Food Distribution Program Relaunching in Haiti Thanks to Donations and Faith

Hello Everyone,

First of all, a big Thanks! to those who responded so generously to the plea to help us restart the Food Distribution Program at Lakay Fondasyon in Haiti for the remainder of this school term. Because of Cindy and friends in Pennsylvania, Daniel and family, and Margaret and Kate in Canada, we have reached the halfway mark (see previous post for details).

This is very heartening, and as the rest of the needed money will surely make its way here as the universe unfolds, Auguste, Starthrower's manager in Cap-Haitien, is currently and on faith arranging to purchase, deliver, re-package and distribute basic foods for this weekend for students and families in both Cap-Haitien and the mountain village of Sen Rafayel.

The fastest and most accurate communication system in the planet (Haitien bouch-la or word of mouth) will already be sending out this most welcome news.

We've had some other good news as well. The owner of our property had asked Starthrower to pay a rent increase, an increase that we cannot afford nor can we pay. Auguste and Sister Rosemary (Sewoz) met with the rental agent yesterday, and this agent phoned the owner in the States. After explaining our plight (lack of funds), the owner/landlord is allowing us to stay on at the previous rent for the time being. We at Starthrower hope to have a place of our own some day, but in the interim, we are fortunate and grateful to have a roof over our heads.

We have also heard from the good folks in Colorado who have been looking for ways to help clean up our water supply at Lakay Fondasyon, for both potable water distribution and our washing purposes. Unfortunately, the cost of cleaning up the existing well is prohibitive, and digging a new well would result in the same tainted water. So we will continue our Potable water program as it now stands, by purchasing drinking water in 5 gallon bottles and redistributing in gallon jugs which we also supply and sterilize.

Potable water distribution is also a tentative project for Sen Rafayel for the first school trimeste of 2009/10, as so many diseases are waterborne. We have staff in place in Sen Rafayel, but we need to find a space where incoming gallon jugs can be sterilized.This has been holding us back. Anyone who has visited Sen Rafayel understands the challenge. We're working on it.

My health-enforced visit to Canada has become more lengthy than anticipated. The up side is that it has allowed me to meet people I would have otherwise missed meeting, had I not been here. Also, being in Canada has meant I am more easily accessible by telephone. To meet new people who have a passion for justice and to get to talk with some I had only known by email has been a real bonus for me.

Thanks again for supporting Starthrower's Food Distribution Program. I know we can reach our goal together, feeding one young person at a time.

Kenbe pa lage
Sharon

PS Special Thanks to Animoto for a Cause, for generously donating a full membership for Starthrower Foundation to make short videos from photos to help publicize our work in Haiti. These videos are also posted on YouTube to reach a public we might otherwise not.

Rice, Beans, Oil Budget Food Distribution Cap-Haitien and Sen Rafayel Haiti

Hello Everyone,

Here is the current food price list from Cap-Haitien, Haiti, for foods needed to relaunch the food distribution program at Lakay Fondasyon. Starthrower hopes to be able to run this program from now until the end of Haiti school exams, roughly the second week in July.

Here are the amounts need so that we would be able to distribute one sack of food with enough rice and beans for 2 days to each student. (They receive only enough for these two days. To receive food for one week, triple the amounts.) Students in turn are responsible for finding a cooking pot, fuel and fire starter. Total amounts are doubled to include distribution in Sen Rafayel as well as in Cap-Haitien.

Starthrower helps support 51 students in Cap-Haitien and 51 in Sen Rafayel. These students, in turn, will share their food with another 3 or 4 people each. So this food distribution means these 102 young people and approximately 300 neighbors/relatives will eat. These numbers are conservative compared to the survey we took last year.

Conversion rates for the gud (gourde) fluctuate between 35 and 39, I have used the median of 37 to $1 USD [See HTG-USD conversion post; NB Today: $1.00 USD = 39.6650 HTG.]

Using the figures below, for the initial start-up week of the food distribution program, we need $212 USD for the students in Cap-Haitien and another $212 USD for students in Sen Rafael ($424 USD total). A case of oil lasts for two weeks; we buy the bags needed for distribution in the first week and they last for months, so startup costs a bit more.

For each consecutive week of the program, we need $150 USD each for Cap-Haitien and Sen Rafayel ($300 USD total).

