Vassar Haiti Project

     This was my second ever September Sale.

     As the main fundraiser for our primary school, It was especially near and dear to my heart. I felt that this September sale was much more coherent, and less stressful than my involvement last year. I put in 3x the hours, but it ended up being more of a stress relief rather than addition. I found myself coming to this sale, head swimming with assignments and “to-dos,” only to be welcomed by my VHP family and have those worries drift away, in favor of coming together for Haiti.

     This year was especially hard because Haiti was drastically hit by Hurricane Irma- especially the rural mountain village we work with. Chermaitre had a significant loss of life, farmland, and buildings. It was incredible to see all of our new and old students, community members, teachers, alumni, and all other project supporters come together for this sale to celebrate the people of Haiti, while forming solidarity in the wake of Hurricane Irma’s loss.

     This year was a great success and provided many opportunities, once again, to spread VHP’s mission of reframing Haiti in a lens of beauty and grace, rather than poverty and destruction. VHP strives to have the beautiful, kind, and dedicated nature of the Haitian people outshine the widespread negative view presented of Haiti through the popular media. This goal of education, as well as fundraising, is truly what September Sale accomplished this year- and I’m sure it will for years to come.