Our School in Cuba by H. R. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 1, 1910

Our School in Cuba

By H. R. S.

IN a letter from Mrs. Ida Carnahan, the principal of our school in Cuba, an interesting statement is made concerning the conditions there. As may be seen from this account, it often means hardship and rigid economy to carry on the school work in foreign fields.

“Our school is not very large as yet, but its influence is being felt, and our work is being watched and noted by the leading educators and people of this province. As I talk with this one and that one, I am surprised to see how the people feel concerning it. Whole families are trying to negotiate with the land company and sugar-mills for land, so as to put their children in the school. Our school family now consists of eleven,—our immediate family of four Americans and seven natives (six boarding students, and a good, faithful native brother to help in the industrial work with the boys). We have four boys and two girls, ranging from seven to fifteen years. These all come from good, respectable native families. They are hard to discipline, because they do and say as they please in their own homes. Usually they dislike work, and look upon common labor as menial. Our first task is to assign them their work, and work with them until we teach them how. After about two weeks of ‘breaking in,’ they do very well, and we are proud of them. It would do you good to hear the natives say, ‘I want you to take my child, and do by him as you would by your own. He is the flower of my eyes, all I have now,’ with tears in their eyes. This is strange, indeed; for we are Americans.

“We are using our parlor for the boys’ department. Both natives and Americans use this room. Our work is not so hard as it is inconvenient. We feel proud of our students, who are doing excellent work in both departments. We are anxious for our new schoolhouse, so that we may have our school home and our meetings away from our living house.

“At the time of the cyclone, we had about one hundred banana plants, many of them bearing or putting on fruit. Most of these were blown down. Our beans, about ready to bear, were destroyed, and all our garden seed, just planted, was washed out. Our papaya trees, with fruit ready to ripen, were torn up, and many of our guava trees also. Our fruit crop was ruined for a year or eighteen months. Our personal loss consisted of a fine ewe and four young lambs, and about two dozen chickens, large and small. We feel grateful that our losses are so small, though what was lost means a harder struggle financially for months to come, as our garden means so much to us, with our large family. But He who has cared for us will provide for all our needs.

“The storm was terrible. It raged for about four days and five nights. The river came up to the foot of the hill where the school stands. The small bridge over which we cross the San Claudio River was washed out, cutting off all communication with the store. As the storm continued, we were forced to portion out the food, so that we might have enough to keep us from suffering. One of our neighbors, whose house went down, came to us for shelter. He brought a big pail of cow-peas with him, and these were our mainstay during the storm. I have passed seven years in the tropics, but never saw such a storm as that. The last evening we gathered our little band around us about two o’clock, and sang some Spanish songs to keep the children’s minds on other things.

“Some day I hope to have some good charts on physiology in Spanish, especially those which show the effects of narcotics and stimulants upon the system. We are anxious that our students should be object-lessons to this people of what a healthful diet and physical exercise will do. Their hearty appetites, freedom from sickness, fairness of countenance, and gain in weight, without flesh food, wine, coffee, or tobacco, are a mystery to the people. They have argued heretofore that it was all right for the American, but the Cuban could not live that way, because of his customs; but now they see their own children doing well. At present our home is crowded, and we can not take another student into the home until we get the two rooms empty, which we are now using for school purposes. We have taken one bedroom for kitchen and dining-room. As soon as possible, we must get a kitchen and a dining-room built onto the house.

“The school land deed is to be made over to the General Conference. And as soon as the cane produces enough to pay for the home, that will be turned over also. So you can see we are not only meeting our own way financially, but are doing something besides. Our self-supporting work is different from that of the average self-supporting school. This school has a regular board, with the superintendent of the Cuban Mission field, Elder E. W. Snyder, as treasurer. We are anxious to succeed.”

H. R. S.