This year, a GHA team left for Haïti in October to follow and help developing the engaged projects. During the last trip, the Marouge orphanage (Central plateau) was under construction. Today, the site is operational and 6 orphan children, from 8 to 13 years old, are living in it.
Girls and boys are sleeping in separate bedrooms and have a respective bathroom and sanitary arrangements. The water, for those facilities, comes from the rain water reservoir.
Due to the great demand, both schools, Marouge and Domond, have been enlarged. It is now, all together, 228 pupils attending the classes, from nursery school to the end of the primary school (9 classes).
12 teachers and 1 director ensure the classes and the good running order of the schools.
In Domond, a piece of land has been bought to build a pedagogic complex, just like the one in Marouge (school, agriculture). As for now, the children are studying under coarse-canvas covers.
The schools receive very poor children coming from the zone area. Most of them arrive with an empty belly. A food project has been organized, so that each child can receive a portion of cereals-leguminous vegetables (rice-peas, corn-beans….) every school day. Suitable material has been bought to ensure this project.
An extension has been built.
To develop their autonomy, the food project is being carried out together with agricultural classes, so that the children can become self responsible.
Eventually, the main purpose of the project would be to use for the canteen as many fruit as possible coming from the orchard. Every school day, a small group of children takes turn to take care of the plants and get the crops in.
Seeds have been provided by some people close to the Kokopelli Association. The aim is to gather the plant seeds, once they are ready, so that they can be used for the next production.
Beyond Mirebalais, we provided financial help to buy scholar books for the Espoir de Peligre School.
Punctually, in Port-au-Prince, the Children Foundation of Haïti orphanage is being supported since the earthquake.
In Croix-des-Bouquets (just outside Port-au-Prince) help has been provided for the project of a young minister, who is creating a free school, an orphanage, as well as a vegetable garden open to the community. Some years ago, the place was widely visited by criminals. Now, families are starting to settle down in the area and to live there.
On the Central plateau, 5 very poor families received help to build a new house. To reduce the expenses, they will use clay to erect the walls, either with adobe bricks, or with stones.
GHA provides with wooden poles, and is taking part in the setting of the foundations and the roof.
For one year, a big space of watered land has been rented to a large family, so that they can produce their own fruit and vegetables and even sell the excess for a living. The aim is to see them paying the rent by themselves for the next year.