Additional costs to distribute/manage the food distribution will be about $10-$15 USD / week for staff to travel to/from the market in Cap-Haitien, and $40 USD per week for Sen Rafayel staff to travel down/up the mountain to Cap-Haitien to pick up and deliver the foods prepackaged in Cap-Haitien.

Also, we will hire a student part time, if necessary, to help with this food packaging and distribution. Travel and extra staff salary will be paid for out of the general fund; donated funds for food will be used for the food program only. As the duration of the program will be brief, and we have the space, it is economically more feasible to purchase/package everything in Cap-Haitien.

Total for 10-week food distribution program:
May 4, 11, 18, 25 and June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and July 6 is estimated $3,124 USD. If donating through the web site, please specify Food Distribution Program.

We usually stop the food distribution program over the summer months, when school is out, and we direct resources to the text book restoration/distribution program that provides summer jobs for about 25 students in Cap-Haitien.

Prices will fluctuate but this is a good ballpark estimate. Thanks to those who have swiftly responded to my plea on behalf of the students in Haiti. I hope these figures help you in your fundraising efforts. Please contact us if you need anything explained, or more information.

Below find the original message from Auguste, Lakay Fondasyon manager in Haiti; I have translated for those interested in Kreyol.

Kenbe,
Sharon
* * *

Bonswa, Manmi
Good Afternoon, My mother

A-Mwen kontan tande ou. Nou pa pi mal.
I'm happy to hear from you. We are not too bad.

Jacques te gen fyev semen pase. Nou gen kek jen ki malad mwen voye yo nan lopital Justien et nan klinik lan.
Jack had a fever last week. We have several sick youth whom I sent to Justinien Hospital and the clinic.

Tisab te gen parasite mwa pase. Sanble Joli vle malad osi l'ap grate anba kou li komanse fe blese. Nou va tcheke veterine.
Tisab (our smallest dog) picked up parasites last month. It seems Jolie (our big sister dog although they are the same age) is also sick as she has been scratching under her chin and it bleeds. We will check with the vet. (This will take place when Jack is well and the vet is in Cap)

Kisa / pri inite / kantite chak semen
Item / price unit/ weekly amount
Gwo sak Jumbo :1850 Gdes 1 sak edmi =2775 gdes
Mamit pwa nwa : 180 Gdes 10 manit =1800 gdes
Kes lwil :1500 gdes 1 kes =1500 gdes
Sache nwa et blan :1525 gdes (sa pou 12 mwa) =1525 gdes
Taxi 250 gdes
Total : premye semen = 7850 Gdes
NB: n'ap bezwen achte pou : 5575gdes chak semen

Nou te itilize chak semen :1sak edmi diri/ 10 mamit pwa/ 3 galon lwil.
Each week in Cap-Haitien we used 1 1/2 sacks rice (100 pounds), 10 marmites beans (approx. one quart each) and 3 gallons cooking oil.

Elorge et Marlene antre Okap jodia.
Elorge and Marlene came home (from university in the Dominican Republic) today.

Mwen te pale ak M.Britus, men nou gen randevou demen pou-n pale ansanm ak Sewoz paske M.Britus prale Ozetazini premye semen Mai.
I spoke with M. Brutus ( rental agent) and Sister Rosemary and I have a meeting with him tomorrow as he goes to the US the first week of May.

Mesi
God bless you. Later

Auguste

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Earth Day Call to Re-Launch Starthrower's Feeding and Nutrition Program

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day / Earth week is the perfect time to stop and reflect on one's place and role on this planet. As well, this Saturday, April 25, is Malaria Awareness Day. From the perspective of those who live in absolute poverty, every day is Earth Day and Malaria Awareness Day.

Perhaps those of us on this planet who live in comparative luxury need these designated days to jog our complacency and renew our commitments to do what we can to listen to the poor and work with them to make this Earth a healthier place for all.

[Perhaps we should advocate for an International Starthrowers Day, or a Starfish Day when we put names and stories on as many faces as possible, adding to and updating the information every year.]

On this Earth Day, I want to tell you about an email I received last week from Amy, a Canadian university student who visited us in Haiti several years ago. Amy continues to maintain an email relationship with several Starthrower Foundation staff and students in Haiti.

