“The L.I.F.E. program taught me about myself and that we are all the same. The program made me more sociable. In Ms. S. class I felt like I can open up and be myself. Sometimes I have low self-esteem. People that don’t know me say, I have pride and why I have my belief. Those that are close to me know that I have a low self-esteem, not so proud. The program helped with my self-esteem.”

“The program helped me to learn about my culture and traditions…Being Haitian. I could speak the language but now I have the background. The real meaning of being a Zo…Zo is not a word, it is a meaning. You were a slave back in the day but now you are free. You come out and tell the world, you are a Zo, you are proud of who you are, proud of being from Haiti, proud of speaking your language, seeing other cultures and telling them about your culture.”

“The name of the center represents the community. It’s name, “Lakou Cultural Center” A cultural center is a center that refers to the culture. It relates to the culture of Haitians.…it helps the people develop their skills, showing them to be someone tomorrow. They will hear things that will be good for their lives.”

“The cultural center, it was never there before. It has just been established. It’s new and foreign to us. Yet, it represents the community…if there is a group of young people that come to St. Raphael, we can tell them that the center represents the young people.”