When the first Kenyan contingent arrived at Toussaint Louverture International Airport on June 25, 2024, followed by the second contingent in July, many skeptics questioned how they would overcome the language barrier in Haiti, where French and Creole are the primary languages.

What many didn’t know was that the French government, through the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie, had already initiated pre-deployment French classes to prepare the Multinational Security Support (MSS) personnel.

Additional language training, including French and Creole, was also conducted in Haiti to enhance the team’s communication skills and intercultural competence.

Thanks to these efforts, more than 1,000 police and military personnel have been trained in French and Creole, not only in Kenya but also in Guatemala, Belize, Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda. This initiative, funded by France through the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie and the Institut Français, involved an investment of $2 million.

On Saturday 14th December 2024, a remarkable moment unfolded when the French Ambassador to Haiti, Antoine Michon, officiated the ceremony to award French language course certificates to over 400 MSS personnel who had completed the training. Ambassador Michon expressed his delight at witnessing members of the Kenyan contingent fluently conversing in both French and Creole. He reaffirmed France’s commitment to the success of the MSS mission, emphasizing that linguistic training for contingents would continue.

MSS Force Commander Godfrey Otunge expressed gratitude to the French government for its linguistic and material support. He noted that the training had equipped MSS personnel with the skills, cultural knowledge, and competence necessary for effective engagement with the Haitian population and the Haitian National Police (PNH).

HL/ HaitiLibre