Haitian Roots believes that education is the number one way to eradicate poverty and give hope to the future of Haiti. We have always struggled, however, when we see and know that the children in our program may not be eating, having safe shelter, or proper medical attention. It is worrisome and frustrating. We are providing an education, but if the children are so hungry that they can’t concentrate in school or have other basic needs that aren’t being met , then it is likely that the education is not going to mean much. Many of you will recall that 9 of our children became orphaned in the infamous earthquake of 2010. Several of those children were taken into an orphanage run by our wonderful coordinator, Harry Mardy.

The name of the orphanage is La Maison De Nos Petits Enfants. Harry, his wife Pascale, and their two beautiful children live at the orphanage and care for the Haitian Roots children as well as 9 other children ranging in age from 4 to 18 years. The Haitian Roots children are in the process of being adopted but the situation in Haiti is constantly changing and the chance that the other children will ever be adopted is not great. Most of these children will eventually age out of the orphanage with no education nor life skills if somebody doesn’t step in to help. In Haiti, there is no government support for orphanages, rather are at the mercy of charities and NGOs. Harry has been with out any type of consistent support for a very long time. The orphanage is in disrepair and there are a lot of safety issues for the children, as well as difficulty just to provide for basic needs. This has been of grave concern to us but until now we did not have much to offer other than the scholarships for the four Haitian Roots children.

IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE AND EXCITEMENT that we announce that doors have opened for Haitian Roots to to support La Maison. We are so excited to be of greater support to Harry, who has been a true and faithful friend to Haitian Roots (always helping as translator and many other ways) long before he became a coordinator. We hope that the orphanage will become a very wonderful environment for these children (and others in or out of our program who inevitably will come to us needing shelter).

We will soon be putting up a page on our website about the orphanage and will keep you updated through our blog, which you will find on our home page whenever you click on www.haitianroots.com

We hope that you will support us in this endeavor! Please spread the word that we have several new children in need of educational sponsorships this Fall. We will be updating the website and Facebook page (please “like” us, if you have not already) to let you know about upcoming fundraisers and our goals. Please feel free to contact our Orphanage Project Coordinator, Deborah Wunderli (dwunderli@gmail.com) for additional information regarding the needs that the orphanage is facing at this time.

Thank you all so very much for your generous support!

Sincerely,

The Haitian Roots Team

P.S. We are still working on the details of our Summer Volunteer Trip. For now, we can tell you that the trip will be the week of August 14^th and will involve a lot of physical labor. More details coming soon!

The Extended Mardy Family

Harrielle, Pascale, Harry, and Pascarry Mardy

Greetings! We hope that this newsletter finds you all well and happy!

OUR CHILDREN

Our President, Isson, just returned from a trip to Haiti and we thought you’d enjoy an update. This year we revamped our process of distributing funds to assure a more accurate reporting of each child. Although we want to help as many children as possible in Haiti, our goal is not to be the biggest program, rather we want to make sure that our program is the best sponsorship program around and that our donors can trust that every penny is being spent in the most effective way possible. We also want to make sure that no child slips through the cracks. For this reason we are more closely associating directly with the parents at the distribution time and are focusing not only on the children’s attendance but on their grades and if there is anything more that the family or child needs to be able to be successful. That is a daunting task, as many of our families are struggling day to day for shelter, clean water, and food. But each child in our program is precious to us.

We also decided to recognize the top male and female student from each coordinator’s group for their outstanding academic performance. Some of you will recognize these names!!!

Jeanty, Estelle Aline 8.92

Dorcenat, Dawson 8.12

Pierre Louis, Roudolph 9.72

Trezard, Wood 8.23

St Germain, Colby 8.02

Figaro, Francesca 9.00

We sure do love all of these children and are so grateful for your support! We have updated photos and letters from your sponsored children which will be sent out in the next week!

LAND PROJECT

Most of you know that the Haitian government was threatening to seize our land. It is a beautiful piece of land and extremely rare and valuable in a tiny country like Haiti. Isson met with President Martelly while on this last visit to talk about Haitian Roots and our desires with educating and helping children have hope for tomorrow in Haiti. We are not financially or otherwise prepared to move forward with the larger project, so at this time we need to simply show that we are using the land in some way. We can do that with out using much money. We have plans in the works to create a natural perimeter wall around the land with trees, some farming projects with the local village, and ideas for a soccer field. This work will be completed during a volunteer trip in August. Look forward to more details soon!

