SOUL OF HAITI

SUMMER REPORT

JUNE 2014

 

 

 

The first six months of 2014 have been an exceptionally busy and productive time for the Soul of Haiti Foundation. There have been highs and lows, but fortunately more of the former than the latter. A new COO, Sharon Dagg, began in January and she is bringing a fresh prospective to the organisation and is working towards developing strong foundations for our existing projects and a more cohesive approach to our activities in Haiti.

It was with great delight, after volunteering with the Soul of Haiti for the past four years, to take up the role of COO. I am proud of what the charity has achieved since 2008 and inspired by the passion of the Board and the wonderful team on the ground. The founders of the Soul of Haiti believed that through encouraging and supporting business in Haiti, they could help lift the country out of a cycle of dependency. I truly believe in this approach

Anyone who has worked in a developing country will understand just how hard it is to stay focussed on goals. There is always a worthy cause, a case of dire need, another organisation doing great work and looking for support. Staying on track and sticking to core objectives can get lost in meeting the immediate needs of the people who you are there to help.  It is therefore necessary to keep reviewing a charity’s strategy in order to ensure that it is making the best use of its resources and strengths. This is what I have been attempting to do over the past six months and I am really happy to see such wonderful progress.

Soul of Haiti has been on the ground since 2008 and has seen a country torn apart by an earthquake, several hurricanes, civil and political unrest and yet today is a country vibrant with activity, where 10 million people manage to survive in a place where so few have access to clean water, sanitation or education. It is a land of amazing opportunity and I look forward to playing my part in helping Haiti reach its potential.  

Sharon Dagg

So what has happened so far in 2014?

Corporate Quiz Challenge

The year started with the Corporate Quiz Challenge which was a great evening and raised a staggering €60,000. Many thanks is due to John Bowen for the rather challenging and sometimes controversial questions! On the night Stephen Grant one of our Directors, kindly added €40,000 to the pot, bring the total to €100,000, making this our greatest fundraiser to date.

Damien Meaney

Unfortunately this was followed by not such good news where Damien Meaney, our Country Director had to be temporarily repatriated due to ill health. Thankfully he recovered well and returned to Haiti, hopefully having learned the lesson that you cannot work 24 hours a day!

Volunteer Trip

We probably did not ease Damien’s stress, when 2 weeks after his return we landed in Haiti with 29 volunteers to work on Ile a Vache. However we did certainly manage to improve a lot for the community of Madame Bernard.

The 29 people included a mix of medical & dental practitioners (many thanks to the sponsorship of Emmet O’Neill, Smiles & Michael Cullen, Beacon Hospital), transition year students, soccer enthusiasts, electricians, and plumbers, alongside some men who had obviously not swung a hammer in a long time. People had teeth pulled and filled, diagnoses were made and medication provided. A soccer camp was run which was attended by nearly 100 children, while 5 trainers were upskilled and are now running a soccer league on the island, thanks to the generous support of Eddie Kane. Eddie travelled to Haiti with the Foundation in 2011 and has not been able to escape us since.

Mercury Engineering have been sending out an electrician and plumber with the team since 2011, and as usual they were amazing. One of the many things the orphanage and the community have to thank them for is the work they completed this year on the village water system, which successfully ensured a consistent supply from the reservoir to the village tap.

    

Full details of all the works carried out can be found HERE

Cycle4 Haiti

Only back a few short weeks and we faced into the challenge of the 220 km cycle from Dublin to Galway, as always amazingly organised and sponsored by Michael Dawson’sOne4All. Once again the crack was fantastic and we reached Galway with only a few cuts and bruises but plenty of sore bums.

This event raised over €40,000 but also provided some of our partners (such as Netwatch, Barry Group, Ernst & Young, Crowley Carbon, Morgan McKinley and Country Crest), with a real Team Building Event, where they pitched their wits against each other in bike basketball, bike jenga, king of the mountain sprints, to mention but a few. As if the 220km cycle was not enough of a challenge!

      

So onto our Projects, what have we been doing since January?

Being aware that Damien needed more support, we employed Ailish O’Reilly to take on the management of the orphanage Oeuvre St. Francois and related projects on Ile a Vache. Our ability to do so was greatly aided by the financial support of the Digicel Foundation which has been assisting us in so many ways on the island over the past number of years. Ailish had travelled to Haiti numerous times as a volunteer with Haven & ESPWA and had been working for the previous 12 months with Camara in Haiti.

