Hello Everyone,
It has been a long time since our last update and we have made some huge decisions at the JRF. We will be moving our foundation and core families to Jacmel Haiti. To do this we will need your HELP. We have made a video about this endeavor and very much hope you are able to take 6 minutes to watch it.
David and Catherine spending time with some foundation kids.
I have attached a bulleted fact sheet with some basic information.
Current Situation
- Rapidly escalating racial tensions. The majority of Dominicans want Haitians out of the country.
- Some Dominicans have begun to take the “get all Haitians out of the country policy” into their own hands.
- Deadline of June 16th for all paperless Haitians to get out of DR or be forced out. In January and February the military was deporting Haitians 4-5 days a week. It has cooled down but will be getting significantly worse once June 16th hits.
- It looks like paperless Haitians will not be allowed to attend school or receive medical care in the near future.
- Frequent confrontations between Dominicans and Haitians. Talk of violence or “war” is common in the barrio.
- The level of racism against Haitians has engendered significant self-hate. Our children actually use the word Haitiano as a swear word or degrading title.
- There is no future for Haitians, in the short to medium term, as anything more than field workers, construction workers and maids. This is not compatible with our mission as a foundation.
Our Plan
Take 25-40 of our core families, comprising 100-170 people, to Jacmel Haiti. Each family will be guaranteed at least 1 job. They will be expected to work hard, pay rent, and contribute to the community. As of now, roughly 70 families have applied to go with us.
Benefits of the Move
- This move will not only improve our people’s lives but will also make the JRF more long term sustainable and successful.
- We, as a foundation, and our people can be a leaders in the local community. When we work with Haitians in the DR, we are not going to be a leader of the general community.
- There are far more NGO’s working in Haiti. This makes grants, partnerships and publicity far easier to come by.
- Jacmel is a nicer area with more going on than Esperanza. This makes it easier to hire quality, long term employees from the US and Europe.
- Jacmel is an economically developing area. This makes it easier for our people to thrive.
Construction and Housing
- We will buy 1-2 acres of land.
- The fathers that are going will go with David to do the construction. Once the construction is finished we will bring the rest of the family members.
- We will be making rectangular motel like buildings that house four families each. Our families will pay rent for this housing. That rent will go into a fund that will be used to improve the property and Joan Rose Foundation. Our people will have a vote as to how we should spend the money.
Jobs
In our opinion the most important component to this move is employing our parents. Jobs will be in the following areas:
- Joan Rose Foundation- Cleaning, cooking, supervising, etc. This will account for roughly 10 jobs
- Good Threads- We can currently employ 25 women full time. When we are busy that jumps to 45. We will get the other women from the local population. This will engender us to the community and make sure our transition into the area is as smooth as possible.
- A Microfinance Program- Many of our moms currently run their version of a small business, generally simple resell businesses. We are going to provide 15-20 women with small loans so that they can continue to employ themselves. We will give them competitive advantages over other women, better loan terms, access to more capital and consulting services. Ultimately they will be responsible for the success or failure of their small business
- A Co-Op Field- We will rent a piece of land and put up the capital to begin farming it. The fathers who work on it will each get a “share” that will vest when the crop is sold. We will provide cash flow assistance to smooth out their earnings. Any assistance we provide will be subtracted from their share when it vests.
Our Kids
- Our children will continue to receive class at the JRF
- We are hoping to take 80-100 of our kids with us
- They will attend Haitian school. We will enroll them in private schools in the future. We will split the cost of tuition with the parents.
- This new development model will give us more influence on the children’s household. With this influence we will ensure that the child’s studies are taken seriously by the parent. A stable household will also be beneficial for our children’s emotional health. We also hope to start more classes/programs involving leadership, financial savy, health and other non-academic subjects. One of the best ways to do this is to partner with organizations that specialize in these areas.
Lobison steals our hearts with his smile.
Community Relations
We believe it is important that we ingratiate ourselves into the local community. The best way to do this is by accepting some local kids into the foundation and bringing on some local women as stitchers for Good Threads. We hope to have 2-3 of our people do jobs to help the local community.
