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Newsletter March, 2022
It is always a pleasure for HCDF to seize every opportunity to assist and support Haiti, particularly Fond-des-Blancs and its surrounding region.
Due to a recorded earthquake, the end of January was somewhat disrupted.
The first earthquake struck Haiti at 8:16 a.m. on Monday, January 24, 2022, with a magnitude of 5.3 and an aftershock nearly an hour later with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale.
The operation of our businesses has been temporarily hampered by this situation, but no material damage or injuries have been reported. Even though none of our buildings were damaged in the 2010 earthquake, we have made it a priority to have all our structures built to seismic standards. We thrive to embody integrity, compassion, honesty, and trust in all our actions and decisions. We believe that every day brings with it a strong sense of hope and optimism for the future. Our goal, dream and passion is to see Haiti rise, everything we do is to empower the people of Fond des Blancs, Haiti and assist them in breaking cycle of generational poverty that engulfs much of Haiti. In February our work has continued.
The primary school's teachers' dormitory is nearly finished. The only thing left to do is paint. The secondary school library has been completed, and new offices have been installed.
The sowing of black beans, corn, and the production of vegetable crops continues apace at Jubilee Farm. More community members have joined the farming cooperative and have provided more land for us to cultivate.
We continue to work actively on the university project with all the obligations that this imposes. Such as: coordinated with the state for licensing, the construction of other classrooms, dormitories, and a computer room.
We are still working hard to achieve our goal of establishing a university in Fond des Blancs for the benefit of the community and the surrounding areas. We are planning to start building new classrooms in the coming months, and we are always thinking about how to provide the best education possible to every student.
Education
Any society's emergence and desired changes necessitate education. If we truly want a better future, we must contribute to the development of our society by promoting the education and instruction of its students. The magnitude 5.3 earthquake we experienced last month, combined with the ongoing political instability, has created a very concerning situation in the Nippes, West, and the South departments of Haiti, to the point where several schools and other institutions have been closed for weeks. This is a reality in Fond-des-Blancs. Our schools did experience some difficulties because of the numerous tremors, but the calm has quickly returned.
The reading contest and inter-class football championships kicked off this month. The writing competition based on the role and connectedness of family and school education in the development of the human being is still ongoing. The grand finals are scheduled for Labor and Agriculture Day on May 1, 2022 and the Haitian Flag Festival on May 18. In the primary school, several activities continue to take place as usual: poetry and soccer competitions. They will allow us to discover and showcase the talents of our children.
Regarding Covid 19, thanks to the commitment and vigilance of all members of our institutions, we have not experienced any cases of COVID-19 so far. We have updated the policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety of all, while mitigating the impact of the pandemic and continuing to cultivate a rich and meaningful educational experience for all students.
University project
It is impossible to overstate the importance of establishing a university in the region. For the community and region, it will be a significant step forward. Port au Prince is the country's central hub, and with the country's instability, it's never been more critical to decentralize and create opportunities in other areas.
It's important to remember that most of the students come from low-income areas and disadvantaged communities. To pursue furthering their education some students are forced to leave their hometowns to settle in the capital. This still requires a great economic effort on the part of parents to provide them with housing, food, travel among others. Current universities provide no cafeteria in the faculties, no dormitory, no means to meet the student’s base needs. To overcome this problem, HCDF continues to study and analyze the feasibility of this project which consists first of all in working on a wide variety of programs and disciplines that will allow our students to find dynamic, creative, engaging and pragmatic paths of discovery according to an international standard. These programs prepare students to learn throughout their lives and become productive citizens at school, in the workforce and in their communities. In addition, we opt for the layout of some classrooms that meet university pedagogical standards and a computer room to give students the opportunity to do research and some professors to teach distance learning.
Jubilee Farm
We at Jubilee Farm are working hard to create the conditions that will allow us to increase our production, and we appreciate your continued support, which has allowed us to purchase cutting-edge agricultural equipment. They make a significant contribution to increased productivity. We can cultivate very large plots of land thanks to these machines.
In order to reduce the risk of food loss, three (3) areas requiring drainage are identified and that operations to bypass the rainwater that persists there will soon begin. A bridge will also be installed to ensure the junction of several production areas. The bean yield projection is 98.7 metric tons and the corn yield projection is 6 tons for this season. The harvest is scheduled from March 30, 2022 to April 15, 2022.
Furthermore, a variety of complementary species (tomato, cabbage, carrots, pepper, beetroot, bananas, to name a few) were mostly transplanted the previous month and are ready to supply local markets, increasing the efficiency and economic and environmental value of Fond-des-Blancs. Seedlings of endangered citrus trees, for example, are available and can be purchased at a low cost by locals.
May the God of justice, reconciliation and love, challenge you, protect you and guide you for all you days.
Wilner Bernadel
Communication Director
619-395-4982