Hello All,
Our people have been in Jacmel for about ten days now and overall things are going very well. Our kids have started school, we are well on our way to getting our electricity for the homes, and our parents have really stepped up to meet the challenges this move presents.
Our kids started school Monday and seem happy. It is not a big school, so our kids make up a large portion of the total kids at the school. It is a private school and the directors have been very accommodating in terms of which grade a child gets put in and all the necessary paperwork. Education is more valued in Haiti than in the DR, and 90% of the country’s schools are private. We negotiated three school payments instead of the traditional one up front. We are paying the first, our parents will pay the second and we will split the third.
The school is a little far, about a 40 minute walk through some beautiful mountain terrain, but it takes the kids through a secluded area. The parents didn’t like this and have started looking for a truck driver that they can pay to pick the kids up and take them to school everyday. They have had meetings, done the footwork and decided this on their own, and it’s great to see that initiative.
Children walking to school on their first day.
These parents accompanied their children on the walk to school through the mountainous terrain.
All children wear uniforms to school in Haiti. Each school has its own uniform, which means we can’t just pick-up some uniforms at the store. We had to buy the correct color fabric and then have it sewn ourselves. Luckily, one of our fathers has a lot of sewing experience and a sewing machine. He is sewing as many uniforms as he can this week, but unfortunately our lack of electricity means he has to use a foot pedal to stitch the uniforms. Thankfully, the schools are being lenient and say they can wear “color clothes” until they get their uniforms finished.
Several people have already figured out small ways to make some money. One father got himself a job within a week of being in Haiti selling minutes for cell phones. We have another father who will become a moto taxi, some women selling empanadas, popcorn, crackers and the like, and another family who will be opening a “corner store”, that will sell day-to-day goods. It is great that our families are keeping service jobs and their spending within the community. This is exactly what we had planned on and hoped for.
We have a contingent of moms who are going to be starting their own businesses. They have been going to the market, talking to people in Jacmel and talking amongst themselves about what kind of business is best for them. We are going to be helping them in this process with a loan and consultation. If three or four women pool their loan, they will have a gigantic advantage, in terms of purchasing power, over other street vendors.
One of the spectacular views of the Jacmel coast that is seen on the route to school.
Lastly, we want to express our gratitude for all of you. We literally needed every single donation we got to make this move happen and a bit more. It was humbling and deeply gratifying to feel and see how many people trust us and truly support our work. We really needed this move as there was just no real future for us in the DR. It was incredibly taxing financially and we were blown away by how many people stepped up and came to our aid in our time of need. My father and I ended up lending the JRF the remainder that we needed for the move. We will hopefully be paid back when the land assets we have in the DR sell, but your donations will not be used for the payback. We are truly blessed to have supporters like you and cannot express our appreciation for all you have done for our foundation and families. So again, thank you. Our people and children’s lives would be so much darker and full of suffering without you.
Now that we have moved we are fully focusing on getting operations up and going in Jacmel. We again need your help for this, and we are applying for grants and looking for new funding sources every week. Upcoming updates will explain new projects we would like to start and why we think they are important. Our focus will be our children and assisting our families with employment. If you would like to learn more now, please shoot us an email and we will let you know what we are currently getting off the ground. Again, thank you.
David, Catherine and the JRF Families
