Vassar Haiti Project

Daniel Elendu ’19 and Sabrina Perry ’20 recount the experience of representing the Reforestation Team on the Haiti Trip: 

Being on the Reforestation Team for the March 2017 Haiti Trip allowed us connect with people and visualize our impact and through that, understand the project. Our first activity during the trip was a visit to Fondasyon Konesans Ak Libète–the Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty (FOKAL), an organization based in Haiti that engages with other international organizations and communities to improve the life of Haitian people. We met with one of the directors at FOKAL and discussed how VHP operates in the States and how we collaborate with the people of Chermaitre. We also spoke about how the grant will be directed towards our Reforestation Project and we also learnt about FOKAL and their mission.

We travelled to Chermaitre on our third day in Haiti and on the way there, we were treated to a beautiful landscape and view of the mountainous region despite the rigors of the hike up the mountains to the Primary School in Chermaitre. We had a meeting with the reforestation team the day after our hike and it was an informative meeting as we got to learn that over twelve thousand of fourteen thousand trees had survived after the storms experienced during the Hurricane Matthew period. This was a positive sign after we saw some areas where erosion had occurred. We also discussed the ways the grant would improve reforestation in the village and inform the villagers, farmers and children about the necessity of reforestation in a region like Chermaitre. The team is doing a good job and helping to shape the positive partnership which VHP has with Chermaitre.

(Flourishing crops in Chermaitre)

We went on a hike they day after and we surveyed various farm plots and some of the villagers who owned them. From our sights and interactions, we could see the hard work the people of Chermaitre put into the reforestation project by the amount of little trees that were growing and we could also feel the sense of joy from financial security the farmers and their families enjoyed. We also got ideas of what new crops these farmers could grow to improve their earnings at the market. Something else that was a new experience was testing the soils at various plots that held coffee, chadeque, cocoa, and a host of other crops.

The people of Chermaitre work hard and we are glad that they are yielding the fruit of their labor in the variety of crops and trees that are present. After meeting with the team, seeing farmers labor on their plots and just hearing positive experiences, we are thrilled that the partnership with Chermaitre is thriving and we know why. For us now, the next step is to continue to direct our efforts on building on what is on ground at Chermaitre, thinking of how the grants will be utilised and thinking of how to work with committed people to make an impact. As individuals, we appreciate the opportunity to learn and understand what we are part of and to meet with the strong and diligent people who we hold hands with the make the Vassar Haiti Project possible.

(A farm plot in Chermaitre)