The Second Annual Health for Haiti Bowling Tournament is coming up on December 10th and we are in need of more bowling teams to join us for a fun afternoon of bowling, pizza, wings and some great raffles. All of the proceeds from our event will support the January 2017 class projects Haiti. The bowling event will be at Midway Lanes in Vestal on Saturday, December 10th at 12:30 pm. The cost is $25 per person and you can still register if you contact Professor Diane Kelly (kellydm@sunybroome.edu) before Thursday, December 1st. Please consider coming to support the great projects that our 2017 Health for Haiti students hope to complete in January. We will work together to offer medical clinics, health education, a workshop for women and girls, clean water, construction of solar ovens, computer literacy, teacher training, development of local agriculture, and art and music education.
Now for some updates from Grande Saline. The Water and Power Committee that was elected by the community in Grande Saline has completed their first project. They designed a case to support and protect the water system taps and put some concrete down under the taps so that the area does not get so muddy. This was a great example of a project conceived and implemented by the community and completed in partnership with Health for Haiti.
All of the rice has been harvested from the community garden and is now stored for student lunches! Our land lease is up soon and we are working to develop a plan to renew the lease or identify a new site for the community garden.
School is in session and computer classes are now taught as part of the school curriculum in Grande Saline.
On November 8, the entire community celebrated the Battle of Vertières. The Battle of Vertières was the last major battle of war of Haitian independence and marks the final part of the Haitian revolution under General Jean Jacques Dessalines. This is a very special day in Haiti and the students celebrated with a parade and some treats.
The school children also recently received some text books and are enjoying using them to learn history and geography.
The “Helping Children” School Scholarship program is also moving forward. There are several children who are now able to attend school as part of the new partnership between Health for Haiti and the school in Grande Saline. This program benefits both the school and the local children. The scholarship program was recently expanded to assist three older children to attend secondary school outside of the local community.
We look forward to seeing our friends in Haiti in January and we are excited to work with the wonderful students and non-students who will be joining us this year. As always, thank you for your support and we hope to see you on December 10th! We also invite you to join us for the Espere: Health and Hope in Haiti photo exhibit at the SUNY Broome Gallery from now until December 8th. There will be a reception on Friday, December 2 from 3pm to 5pm in the Gallery and all are welcome to attend. Thank you!
SUNY Broome Health for Haiti 