Haiti Program Updates - July 2024
Summer Teach & Grow Program
Etienne's summer program began in July with 200 interns and 5 agents. Under his supervision, five Agronomists employed as Agents and 200 Student Intern volunteers will train and assist farmers with land prep and preservation; planting, tending, and harvesting crops; and livestock health and husbandry. The 3-month cost for all five agents is $4500. Interns are each charged $200 by the university for their participation in the program. We are requesting donations to cover $50 of that fee for every student intern ($10,000), for a total program cost of $14,500.
More detail at https://www.haitiapgrandi.org/summer-2024-teach-grow-program/
Etienne's summer program began in July with 200 interns and 5 agents. Under his supervision, five Agronomists employed as Agents and 200 Student Intern volunteers will train and assist farmers with land prep and preservation; planting, tending, and harvesting crops; and livestock health and husbandry. The 3-month cost for all five agents is $4500. Interns are each charged $200 by the university for their participation in the program. We are requesting donations to cover $50 of that fee for every student intern ($10,000), for a total program cost of $14,500.
More detail at https://www.haitiapgrandi.org/summer-2024-teach-grow-program/
Spring Seed Program: Two Tons of Seeds!
The 2024 Seed Program finished in June, distributing over 4,000 pounds of seeds for food crops. Seeds were loaned to farms in the communities of Bwa Pikan, Colse, Les Anglais, Chardonnieres, Bosquet, Pistel, and Les Cayes. A good harvest from these two tons of seeds, plus what farmers grew themselves or bought, should provide a lot of food for family consumption, income from sales of their produce, and seed to return to the community seed bank set up by Etienne to insure there will be plenty of high-quality seeds for next year’s planting season.
More detail and list of seed types at https://www.haitiapgrandi.org/spring-seed-program-complete/
The 2024 Seed Program finished in June, distributing over 4,000 pounds of seeds for food crops. Seeds were loaned to farms in the communities of Bwa Pikan, Colse, Les Anglais, Chardonnieres, Bosquet, Pistel, and Les Cayes. A good harvest from these two tons of seeds, plus what farmers grew themselves or bought, should provide a lot of food for family consumption, income from sales of their produce, and seed to return to the community seed bank set up by Etienne to insure there will be plenty of high-quality seeds for next year’s planting season.
More detail and list of seed types at https://www.haitiapgrandi.org/spring-seed-program-complete/
Haiti Mission Update - July 2022
Though the Haitian people face many social and economic issues, they all remember the day their country won its independence from the colonial slave system: November 18th, 1803. May 18th was Haitian Flag Day. It's usually a joyful day of celebration with school parades honoring Haiti's rich history of freedom.
Earlier that same year, on May 18th, Jean-Jacques Dessalines took down the French flag, ripped out the white band and had Catherine Flon sew the blue and red stripes together, creating the blue and red Haitian flag. Ever since that day, the Haitian people have celebrated May 18th as Flag Day.
This year it has been difficult to celebrate. Gang violence and deep insecurity are inescapable realities. In the southern peninsula where Les Anglais and Les Cayes are located, the looming global food crisis seems to have already arrived. Not only is the region subject to global dynamics, but gang violence in Port-au-Prince has cut off much of the goods and services to them.
Earlier that same year, on May 18th, Jean-Jacques Dessalines took down the French flag, ripped out the white band and had Catherine Flon sew the blue and red stripes together, creating the blue and red Haitian flag. Ever since that day, the Haitian people have celebrated May 18th as Flag Day.
This year it has been difficult to celebrate. Gang violence and deep insecurity are inescapable realities. In the southern peninsula where Les Anglais and Les Cayes are located, the looming global food crisis seems to have already arrived. Not only is the region subject to global dynamics, but gang violence in Port-au-Prince has cut off much of the goods and services to them.
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Agronomy Programs and Water
Not all the news is bad though! Etienne and his crew of agents and college students have been working hard to help farmers plant cocoa, coffee, and other crops to continue to increase the agriculture production of southern Haiti. Even during the continued fuel shortages and COVID, he and his team are somehow getting good work done. The team was also able to deliver the rest of the chatados (water tanks) to the people of Pestel who have been without water storage since the earthquake last summer. Their mayor asked Etienne to send us her heartfelt thank you! We are just starting the community well repair program that we’ve been planning and anticipating since last summer. It has been so difficult to get the well drilling team out to Les Anglais due to damaged roads and a huge backlog of wells needing repair. Haiti Ap Grandi, through Etienne and the well drillers, is hoping to repair four of the six non-working wells in the next few weeks. |
School’s Out for Summer
Our Sister Church in Les Anglais is doing well under the circumstances Haiti is experiencing. A very successful school year has ended. Please pray for continued and increasing support of the Hope for Kidz program as the student enrollment continues to increase. We hope to keep sponsoring a large enough percentage of kids to continue the lunch program. (When enough children in a school are sponsored, all the students there receive a hot lunch.)
Finally, RMI is starting to receive teams traveling to Haiti for Vision and Partnership reconnection in November.
With deep gratitude for your prayers, interest, and support for the people of rural Haiti through Haiti Ap Grandi and our partners.
Our Sister Church in Les Anglais is doing well under the circumstances Haiti is experiencing. A very successful school year has ended. Please pray for continued and increasing support of the Hope for Kidz program as the student enrollment continues to increase. We hope to keep sponsoring a large enough percentage of kids to continue the lunch program. (When enough children in a school are sponsored, all the students there receive a hot lunch.)
Finally, RMI is starting to receive teams traveling to Haiti for Vision and Partnership reconnection in November.
With deep gratitude for your prayers, interest, and support for the people of rural Haiti through Haiti Ap Grandi and our partners.
RMI Team in Haiti 2019