by Nancy & Nora on February 15, 2011
Kids4Good’s Special Guest
It’s been a year since a devastating earthquake hit Haiti and challenged the lives of so many. IMN Community School in Haiti has been a focus of Kids4Good, a student/parent organization in Darien.
Much has been accomplished to get this school back on its feet. The principal, Maxandre Bien-Amie, marked this one year anniversary with a visit to Lace School in Darien to thank Global Hope, Kids4Good and Schools Count, along with many other supporters. Maxandre spoke of the long list of improvements made over this past year. This dedicated principal, with the help of many, got the school up and running in record time (the first in the area to open its doors to returning students).
Despite many accomplishments, there is more to do. This community still faces extreme homelessness and joblessness. IMN is in need of funding for teacher’s salaries, student’s tuition, books for six grade levels and structural items such as wrought iron windows and classroom doors.
For more details Click Here.
by Nancy & Nora on October 21, 2010
New Video from IMN School
We received a new video from John Engle of Haiti Partners. WOW, you have to watch it to see the amazing progress that has been made.
With the help of our Global Hope supporters, we really made an impact in this school community – hearing John express his appreciation sounded nothing short of melodious. Viewing actual photos of what we set out to do felt beyond good. Thanks to this video, the results and recipients of all of our efforts have shapes and colors and textures and voices and faces. We really are “goodwill in motion”. YOU really do make a difference!
by Nancy & Nora on September 10, 2010
Running Water
at IMN School in Haiti!!
After Global Hope donated funds for the well water project at IMN Community School in Haiti, Maxandre and his hard-working staff immediately set out to make this major priority a reality. The well was dug, the pumps set, PVC pipes and a foundation for the water tank were installed. In less than 30 days, IMN had running water! See Maxandre’s video below.
The next order of business was a water purification system – which is being installed thanks to additional funds granted by the employer of a Kids4Good mom.
We are grateful to be one of the three Chicago-area non-profits (Global Hope, Schools Count & Kids4Good) who helped to rebuild and reopen IMN Community School just months after the earthquake. Additionally, our combined efforts paid teacher’s salaries and provided clean drinking water to the community.
All of you good-hearted supporters are in large part the reason for all of this wonderful news. Together, we successfully put “goodwill in motion’. Check out the online Tribune Local article about this project. And then check the Chicago Tribune Local print edition article on September 16– TribLocal print editions: Darien, Downers Grove, Willowbrook, Woodridge, Burr Ridge and Westmont.
Newly Finished Classroom
by Nancy & Nora on September 3, 2010
IMN Principal, Maxandre Bien-Aime, talks about water project progress:
And, here is some related news from Erik Badger of Haiti Partners: Update on IMN water project
“Last week I (Erik Badger) visited IMN for the first time since the well had been completed. Though the storage system is still in the works, the well is functioning great and the school is thrilled to have it! In the short video update below I explain a little bit about how the water project is designed and used.
It’s a great success for IMN to have – for the first time ever – its own water source. The students, staff and surrounding community are very grateful, as is Haiti Partners. Many thanks to Global Hope, Kids4Good, and all of Maxandre’s supporters in Chicago and elsewhere for making it happen!”
by Nancy & Nora on July 28, 2010
We are proud to share more wonderful news on our Haiti Water Project. Below is a progress report from Erik Badger of Haiti Partners. We are equally excited to share a photo account of “running water” now available to IMN School and local community in Darbonne from Maxandre Bien Aime (Director of IMN School). Tears, smiles, cheers – we express it all as we witness the fruits of our “goodwill in motion”
From: Erik Badger
Date: July 20, 2010 5:05:42 PM CDT
Subject: update on IMN water project
It has been about 3 weeks since Global Hope awarded Haiti Partners/IMN the grant for the water project and much progress has already been made. Though the first update isn’t, technically speaking, due yet (because of banking issues the funds only arrived in Haiti this week), I thought I’d share a few significant developments now.
- The well has been dug and they have tapped into the water table
- The manual water pump has been fitted in the well and set in concrete
- Pipes have been set for installation of the electric water pump
- A water tank has been selected
- Maxandre is working with school staff to create a management system to oversee maintenance, distribution and security of the system
As you know, we also received a grant from Reed Elsevier for the water purification system. In an effort to free up more funds for the original IMN post-quake reconstruction and assistance project, we asked Life Giving Force if they would be willing to give us the purifier at a reduced cost of $5000. They agreed, provided we support them to fundraise for the remaining $3000. This, I believe, will work to everyone’s advantage as promoting the project will help Life Giving Force spread the word about their extraordinary product while simultaneously promoting the cause of IMN. I’m already working with Life Giving Force to make this happen. We hope to have the funds raised by the beginning of the school year. In the meantime, Maxandre will use water purification tablets to make sure the water is safe.
I’m attaching several pictures Maxandre sent. Also, I will be at IMN August 3rd, so you can expect another update not long after that (provided the internet is reliable).
Please share this update with your Board and supporters as you see fit. If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.
Best, Erik
http://www.haitipartners.org/the-blog/
The Board and supporters at Global Hope are proud to have been a part of this project. Thank you again to Amicus Foundation for their generous funding. It is empowering to be able to see so much progress, made so quickly, through our efforts and those we partnered with on this project: IMN School, Schools Count, Kids4Good, and Haiti Partners – What a Team!!
by Nancy & Nora on June 29, 2010
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.
______________________________________________________
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
