January 15th saw the official inauguration of the Ceverine community school with Save the Children in Maissade, Haiti. Design Fellow Darren Gill tells Ben Stiller how it is done.
From Students Rebuild:
None other than comedian Ben Stiller paid a visit to the Ceverine school project on Saturday. Stiller and Save the Children have sponsored the retrofit and augmentation of the school, away in Haiti's hard-to-reach interior. They enlisted Architecture for Humanity's design and construction services and wanted to stop by as the school nears completion.
Design Fellow Darren Gill, who has been tracking construction at Ceverine, was on site to receive Stiller and his party. The trip was quick–on a two-day voyage around Haiti, the funders had only about an hour to check up on the school. The community of Ceverine assembled a small ceremony of dancing and short speeches for the school funders.
"He's actually a pretty serious guy," Darren related. "And quiet." Issuing more questions than jokes, Mr. Stiller talked at length with Darren about the needs of the project. Throughout, Ben's passion for delivering quality education to Haitians was palpable.
At Ceverine Ben spent a moment on a message for folks in a situation like his–those equally interested in rebuilding Haitian schools and finding a terrific opportunity in Students Rebuild:
Mr. Stiller recently committed to support Students Rebuild. Following the Ceverine visit he and his crew of mostly New York art folks visited the Pele school for a further introduction to Students Rebuild projects and the notably different challenges of large urban projects. The Ceverine school project preexisted Students Rebuild but Mr. Stiller will stay committed to Haiti when Ceverine finishes construction in the next few weeks.
Ben Stiller assist a ceremonial ribbon cutting for Ceverine
