For Haiti relief, Global Hope’s journey started with a commitment to:
- use our volunteer’s time and resources in a meaningful way by creating a hands-on project,
- wisely and swiftly put into action the donations we received,
- and, to ask for help, since we would be working far from home without being on site
Global Hope turned to some trusted not-for-profit partners for help and guidance and found exactly what we were looking for! We want to share the “results” of these efforts. Perhaps a road map of sorts will tell the story best.
- Dick Flesher, of Schools Count, Visits Haiti in April 2010
First, we’ve had the pleasure of partnering with Dick Flesher of Schools Count for many years now. Dick is tireless in his dedication to education and the well-being of young students.
In April he traveled to Mixte Nao Community School (IMN School) located in the heart of the earthquake devastation in Haiti and has since been raising funds to rebuild the school. Dick introduced us to Kids4Good, a Darien school youth organization that has had a relationship with IMN School since 2007.
We were blown away by the enthusiasm and goodwill expressed by Kids4Good. They not only raise money for IMN School by hosting fundraisers, the children from both countries exchange beautiful artwork with expressions of hope and encouragement.
IMN School - Before the Earthquake
Kids4Good along with Schools Count raised and continue to raise money to rebuild the first phases of IMN School in Haiti. All donations to Kids4Good are channeled through a not-for-profit organization on the ground in Haiti — Haiti Partners.
Haiti Partners helps Haitians change Haiti through education. Schools Count, Kids4Good, and Haiti Partners, brought together by a deep concern for the needs of others, also have one important person in common. His name is Maxandre Bien-Aime.
Maxandre is the Director of the Mixte Nao Community School (IMN School). He has visited Kids4Good in Darien several times and, since the earthquake, speaks of the plight of his community and school and raises awareness for his plans to rebuild. With the generous funding from Schools Count and Kids4Good, the first phase of rebuilding the school has been completed and the children were thrilled to receive their much needed school supplies.
Schools Count Corp and Kids4Good have been busy getting the children school supplies
Over the years, he and Kids4Good developed a special relationship and members of Kids4Good were able to see what these Haitians have been able to accomplish with their generous funding and it sustains their desire to continue to expose the plight of Maxandre’s community and school.
We are so grateful to Schools Count, Kids4Good and Haiti Partners – their “connections” and guidance opened doors for Global Hope to enter and to make a difference in the lives of these friends in need.
We discovered that IMN School is an alternative school with 136 students, and because of Schools Count and Kids4Good — it was the first to open its doors, just two months after the Haiti earthquake.
We learned from Kids4Good that Maxandre’s staff had been working with no pay since it reopened. We realized that the students of IMN School and their families were not the only people left homeless – the school’s staff faced the same dire challenges. When we entered the picture, the physical structure of the school was already in a phase-by-phase rebuilding process. So, Global Hope focused on the needs of the staff and discovered that $2600 could pay the salaries of the entire staff (9 teachers and 3 administrative members) for a two month period. That felt impactful. Because of your donations and the Whole Foods One-Dime-at-a-Time Program, Global Hope has donated $2600 to IMN School for salaries.
- Newly Finished Classroom
We also learned that the water supply to the school remained an urgent matter. They were walking a very long distance with buckets and wheelbarrows just to get to a reliable water source. We requested details on cost and efficiency to remedy the problem. We learned that the first step was to build a well for water storage. After studying the facts, Global Hope has just donated $4800 to IMN School to return a supply of water to the school grounds.
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We feel honored to be in a position to help in Haiti through these donations to IMN School. There are many Thank You’s in order:
- to each and every one of you who gave a donation for Haiti,
- to our friends at Whole Foods, Willowbrook for allowing us to participate in the One-Dime-at-a-Time program, and
- to our friends the Erickson and Cronin Families with the Amicus Foundation, whose generous private grant this year, allowed Global Hope to fund the entire sustainable water supply for this school and community.
You helped to return a school, a community – a group of students and teachers – to the business of education and better living conditions. A school operates with water-on-site, and with rooms echoing the sounds of both teaching and learning. This shines brightly as an example of what can be accomplished when Global Hope, its community of volunteers and some incredible “like-minded” individuals and organizations work together and literally become “Goodwill in Motion”.
We are happy to have begun this story here for you, and to know that you are now a part of the story too. Please visit the links on this page to learn more about the beautiful people of Haiti and these most generous organizations.
In Gratitude,
The Global Hope Team
Schools Count
Kids4Good and their Hope4Haiti Initiative
Haiti Partners