OUR HUGE THANKS

We are so grateful to each one of you for the support that you have given to us, and most importantly, to the children of Haiti. Remember, “There is unambiguous proof that education BEATS poverty.” (Global Campaign for Children’s Education) We are so grateful to have almost completed our 6th school year! Please continue to help us raise funds throughout this summer so that all of our children will be able to start school again next fall.

HOW TO DONATE

Send a check to Haitian Roots, 235 East 5600 South, Ogden, UT 84405
Or visit our website to make a donation through Paypal: http://www.haitianroots.com/donate.php

THANK YOU!!!

Sincerely,

The Haitian Roots Team

P.S. Stay tuned for some exciting news about Haitian Roots coming soon!

Click or copy and paste the link below to download the registration form:

http://www.haitianroots.com/hr_files/DiscGolfTournament.pdf

I was in a upbeat and happy mood, feeling very good about life.  A song
came on the radio that I like and I turned it up.  It is by Mumford and
Sons and is called “The Cave”.  Normally my kids and I like to rock out
to the upbeat accoustic chorus.  It is kind of a pounding song of hope
and I wore a smile until I actually listened again to the chorus.

I WILL HOLD ON HOPE
AND I WON’T LET YOU CHOKE
UPON THE NOOSE AROUND YOUR NECK

Suddenly a lump entered my throat and I felt a wave of humility wash
over me.  I suddenly thought again, as I do many times each day, about
our kids in Haiti.  They are supposed to be starting school in about 10
days.  We are still quite short on what we need to start all of them.
Without education these children are stuck in poverty, like a noose
around their necks, choking out opportunity and hope.  The words of that
song have continued to echo throughout my head all day until I finally
had to write it down and share it with you all.

We are so grateful to those of you who have sponsored children and
supported us in the past.  We’re so grateful to those of you who have
recently donated to help make sure these beautiful children start school
again this year.  And we are so grateful to those of you who will take
the time to write out a check or make a PayPal donation after reading
this message!

Our promise to the over 130 children in our program:
(WE) WILL HOLD ON HOPE
AND (WE) WON’T LET YOU CHOKE
UPON THE NOOSE AROUND YOUR NECK.

Thank you for helping us help them!

Isson just returned from spending nine days in Haiti and I want to send
you all a quick update.

Isson had a lot to do in Haiti, not the least of which was to hold
training with our coordinators and review each and every child on their
lists.  It was such a relief to me to have an update on each one of
these children to know exactly where they are and how they are doing in
preparation for sending them to school this fall.  A few of them have
relocated this summer for various reasons and we will have the website
updated in the coming week or will contact you if one happens to be a
child that you sponsor.

As most of you know, nine of our children became orphaned in the
earthquake of January 2010.  Because of the sensitive nature of
adoptions in Haiti right now, we have not posted much information about
the process, but we did want to let you know that through Isson’s hard
work as President of Haitian Roots and Chareyl’s hard work as a board
member for Haitian Roots and also Program Manager of Haiti for Wasatch
International Adoptions, all of these children are in the process of
being adopted.

Attached to this email is the photo of a beautiful little girl that we
are adding to the program in the place of one of the children who
relocated and will not be involved in the program this fall.  This is
Marie Claude.  If you would like to sponsor her, or know somebody who
might consider doing so, please contact us.  As a reminder, the
scholarship we provide for the children is $250 per year (or $22/month
through our auto-debit option).

Thank you so much!  We hope you are all doing well!  Many of you are
parents with children who have just started or are about to return to
school.  And many of you are teachers who have just returned to your
classrooms.  Thank you for believing in education!