Several of these students have emailed her recently, telling her how hungry they are, and Amy, concerned, has passed this information to me. Sadly, the situation is not news to me, and has been causing the staff and me a lot of concern these past months.

I told her I know that our students are all hungry, and have been for some time, since last summer, when we were forced to discontinue the food distribution program due to lack of funds.

As you know, due to my health situation, I am currently unable to actively fundraise. Believe me, I would if I could. I value the time I spend talking with school and church groups, and with clubs and associations, sharing my experiences of Haiti.

Since I am unable to do this at this time, I am asking you to please do this in my stead. I am making a special plea to everyone who reads this to please help raise money so we can relaunch the feeding program. [See fundraiser ideas on the web site and a note at bottom of this update.]

Last trimeste (Christmas to Easter), staff reports that fewer students were able to get to Starthrower's centre in Cap-Haitien because they were, and are, weak from hunger. Most students seem to be eating, on average, about once a week, and often, what they eat are just scraps and leftovers that they have begged from a neighbor or relative.

Malnutrition and hunger translate directly into infections and poor school attendance. We all worked so hard to find the money to pay their tuition, set up a tutoring program and the text book program, and we gave them vitamins and clean drinking water. How sad, and frustrating, to have them not pass their year just because they are hungry and getting sick.

But, since the third trimeste has just started, and runs into mid-July, there is still time to help salvage their school year. We need to relaunch the feeding and nutrition program, then continue this program until mid July when exams finish.

On this Earth day, please take a little time to really think of these courageous young people. They are trying so hard to make their way in the world. Any amount you can part with, any amount you can raise, will make a difference.

We can transfer the donations to Jack and Auguste, our staff in Haiti, so they can purchase what is needed -- oil, rice, beans, etc. -- in the market in Cap-Haitien. And by buying what we can locally in Haiti, we give a small boost to the local economy; those shopkeepers can then earn money to feed their own families. Please help us feed them.

Pause for a moment and think: Could you eat once a week, and get up and off to school each day, often walking many miles to get there? Could your children? These young Haitians do it every day: Claudy, Fabiola, Kesner, Rose Youdeline, Severe, Bania, Rosenie, Christemene, Dieugrand, Alland, Jhennie, Jon-Charlee, and a hundred or more others.

On their behalf, thank you for taking the time.

Let's start with food, then we can tackle malaria!

Happy Earth Day
Beni-w
Sharon

Note: CanadaHelp.org (that accepts online donations on our behalf), advises us that Canadians can set up their own Giving Page with Starthrower designated as beneficiary. See Giving Pages for information and create your own fundraiser page for your friends, family, Facebookers to donate to Starthrower.

In Haiti, Earth Hour is Every Hour

Tonight, March 28, 2009, as you observe Earth Hour (8:30-9:30 p.m), I urge you to turn your thoughts towards Haiti, where every hour is Earth Hour.

This simple truth was brought home to me today, when at the end of her visit, one of my visiting caregivers said, very seriously, that she hoped I was going to observe Earth Hour tonight. She went on to say she understood what a sacrifice it was to go without television and lights for an hour, but that Earth Hour was an important event.

And so I explained to her the reality of life in Haiti: Most hours of nearly every day are Earth Hour. For those who live in absolute poverty on this planet, including the majority of Haitians, to have an hour of television and electricity would be a memorable occasion, talked about by all.

Those of you who are long time followers of our Starthrower blog and web site know how many times we have been without power in Haiti for weeks at a time. And it's not just in Haiti, nor just electricity: Spend any time at all in Central America, the Caribbean or countries such as Ethiopia, and you will know that having electricity and all that comes with it -- air conditioning, cooking facilities, fans, lights, hair dryers, curling irons, irons, microwaves, bank machines, gas pump, fridges, freezers, garage doors, elevators, medical equipment -- is a luxury enjoyed by the lucky ones on this planet.

When much of northeastern North America experienced a blackout in August 2003, we were all thrown for a loop. That the power came back on with a day is a testament to our First World conditions. As we congratulated ourselves on weathering this power crisis, a local contractor said, "This wasn't so bad. In Croatia, one time we had no power for 8 months."

And it is not just electricity that we squander. We do the same with potable water. How many tens of thousands of gallons of drinking water fill how many thousands and thousands of swimming pools? How many thousands and thousands of liters of potable water do we sprinkle on our lawns and gardens?

