Haitian Education & Leadership Program

UPDATE:  JULY 2006:  Dear Friends: Over 100 people attended the May 3rd HELP fundraiser at the Bubble Lounge in New York City with Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat and Isemonde Joseph, the very first HELP student who recently graduated from medical school. Ms. Danticat emigrated from Haiti to the U.S. at the age of 12 and published her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory at the age of 25. Her 1995 short story collection Krik? Krak! was nominated for the National Book Award and her 1998 novel The Farming of Bones won the American Book Award. Ms. Danticat came with her family and talked about bringing the same opportunity that the United States offers immigrants to people in their own countries. She also mentioned the importance of HELP students “paying forward”; using their opportunities to create even more opportunities for others.

Danticat was followed by Isemonde who spoke poignantly about her playing doctor with her dolls as a child in Cite Soleil, winning a scholarship to high school, spending entire days at medical school without eating, and her 2002 internship at the University of Montreal hospital when she realized that she would really be able to practice medicine and help her country. Isemonde closed by saying:

 In Haiti education is a luxury. For girls it is almost like winning the lottery. But because of your support poor students can sit in university next to wealthy students and become the best students in the class. Your support helps Haitians fight against violence, prostitution, unwanted pregnancy, AIDS and delinquency. Because of you my dream has come true and I can help my country. There are other people like me who need the same chance and education is the cornerstone of the new Haiti. Thank you again for your contribution to my success.

Isemonde told us that she was delighted to finally meet so many of the people she who had supported her and how impressed she was that they were willing to help people they had never met in a country they had never visited. HELP supporters were equally delighted to meet Isemonde and impressed with her remarkable accomplishments. We also announced that Isemonde, who had been doing a training program at the Gheskio Center (http://www.haitimedical.com/gheskio/), had been hired as a staff physician. Gheskio runs a free clinic in downtown Port-au-Prince which draws many people from nearby Cite Soleil. Recently Isemonde told me how proud she is to be able to help out her former classmates and neighbors and how surprised and pleased people are when they recognize her and see that the girl they knew in Cite Soleil is now a doctor. Our thanks again to Gheskio Director Dr. William Pape for offering HELP and Isemonde the opportunity to participate in Gheskio’s exciting work.

In addition to bringing supporters and beneficiaries together, the May 3rd event raised over $35,000. Our deep gratitude goes out to everyone who attended and contributed and a special thanks to Edwidge Danticat who was so generous with her time, to Cornel Borsan, Eric Benn and Emmanuelle Chiche from the Bubble Lounge who donated the space and the refreshments and to Robert Knapp and the Bradford and Holly Swett Foundation for their generous donations. Last, but certainly not least, I am quite certain a good time was had by all.

New HELP Director Garry Delice

In the April Update we announced the departure of HELP Director Hubert Sylney. Hubert has been replaced by a longtime friend of HELP, Garry Delice. Garry has spent his entire career in education, starting out as a high school teacher before serving as headmaster of a free, American funded magnet school for eight years. Most recently he was a project manager for the American Institutes for Research, working with the Haitian Ministry of Education on a private school accreditation. Garry has also done some work for HELP, conducting a survey on Haitian universities, making nationwide recruiting trips and serving as a member of the admissions committee. Garry started on May 2nd and was at the HELP center for only three hours before flying to New York for the fundraiser!

Garry writes:
 

Over 50,000 young men and women will pass the baccalaureate exam this year however most will not be able to pursue their education for financial reasons. I don’t know any institution with as solid a structure as HELP which provides scholarships to young people. That is why, while reinforcing HELP’s mission, I am excited to work on increasing local donations, integrating more bright and motivated students from schools in rural areas and helping students be aware of their role as leaders in their community and their country. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this.

HELP also added an additional staff person in June. Katia Jean-Baptiste is our new receptionist bringing our total number of employees to three.

Recruiting & Admissions

HELP has always been committed to expanding our recruiting pool and finding the best candidates, regardless of where they are. However given Haiti’s dilapidated transportation and communication infrastructure, nationwide recruiting is expensive and time consuming. This year, thanks to a grant from the Colorado-based Abiding Hope Haitian Timoun Foundation (Timoun means “children” in Haitian Creole) HELP was able to conduct an extensive nationwide recruiting campaign. In May and June Garry and HELP Administrative Assistant Edelyne Paul traveled to all nine regional capitals where they met with ministry of education officials, school directors and students. This year we were able to enlist the support of two people whose groundwork made our visits more effective. Former HELP board member Frantz Louis-Charles helped us in the South regional capital of Les Cayes, and in the Grand Anse regional capital of Jeremie Mrs. Juliette Tardieu helped spread the word and opened the Numa Youth Center and Library for a town hall style meeting on HELP. Our thanks to Frantz and Juliette for helping us find the best possible candidates.

Extra-Curricular

In April HELP welcomed Michele Pierre-Louis, Director of the local chapter of the Soros Foundation’s Open Society Institute, as a guest speaker. Mrs. Pierre-Louis spoke about the importance of strong personal values to professional success, especially in a society like Haiti’s where outside authority is often absent. In May Garry, Edelyne and 10 students attended the Women’s Production Fair, an annual trade show featuring local businesses owned and run by women.

More help from more places.

In the April newsletter I explained how I am continuously surprised by people’s generosity and how important donations of time and talent are. David Belle is a Haiti-based filmmaker and photographer; one of the few people documenting some of Haiti’s unique traditions. He is also co-founder of the Jacmel Film Festival, a unique annual event offering a wide range of films free to the general public in the charming seaside town of Jacmel. David visited the HELP center recently and immediately volunteered his services. He returned soon after with his camera to take individual and group photos of the HELP students for our website.

Another example of unsolicited generosity came recently from the Cooper family of Barrington, Rhode Island. They host an annual July 4th lobster-fest and informed us that this year they would be donating $730 in proceeds to HELP. Thanks to Sam and rest of the Coopers.

Please Consider Donating Today

At the fundraiser I mentioned that HELP supporters are as essential to our success as the students or the employees. You make HELP work, you provide students with the opportunity that they cannot find elsewhere. Our work is as shared as our success. While we are fresh off our fundraiser we are still in need of your donations as we are preparing to admit our largest class ever for the 06/07 school year when we hope to support an all-time high of 70 students. Remember that you can now donate online at www.haitianeducation.org. Thank you for your support.

Conor