Favorite education quote of the day:
“Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.”
Edward Everett (American Statesman 1794 -1865)

Sincerely,

Shannon Cox and the Haitian Roots Team

Marie Claudia

NATE & KAYLA ESPLIN

Nate and Kayla Esplin are from Idaho Falls, Idaho.  Nate is a radiation therapist at a cancer center, and Kayla is a school psychologist.  Nate has had a love for the Haitian people since he had the opportunity to spend 2 years among them in southern Florida, including learning to speak their language, Haitian Creole, fluently.  Both became involved with Haitian Roots following the devastating January 12th earthquake, and they feel very blessed to have spent time in Haiti with the Haitian Roots team, in particular spending time with and gaining a profound love for the children of Haiti.  They feel very excited  to be a part of such a special and noble cause and hope to continue to help Haitian Roots bring hope and opportunity to Haiti’s rising generation.

MARY AMELIA HILL

Mary Hill is a 25 year old registered nurse who grew up south of Seattle, WA. She currently works for a traveling nurse company and lives in Richmond, VA when she isn’t actively working a contract. She first began gaining interest with Haiti when she met Shannon Cox two years ago. After her first trip to Haiti in June of 2010, she knew it was a done deal; she’d never be the same. “It’s hard to explain, but as soon as we landed in Port au Prince, I felt at peace & at home.” Her subsequent visit in May of 2011 felt nothing like a visit, but rather felt as though she were returning to where she belonged.  As someone who places a high value on education for herself, it only make sense that she would support and have a desire to be part of an organization that shares her passion for encouraging independence and change through teaching and schooling. Mary is single and has no children of her own yet, but hopes to one day follow in the fabulous footsteps of so many other HR members and be able to adopt a beautiful Haitian child as well.

It has been awhile since we’ve sent out a newsletter and we have a lot of updating to do!

OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY

Two weeks ago Chareyl Moyes–one of the original and most influential members of Haitian Roots–lost her beloved son Sterling. We know that many of you have become supporters of Haitian Roots because you know and love Chareyl. We send to Chareyl and her entire family our deepest sympathy for her loss and our gratitude for her love and shining example. www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1208168&fh_id=13348

MAY 2011 HAITI TRIP

Just the day before the passing of Chareyl’s son, she wrote this beautiful letter:

“Dear Haitian Roots friends,

Sorry it took so long for me to sit down and write about Haitian Roots May trip to Haiti.

As many of you may already know things have been pretty tough in Haiti over the past year and a half since the devastating earth quake that rocked the island nation in January of 2010. After several Haitian Roots board/team members traveled to Haiti in 2010 and seeing the conditions in Haiti, especially in regards to our HR children and families, Haitian Roots made the decision to send a container to Haiti to help relieve some of the suffering of our HR children and their families. It has been a long journey to accomplish this goal and a great learning experience as well. Our recent trip was the final leg of our journey, distributing the items in the container. First let me say thank you to our team members Nancy Waterfall and Dan and Kristin Egan for all the work they did to get the container to Haiti. And a very special thanks goes to Ted Broman, who funded the shipping of the container!

Once we had everything set up at the church the Haitian Roots families were able to come, they shopped in the rooms for the items they needed for their families, the children got their pictures taken and wrote letters to their sponsors, and before they left they got a hot meal. There were squeals of joy as little girls held up their dolls or their brand new dresses. There were young boys dancing out of the church with a brand new soccer ball. But most of all, there was gratitude from parents for the opportunity their children have to go to school. Several parents would come up to me and say “Thank you so much” over and over again and then they would tell me how hard their child is working in school and to tell their sponsors thank you as well.

The container project was a wonderful learning experience for all of us at Haitian roots and we feel that down the road as we start building our children’s village the knowledge we gained will be very invaluable.  We are, however, very grateful to have that project completed and to refocus our energies towards raising the funds necessary to send our children to school this fall.  This is what Haitian Roots is all about.  We are grateful to have been able to have the experience of temporarily helping with the physical needs of our families but our focus and our goal remains the same:  to change the future of Haiti through educating her youth today.

Chareyl Moyes”

THANK YOU

Chareyl wrote a letter about her trip a couple of weeks ago but she told me last week, “I rewrote the letter because I felt strongly that I needed to focus on gratitude.” We truly are so grateful to each of you who has sacrificed to help us send 135 children to school. The writer George Colman once said, “Praise the bridge that carried you over.” You have all been a part of the bridge that has carried over these children so far. We offer you our most sincere gratitude.