Even in Australia, a First World country by any standards, the water shortage is in crisis mode in much of the country. Bath tubs are rarely used; a fast shower -- no more than a minute and preferably with other family members at the same time, with grey water collected for use on the garden -- is not uncommon. [See National Geographic Australian Drought]

Most of us sleep snug in our beds at night, the idea of malaria from mosquitoes never entering our minds. No cockroaches, no tarantulas, no mice scurrying about to disturb us or render us ill. And that is the way it could be, should be, for all God's children.

So tonight I will light a few candles, perch a flashlight on my shoulder and read for an hour without power, flooded by my memories of Haiti: The tent of mosquito netting over my bed; the sounds of barking dogs and voodoo drum outside the compound; the roosters crowing at 4 a.m.; the kids coming to the house, looking for water, for help with school, for medicines, for comfort.

I know that many of you will participate in Earth Hour, for Starthrowers care about the world around them. I also know that Earth Hour is a gesture to raise awareness of our global connections and universal conditions. We are the lucky ones, who can still go to our fridges for food, use our indoor toilets and wash or bathe in the hot and cold running water always at the ready for us. And one hour set aside to ponder our good fortune is not a difficult task.

Even knowing that Earth Hour is but a gesture, we must start somewhere and it's as good a time as any, if we truly believe that change is necessary for the health of the planet. So when you turn out the lights tonight, please take a little time in solidarity with all those who live without. Tonight you have the option of participating or not. They have no option, and often no candles and no flashlights.

And when you turn your lights on at 9:30 p.m., pause for a moment of gratitude for the abundance in our lives. Earth Hour offers such opportunity for solidarity and gratitude and it is relatively painless..

Thanks to all who will take the opportunity.

Pi ta
Sharon

Rice and Beans (diri ak pwa) a Cure-all? If Only!

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Salye tout moun (Hello Everyone),

I hope those of you fortunate to have free time are enjoying or did enjoy a restful March break. Activites in Orangeville certainly seemed to slow down last week.

Although I am (for the time being) still grounded, Starthrower continues to function effectively. I spoke with Auguste and Carmine last week. Mme Carmine told me that if I could get her a passport, she would come and cook for me; she is certain that her diri ak pwa (rice and beans) will cure anything!

Auguste assures me that the staff continues to work cheerfully, taking care of all, including our youth, cats, dogs etc. Last night I spoke with Sister Rosemary (Sewoz), who also assures me that we have the best staff in Cap-Haitien. I already knew that. :-)

Our friend and sponsor Mme Marjorie is currently in the Dominican Republic with a team of nurses, organizing and carrying out eyeglass clinics. She took with her 2 new laptop computers, a gift from her for our 2 pre-med students -- Elorge and Marlene -- in Santiago, DR.

These laptops will be of great assistance to these students. Two other students -- Deles and VIncent -- in their second year Agriculture in Limbe are both in need of laptops. As well, Vincent needs a new sponsor (or group of sponsors) to see him through the last 2 years of the program.

Our waiting list contains six high school grads from last year who would like the opportunity for post secondary education. I know this is not wholly within our mandate, but it means so much to these young adults. There will be more graduates this year, as well. These young people, given the opportunity, are the ones who will lay the foundation for change in Haiti. Thanks to all who have and continue to support them and the younger students.

I am out of hospital and once again being supported at home by the amazing visiting nurses from St. Elizabeth health care, and several personal support workers from the Red Cross. What a difference they make to my quality of life!

As Karen reported, the surgery went well. It just wasn't the surgery I had anticipated. As there were still abscesses at the time of my second surgery, surgical time was spent draining and repairing. The colostomy reversal will wait for a third surgery, the date to be determined by the surgeon. I 'll be back at St. Mike's hospital on April 6 for my follow-up appointment.

Once again, thanks to all who phoned and sent cards. Your thoughtfulness and moral support are much appreciated. Who would have thought that E Coli was so destructive?

In the meantime, I am once again regaining strength, being careful to do as little as possible for 6 weeks, and getting comfortable with the miniature size of the netbook laptop I use to stay in touch with staff and Starthroweres. If only my fingers were younger! The keys are so close together. (What a great excuse for the typos I make regardless of keyboard size.)

Take care of each other, and ala pwochen (until the next time)

Beni-w
Sharon