She has been a great addition to our team and is working hard at bringing more structure to the workings of the orphanage. Ailish’s background is in HR, Quality Control & Training so she is using all these skills to help develop the staff to ensure the children are getting the best care possible.

On a more functional note, she has taken on the challenge of developing an extensive kitchen garden for the orphanage thanks to the very generous sponsorship of Eddie Kane & Supervalu as well as a sensory garden for the disabled children which has been spearheaded and funded by Conor Mc Shane and his ‘One Nite In’ campaign.

Probably the best piece of news to come out of the orphanage so far this year is the approval of a Grant by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for $390,000 over 4 years.

Michael Cullen, Director of the Soul of Haiti Foundation said in a recent press release that ‘Receiving this grant from the Kellogg Foundation truly validates the work that Soul of Haiti has put into Oeuvre St. Francois over the past 6 years and will go a long way in easing the financial burden Sr. Flora carries on a daily basis. Alix Cantave the WK Kellogg Foundation Program Officer for Haiti, has already been a massive support to Sr. Flora, only last year providing Soul of Haiti with $60,000, which allowed for each disabled child to be fitted with an appropriate wheelchair. It is just incredible to see the change that this has made to these children’s lives.’

The $390,000 will be used over the next 4 years to support the orphanage costs and salaries. While still wholly committed to Sr. Flora, this partnership will give the Soul of Haiti freedom to concentrate more effort on long-term projects which will support the orphanage and the island as a whole. In the same Press Release Damien Meaney, our Country Director said, ‘The Soul of Haiti Foundation’s ethos is actually based on assisting Haitian enterprise and thanks to this support from The Kellogg Foundation, we can reduce our focus on meeting the short term needs of the children and can turn our attention to helping establish small enterprise within the orphanage and on the island; creating employment for the older children and a sustainable income for the Oeuvre St Francois’.

On a more depressing issue, the orphanage was asked by the Haitian Child Services to take in another 3 seriously handicapped children. These children were in the most horrific state of neglect, with one child having been severely physically abused. Upon arrival, the appearance of 2 of the children caused much distress to a number of the current orphans, but things have gradually eased. Thanks to the training provided by volunteers from the Central Remedial Clinic who have been able to travel with the Soul of Haiti yearly for the past four years, thanks to the support of Ray Nolan, the carers are doing a wonderful job. Their training is continuing in Haiti thanks to the collaboration with Gena Heraghty in Port a Prince. The arrival of these extra children also encouraged us to upskill a current employee at the orphanage to work exclusively with the disabled children going forward.

The Soul of Haiti Water, Sanitation & Hygiene programme funded by Irish Aid should be completed by the end of June. Once finished, 60 latrines will have been installed over the island (mostly in schools) and approximately 5000 people will have been trained in hand washing and personal hygiene. Latrine Committees have been set up to continue the maintenance of the toilets. This is huge for the island and apart from the issues of privacy & discomfort, will have a direct effect on health within the communities.

Also thanks to the generosity of a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, solar powered street lights were installed along the path from the orphanage to the port, making this walkway a safer place to be at night.

          

What has happened in PORT au PRINCE? 

Our main focus in PaP over the last six months has been Grandoits Bakery, Merci Bon Dieu Boulangerie

Damien, Sharon & Grandoit outside the bakery                               Good bread, Good health, Good community

To say that this has been a fabulous success is no exaggeration and shows how with support from the Irish business community we can really make a difference to people’s lives.

In 2012, Soul of Haiti assisted Grandoit, an ex-gang leader, to set up a Bakery in the slum of St Martin. H&K International, The Company of Food and the Syracuse University were a major support in getting this project off the ground. In March of this year Grandoit approached Soul of Haiti with a plan to buy out the building which he was renting and also the building alongside. He had saved enough money for the deposit and renovation, but needed the balance for the buyout.

Upon due reflection the Board of Soul of Haiti decided to advance a microfinance loan to him, which he will begin to repay in early 2015. This money is being provided thanks to a very generous donation made to the Soul of Haiti by the Taubman Foundation (USA). Work on the building is due to begin in August and hopefully the extended bakery will be fully operational by December. The Soul of Haiti are providing Grandoit with a mentor, one day a week to assist in the completion of his business plan and to develop structured financial reporting.