Yours,

The Haitian Roots Team

Marking the 1 Year Anniversary of the Devastating Earthquake

Fundraising Activities include Quidditch Match, Winter Carnival, and Benefit Concert.  100% of proceeds raised will benefit Haitian Roots which provides educational opportunities for impoverished Haitian Children.

All events will be held at Davis High School located in Kaysville, Utah.

January 15^th:

• Muggle Quidditch Game (4:00-5:00 pm): Held in the Davis High School Main Gym.  The Davis High School Quidditch team will take on the Davis High School Faculty.  Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding broomsticks, using four balls and six elevated ring-shaped goals.  Cost is $5 per person, tickets at door.

January 22^nd:

• Winter Carnival (11:00 am-3:00 pm):

A family friendly event where children of all ages can participate in a variety of fun activities provided by Davis High School student organizations in the Davis High School Commons Area. Activities include fishing pond, mock news casting, dance off, sing off, relay, face painting, cakewalk, free family photo, popcorn, cotton candy, and much more!  Cost is $2 per person or $10 per family.

• Benefit Concert (7:00-8:30 pm):

Phaya who is originally from Haiti will be the opening act.  Regarding his music Phaya has said, “Where I come from in Haiti, life is hard.  But music is what keeps people going and puts a smile on their face.”

Headliner Benton Paul has a handful of national tours under his belt.  Benton is also working on his second album and next major moves. Benton is a favorite of the Jonas Brothers and David Archuleta, and has been rubbing shoulders with Jimmy Eat World, Vertical Horizon, and The Killers.

This event will take place in the Davis High School Auditorium. Autographs from performers will be available directly after the concert.  Music will also be available for purchase. Cost is $5 per person. Doors open at 6:00 pm. General Admission seating, arrive early for best seats.

About Haitian Roots:

Haiti has an unemployment rate of over 60 percent.  It has been estimated that 90 percent of the population lives on less than $100 a year.   With the cost of public schooling at about $250 per child each year, education is a luxury many children just cannot afford. Without access to even a basic education, Haiti’s children are trapped in a cycle of poverty that has plagued the country for generations.  We realize that one effective way to break this cycle is through education.  For $250 a year, we are able to send a child to their local school and provide proper school uniforms and books when needed.  At Haitian Roots, we believe the old Chinese proverb that says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

SOURCE Haitian Roots:  www.haitianroots.com

Dear Friends of Haitian Roots:

We would like to introduce you to a special project being done by Nancy Waterfall.  Nancy has been involved in humanitarian work all over the world long before she joined us.  We are so grateful to have her on our team!

One of the projects she started is called “Laps for Learning”.  This is her fifth year raising funds through her swimming efforts.   She invites people to participate in the project by donating what they are able in support of the project goal of raising funds for educational opportunities.  She has completed 26 miles for this year’s project.  She swims, individuals donate, and children through out the world have received help with education.

For the past four years, “Laps for Learning” has done a lot of good!  In Nepal, this project helped in the construction of two schools; furnished one school with carpet and school supplies; and provided books for a small children’s library.  In Kenya, Zambia, and Haiti, the project provided educational sponsorship for more than a dozen children, as well as computers and other school supplies.

This year, all donations from “Laps for Learning” will be given to Haitian Roots to support the 132 children we currently sponsor for school as well as the funding of our new school. 100% of the funds will be used for these purposes and donations are tax deductible.  Each donation truly does make a difference in the lives of impoverished but bright, capable children.

To participate in this project, you can email Nancy Waterfall at H2ofalls9@msn.com.  You can also make a donation via Paypal through our website (www.haitianroots.com), or you can mail a check to Haitian Roots at: 235 East 5600 South, Ogden, UT 84405.  In the memo line of the Paypal donation or the check, please indicate that the donation is part of “Laps for Learning”.

Thank you!

The Haitian Roots Team

Dear Friends of Haitian Roots,

We are so grateful to all of you who have been so supportive of Haiti—especially the outpouring of generosity after the earthquake.  At this time we are writing not to pester but simply to send a gentle reminder to those of you who have been intending to sponsor (or responsor) your child/ren but have been busy with other things.  Many of us are undergoing our own economic struggles at this time and the funds that we once had to help others may be gone.  Please know that we understand and are grateful for what you have done in the past and hope that things get better for you.  But we feel we’d be remiss if we didn’t keep you abreast of the situation in Haiti and the dire conditions that not only still exist but continue to worsen.

