The classrooms of the Anténor Firmin School in Fanche in the center of Haiti are no longer silent.
Once it is a place of learning, it is now echoed with the sounds of the babies that cry, the water containers that are closed and the voices murmur during the night.
More than 700 people displaced by violence are crowded in the collapsed complex, sleeping on the floors where children once solved mathematical problems.
Among them is Edens Désir, a former teacher, who continues to believe that education should be the key to a more prosperous and peaceful future for this besieged nation of the Caribbean island.
Edens Désir teaches a class in Anténor Firmin School.
A trained accountant and former high school teacher, his life was overturned by the violent clashes that exploded in March 2025 in Saut-D’Eau and Mirebalais, two small cities to the south of a fan.
Like another 6,000, he fled from massacres, rape, caused and looting.
“Everything I built, little by little, was destroyed,” he said. “I walked away with nothing.”
The gangs at war have long controlled most of the Haitian capital, port prince, about 30 miles (48 km) away.
It is only recently that its sphere of influence has moved more rural areas in the central department where they are fan and saut-d’eau.
Edens Désir found refuge at school where he once studied, a place now stripped of his purpose. The desks have become beds. The classrooms have become shelters. Families lie in rooms never intend to accommodate them.
A classroom at the Firmin Anténor School now serves as a shelter and an informal learning space for displaced children.
Even in these rooms full of people, he found a way to start over. Not for himself, but for the children around him. With a board, a marker and a quiet determination, it has brought a sense of purpose to the lives that have been thrown from the course.
“Since I was a child, I loved teaching,” he explained. “It’s what matters most to me. I prefer to be in front of a class than to sit without doing anything. For these children, the school is the only real opportunity they have.”
Living in Limbo
Once at the edge of expanding a small business, Mr. Désir now lives in Limbo. “That plan is gone. Violence made sure of that. My only option is now to go and try to start again in another place. But while I am here, I will continue sharing what I know.”
These days, it takes life one day at the same time. “I can’t make plans anymore,” he said. “Every day, I only discover things when they arrive. Every night, I wonder if tomorrow there will be food.”
Clean water is scarce. Long lines extend at the distribution points, where women and children expect patiently, balancing heavy containers.
The hygiene conditions are serious. With few letrin and showers available, hundreds are left without privacy or sanitation. Health risks are growing, especially for the most vulnerable.
The food is equally uncertain. “There are sleepless nights without eating,” he says. “But I’m still teaching because children are here.”
IOM staff and a civil protection agent evaluate the needs of displaced people
The delivery of displacement is not an easy task. The main road between Port-Au Prince and Fanche remains blocked by insecurity, cutting supply routes and isolating entire communities.
Despite the obstacles, the International UN Migration Organization (IIM) has reached more than 800 families in 17 displacement sites, providing emergency items such as shelter kits, blankets, kitchen games and Jerrycans.
IIM teams continue to work directly with displaced families, host communities and local authorities to evaluate needs and provide relief.
Site committees and civil protection equipment are being trained to better manage shelters. The most fragile sites are relocating in safer areas and mental health support is offered to those affected by violence.
Protect vulnerables
These efforts aim to protect the most vulnerable children, especially children, from a crisis that they did not choose but are now forced to navigate.
Edens Désir believes that knowledge is the best defense against dehumanization. When violence broken down everything, forcing children to move, divide families and reduce access to education, teaching becomes an act of resistance.
Even when the days feel heavy, he continues to present the children who still believe in him.
“If we want things to change, we need people who become better citizens,” he said. “I don’t know if what I am doing is enough for that to happen, but it gives me a purpose. I break my heart know that one day I will have to leave them behind and look for a better future.”