Our proverb for today is “Premye so pa so” which literally translated to “The first fall is not a fall”.”

In Haiti, we say this proverb to encourage others when they are learning a new activity and they fail at the first try. We want them to challenge themselves until they succeed so they can realize that quitting isn’t an option.

When a child is learning how to ride a bike, it is not always easy to ride at the first try. Whenever they fall down, they are scared to try again. Others who are already good at riding a bike say to them “Premye so pa so” to let them know that they were from this step too, until they mastered it, in order to encourage and make them believe that they can do it too, to emphasize that we don’t want them to abandon what they can learn.

Any time you visit Haiti, and you hear someone says that proverb, you will have an idea what is it about.