March 2020 Solidarity continued

 
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After consulting with Maud Laurent, we decided it would be safe for me to come to Haiti for a short time.  I knew I could depend on her and I followed her guidance, staying within the premise of the Foyer and asking the project leaders or artists to come to the Foyer. I departed Haiti the day the State department declared it a level 4, red, no travel zone!

How can this country with so much beauty, creativity and resourcefulness be again plagued by political corruption and renewed economic struggle leading to dire poverty, violence and misery!
It is timely for us to show, once more, that we can be in solidarity with people caught in a web of poverty.

In my short stay and because of Maud's ability to communicate and her motivation to make sure my stay is useful, a lot was accomplished.
Thanks to the help of the supporters of Rendez-vous: Haiti, together we accomplished the following:

​The letter exchanged with my French 104 students at Loyola University continued and for the first time also a video clip of LUM made by French 201 classes . A similar video clip to introduce the life of Haitian young people living at the Foyer NDL was produced by the older girls of the Foyer and then shown in my class.

Among requested donations, there were razors for hair cuts and a maxi-blender to puree protein rich beans, 6 soccer balls,  1000 vitamins, toiletries, 25 pairs of flip-flops.

RVH also funded for a special meal, high school fees and transportation for 8 students

Checked on A. after his operation. He has been in a lot of pain and his legs itch under the plaster and dressing. Maud hired a full-time nurse to care for him and keep him from hurting himself by doing things he is not supposed to do, like setting foot on the floor or asking his friends to bring him a saw so he can take his casts off! The nurse is also trying to entertain him a little and stimulate him with schoolwork until he can join his friends again.

We also took a leap and gave funds ( $ 500) for  F. , a young man who was part of the original building crew of the Foyer, so he might get his four months old son a VP shunt for the hydro encephalitic condition he was born with but the prognosis is grim.

Met with 15 young adults who are living in the Transition House. Four more beds, more plates and electricity are needed. They retrieve water at the Foyer but they are still not cooking any meals nor are they paying any type of rent. Several have been hired to work at the Foyer, others given loans to start mini businesses. These young adults have become dependent and they struggle to understand that “Mamie Maud and Tatie Jo” have no obligations to keep supporting every aspects of their lives.  At the end of the meeting, everyone had agreed to contribute something every month starting in April, towards the electricity installation and I pledged Rendez-vous: Haiti would help with the balance. The hope is that this goal will get them used to contribute some funds towards their costs of living.  Now RVH has to find the electricity installation cost… by June!

Because of the unrest in Haiti, volunteers from France, Canada and the US have stopped coming regularly to the Foyer. The funds contributed by the volunteers allowed Maud to pay for food (other than rice and a broken rice/soy combination), hygiene needs, salaries, school tuition and transportation for high-schoolers among other imperatives.  To qualify as partner of a very large international non-profit charitable organization that promises support for a three to five year term, the Foyer must adhere to strict rules, stricter than those required for the current licensing by Haitian social services and those include a larger staff; one staff member for every 8 children. 

The Robinson entrepreneurship initiatives are working for five women and our agent in Haiti is scanning new potential recipients of our loans. He must exert caution so as not to be perceived as the one with lots of spare moneys which would put him and his family in danger.  Three candidates are being assessed currently, one for a moto-taxi service, another for a phone charging station and a third for jeans sales.  My trip saved Western Union and bank fees and $ 500 were left in his reliable hands . A Loyola senior Evelis Casey, two time volunteer in Haiti is the  connection between our agent and RVH.

​Maud and I were able to spend a lot of time defining a grant application to bring her additional support. A Loyola student, previous volunteer with me in Haiti, Julia Kasmouski has been working on this. In addition, we discussed the concept of the Community Health Center for which a major fund raiser will take place but has to be unfortunately postponed because of the Corona virus.