Just yesterday the Global Campaign for Education launched their report, ‘Back to School?’ of the worst places to be a school child in 2010.  Somalia and HAITI have topped their list.  One of the most powerful statements from the report is extremely simple:  “THERE IS UNAMBIGUOUS EVIDENCE THAT EDUCATION BEATS POVERTY”*. To read the whole report, click here:  http://www.campaignforeducation.org/docs/reports/1goal/1Goal%20School%20Report.pdf

Haitian Roots currently has two separate projects with separate funds designated to each.  The village/school project and our sponsorship program.  We currently have over 130 children enrolledin our original program.  In the past we have received not only sponsorships sent for specific children but also enough general donations to make sure that ALL of the children in our program were able to attend school.  This fall has been much more difficult.  We had received some news that the Haitian government might step in to subsidize the schooling of many children.  We hoped that would help lighten our load.  Regrettably, they are only helping the state-run schools.  These schools only account for 10-20% of the schools in Haiti. The children in our program have not been admitted to any of these state-run schools.  We received the following email yesterday from one of our dear coordinators, Harry Mardy:

“I’m hoping everybody is doing well. I would like to let you know what is the situation here in Haiti. After the shaking (the earthquake) the economic situation is getting worst for the people even if there are so many organisations in this country. I’m very worried for our kids in this program, I don’t know how they are going to go to school this year if you don’t supported them. Because the government will not give nothing to them. The govement will help only the people who is working in the public office but, not all the children in this country. I have been grow up in this country I had never receive nothing from the govement to help me to go to school. Every body is waiting what will you send for them to have their children to go to school. Please think about that and see what we should do for our kids.”

At the time of this email, many of the children in our program have not been responsored for this year.  There are also many children with out assigned sponsors who will not be able to go to school this year if we do not help them.

We are very excited about the building of our school and know that in the future we are going to be able to provide a much higher quality education to a greater number of children for much less money per child than we are spending now on the children in our sponsorship program.  Nevertheless, we have made a commitment to these children and we are making them a priority.

Thank you so much for your help and support.  If you have been intending to send the funds to responsor your child/ren, we would like to encourage you to do so as soon as possible.  If you know of anybody who has been considering sponsorship or might be interested in helping a child, please forward this information to them.  If you normally sponsor your child at a different time of year and if you have the means, would you possibly consider responsoring your child now?  If you would like a more detailed explanation of how it works when children are sponsored mid-year, we are happy to provide that.

If you are unable to responsor your child this year, please know that we understand the struggles that are happening in the economy in our own country.  We do have one special request and that is that you would email us to let us know if you will be unable to continue sponsorship so that we can update our website and have a realistic showing of which children are still in need of sponsors.

Thank you again for all that you do to help the beautiful children of Haiti have hope for the future.  We hope that your life is blessed from your generosity and efforts.

Sincerely,

The Haitian Roots Team

* “A life without education is a life half-lived.  When people cannot read or write, they do not have the skills and abilities that a good quality education offers, they are condemned to a life of poverty, ill-health and social exclusion.  This disadvantage gets handed down through generations.  The children of illiterate parents are more vulnerable to a range of serious threats and problems that can scar their lives forever.  And it is not only individuals who suffer- nations as a whole are affected: lack of quality education holds back economic growth and hampers democratic participation.  Indeed the impacts are even felt beyond borders.  Research shows that education deprivation contributes to conflict and population growth – and thus to environmental pressure and climate change – issues of pressing concern to the global community.

The other side of the story is that children who do go to school and learn are healthier, better-nourished, and live longer and more prosperous lives than those who are excluded.  When children attend school they become aware of their own potential in the world, and are equipped with the life skills necessary to make informed choices and live well in society.  Education also promotes tolerance and understanding between people – both individually and on a national level.  Ultimately this leads to greater political participation, stability and transparency, strengthened democratic systems and a reduction in corruption.  Across the world, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if all children left school with basic reading skills.”

Global Campaign for Education Report, Sept. 20, 2010