Project Jatropha

 We would like to report that conditions in Haiti are greatly improved and that the people of Haiti are doing much better.  Sadly, this is not the case and living conditions have actually worsened.  When our project partner, Director of Sirona Cares Foundation, Michelle Lacourciere traveled to Port au Prince in August 2010, she found huge tent camps throughout the city.  Reporting many people have left the rural areas and have returned to the city looking for a way to survive.  Conditions at these tent camps are worsening with every rain, and hurricane season has started.  Sadly, the camps are also unsafe, particularly for women. She has reported, clean water is still a problem for most people, and waste builds up by the day.  Haiti also is experiencing a cholera epidemic and other health concerns continue to confront the children.   Electricity service in the capital is available only a few hours at night, and in the country there still remains no power for the vast majority of people.  She has also reported that a large amount of the debris in Port au Prince has been removed, but many hazardous buildings are still left leaning over streets.  Although many people around the world are still discussing Haiti, and great sums of money have been spent on the assessment process, things are moving slowly. 

 First Haiti Model:  Change of plan with regard to our school choice:

We are also sad to report that the Mission of Hope School has been severely damaged in the earthquake, but they are working hard to find funding to rebuild.  We  located another school in L’Azile, Haiti; the name of the school is Eglise de Dieu.  It has a population of four hundred children.  There are rivers, so water is no problem for the garden.  We will replicate this project at the Mission of Hope School in Grand Goave once it is rebuilt.  The Eglise de Dieu School survived the earthquake, but classes were held outside through the summer of 2011 as they reinforced the structure.  The school site had a large garden plot available.  Michelle Lacourciere spoke with the director of the school about the potential for a garden managed by the students and he was very excited.  L’Azile is very fertile and we were confident that the children would benefit tremendously from the school garden.  The school has many students who walk for miles to attend and they have no official feeding program available. The garden project was wonderful for them, and local farmers assisted with the garden set-up and training.  The entire community works well together and support the garden.

We have provided  funding in the amount of $500 granted by the Ashoka Youth Venture for the purchase and planting of  fruits andvegetables saplings. 

Thank you Ashoka Youth Venture for your support and guidance