Young Haitians form bond in Amityville

Wedjy Delva arrived in the Amityville school district at the start of this school year with limited English skills and the trauma of having lived through last year's devastating earthquake in his home country of Haiti.

Educators said the 9-year-old found it hard to focus, and struggled in class. There were no English as a second language teachers who spoke Creole in the district and staffers grew concerned about how to reach Wedjy.

School officials sought a mentor - and found Jean Alouidor, a high school senior originally from Port-au-Prince, who every Friday morning for the past four months has squeezed his tall frame into the fourth-grade desk in Wedjy's classroom at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School. Alouidor sits with Wedgy, speaks to him in Creole and helps him learn the concepts of spelling, math and other subjects.

"I really like him," Alouidor said, after a session with Wedjy. "He always brings a smile to my face."

Alouidor, 17, like Wedjy, was living in Haiti when the earthquake struck Jan. 12, 2010. Alouidor recalled his house crumbling and his family escaping just in time. He arrived in Amityville last February to live with his grandfather.

Wedjy lives with his parents in Amityville. He doesn't talk much about the earthquake and Alouidor said he doesn't want to ask to avoid depressing Wedjy. On a recent Friday morning, Alouidor waited for Wedjy to finish gym, then sat with him as Wedjy studied how to add money.

Wedjy fidgeted and grabbed a pencil and Alouidor patiently took his hand and tried to get him to focus on the page. He recalled when he first met Wedjy in October.

"I really wanted to help," said Alouidor, who has applied to Harvard University and plans to be a doctor. "I went to shake his hand and said, 'I'm your friend.' "

At first, Wedjy resisted, but quickly took Alouidor's hand and educators at the school say they have grown very close. Wedjy smiles when he looks at Alouidor and sheepishly admits Alouidor is his friend and he is "good."

Wedjy has also become quite close with his two teachers, Annette Fox and George Alexander. Patricia Hausfeld, director of guidance for the school district, said Alouidor is a good role model for Wedjy.

And, Alouidor says Wedjy reminds him of his little brother, who is the same age, but is now living with their mother in Massachusetts. Alouidor was separated from his siblings after the earthquake.

"He's really come a great way," Timothy Brower, the school's guidance counselor, said of Wedjy. "In the beginning, he wasn't up to speed culturally in the classroom. He wouldn't sit in his seat. He was . . . aggressive.

"I truly didn't think he'd be where he is now," Brower said. Alouidor, Brower said, has "helped him so much."