like they were safe and like nothing was happening.

I had one 3-year-old student, Guervenson, I remember the most on that day. He never got tired of walking even though he was the smallest of all the kids.

Eventually all of the students were reunited with parents, mostly along the way. It still gives me great relief that we didn’t lose a single child in the attack that day.

For a long time I couldn’t reach my husband on the phone, which was very scary. When I finally reached him, I could hear shooting all around him and our 4-year-old daughter. They waited until the afternoon and escaped. They had to go through the cement factory, then by the ocean, walking miles in the mud and bushes before they got to Cabaret.  

Starting over

After I reunited with my family in Cabaret, the days calmed down again. We came to live in Arcahaie. My husband had a good friend there who gave us a place to live so we didn’t have much difficulty in that transition. It was just our morale that had fallen to nothing because we had to start over with everything.

It has been a great sadness to leave Source Matelas, because that was where I grew up. I left everything. I didn’t have a chance to take anything.

Hope & help

Though we lost all of our possessions, I never lost my strength and I was never abandoned. I haven’t lost my hope and I still believe things will not stay the way they are.

It gives me hope to come to school and still be with so many of the kids that were with us in Source Matelas. Despite everything, the kids still have determination to learn and continue to push themselves to go further. I’m happy and thankful to be doing what I love. I never regret choosing this career.

When I think about what God has done in my life over these past three years, I can only repeat 1 Samuel 7:12 which says, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”