One of Soul of Haiti’s goals is to use this model to help others open up bakeries in communities linked to the Foundations work, such as Ile a Vache, Cavaillon, Abacou & Les Cayes.

What has happened in ABACOU?

Loads is the answer!

SoH has been working with this very isolated community for the past 3 years and the people’s enthusiasm & pride in what they do has not abated. Originally a village which survived from local fishing, the changing tides have now made it very difficult for the men to get their boats out beyond the reef. In an effort to encourage other revenue generating activities, Soul of Haiti, funded by Stephen Grant of Grant Engineering, built a small Enterprise Centre in 2012. This is equipped with solar panelled fridges which allow the fishermen store their catches and space for the creation of a small number of co-operative businesses.

   

Directors of SoH, visited the small fishing village of Abacou in March and were delighted to see that the new sewing machines and materials had arrived. The ladies from the Sewing Co-op, which is sponsored by Aldagh Mc Donagh, are now nearing the end of their training in les Cayes and will shortly begin manufacturing school uniforms for the local communities. Damien is on hand to help them develop their budgets and business plan while at the same time helping in the start up of the new Carpentary Program. Three carpentary stations are being equipped which will be maned by one experienced carpenter and 2 trainees. We are currently helping them develop the business plan and research sustainable markets.

Damien has spent a lot of time over the past few months researching the potential to increase honey and cashew nut production in the area. We are hopeful that there will be a possibility of using these local resources to create further enterprise in the community. Momentum has unfortunately been slowed due to the rainy season which seriously restricts access to Abacou.

What has happened on CHRISTINE FARM?

Over the past few month there has been huge activity on Soul of Haitis 19 hectare Model Farm, a program headed up by Neil O Leary  in partnership with Country Crest. We have now 60 local farmers in our training programme and have just signed an MOU with Brana to pilot growing Sorgrum on the farm (an ingredient for beer). While this is a difficult crop to grow (as the birds tend to savage the seed), once established it flourishes from rain fall and does not need huge irrigation, making it ideal for this valley.  If the trial is successful, up to 100 local farmers could be contracted to grow sorgrum for a gauranteed buy back price.

In May the farm hosted a really successful Open Day where hundreds of people came from all over to see what Soul of Haiti was doing in this beautiful valley. Damien said, I was so proud to look around and see all we had achieved over the past 3 years. From a wasteland we have grown what is today a successful commercial farm, employing 15 people plus a training centre where we are teaching 60 local farmers better farming practices, creating higher yields and putting more food on their tables. A place where we are experimenting with new crops which might be grown in the valley, and  working hard to develop new routes to market for local produce. All this despite the complete devastation wrecked by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

We have applied for several grants from International Donors over the past few months, which if approved will really give Soul of Haiti the opportunity to build on its success to date, allowing it to provide better training facilities, increased capacity for crop research, the development of a Seed Bank and the creation of dependable routes to Market

I really believe in what we can do, says Damien. At the moment most farmers in the valley are subsistence farming. We believe that in training these men & women in how to better use their land, we can increase each household’s income. Currently due to the lack of financial resources children can go hungry and in many cases do not have the option of attending school as fees are not available. By increasing each farmer’s income we provide him or her with the tools to better educate and feed their family. Part of our training model also includes education on nutrition, adult literacy and health care. Furthermore, with increased funding we can expand our training to engage with children from farming backgrounds with a view to encouraging them to see farming as a potential employment and source of income.

None of this would be achievable if it was not for the wonderful partnership we have with Country Crest, Ireland. Tony Doyle’s support and patience knows no bounds.

  

What is planned for the next six months?

• A lot of time will be spent bedding down the existing projects and making sure that the proper systems are in place for their management, financial planning and reporting.
• The Board & the COO are working on completing a 1,3 and 5 year Strategy for the Foundation.
• In September, Soul of Haiti have a Team cycling from Paris to Nice to raise funds for the various projects. Visit www.paris2nice.com. We wish them well!
• In October, we are organising a trip to Haiti where we will have the opportunity to spend time with some of our partners, visit the projects and investigate how best to collaborate in 2015.

I would like to thank all of you who have supported us since 2008 and would like you to know that together we have made a real difference in Haiti.

Michael Carey,

Chairman