Reaping the Benefits of Jacmel, April 2016

Good morning,

This week we’d like to share the wonderful advantages of living in Jacmel. One of the big reasons and hopes we had coming to Jacmel was that it would be a more thriving and busy city, a place with diverse culture and services that would provide more opportunities to our families and children. This hope is a reality and it’s had a positive impact on the Foundation and our people.

          A view of downtown Jacmel

Our children and families are benefiting from this lovely culture by actively taking part in it. For example, ten of our girls have been set up with a dance program that is run by a Haitian choreographer with extensive experience. He speaks Haitian Creole, French, Spanish, and English fluently and strives to get poor, Haitian youth off the streets by teaching dance. Our girls practice at his studio three times a week and will have their first recital in June. We have also funded five boys to take part in Karate class, which has been like a dream come true for them. They’ve been imitating ninjas their whole lives and now get the opportunity to learn real technique, while blowing off steam and having fun. We’ve discovered a music school that gives instruction for all instruments. It is an open space for daily practice and has formal lessons twice a week. Registration is in May and a few kids have shown interest.

​Puchi, left, stands with Modlen and Wilis showing off the mirror frame that they built in their carpentry apprenticeship. You can also see Puchi’s dad in the mirror, sitting and stitching a Good Threads belt.

Jacmel, with its many private health clinics, provides better access to healthcare. It is not uncommon to encounter US trained doctors and nurses here. The public hospital doesn’t offer better services than any Dominican ones, but there are many private clinics that provide free consultation and inexpensive tests and medication. When one of the children gets sick, we worry less because we know they’ll receive the best treatment offered at their clinic of choice. There are no worries about our children and parents getting judged or being discriminated against while speaking with the doctor or travelling to an appointment. There is even a midwifery clinic that goes through a whole program with expecting women. One of our women, who is about three months pregnant, is currently going through the program for less than 100 USD.

Yeni sits in the dentist chair to get her teeth cleaned. A local clinic partnered with a team of dentists from the US and offered their services to the community. Over twenty of our students received care!

Lastly, a great benefit is the presence of so many organizations and that we can easily reach out when we have questions or need help getting something done. There are organizations that help with micro-loans, social work, and training in business and education. We have agreed to work with an organization from Quebec that helps individuals and foundations with behavioral intervention for children. As we plan and think about what our Community Center structure will look like in the near future, we are receiving the help of an architect team pro-bono. We are extremely grateful for this extra support.

Happy to pose for a photo, as always!

All of these people, groups, and organizations offering their services and support lift a weight from our shoulders. In Esperanza, we were burdened with having to cover all of our people’s needs from education to extra-curriculars to healthcare. Here, we can rest easier knowing that our children and families have access to a more complete life and are treated as equals along the way.

Thank you to all of you for your continued support.

Warmly,

Everyone at the JRF