Vassar Haiti Project

When the news of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, first reached them Andrew and Lila Meade, founders and directors of the Vassar Haiti Project (VHP), were glued to news reports then they both quickly swung into action. They began to reach out to their Haitian contacts – artists mostly based in the area around the Haitian capitol Port-au-Prince– and the residents of the village of Chermaitre, which, for the past nine years, has been a primary beneficiary of previous VHP’s initiatives and relief efforts.

We have had some news from galleries we work with, but have yet to hear from the artists and artisans with which we work. The local Episcopal priest who helps oversee the Vassar Haiti Project’s work in Chermaitre was actually in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake struck. He was thankfully unharmed, but the Meades have not yet had word from Chermaitre, although indications are that the village is relatively unharmed. We have also heard that while they have felt aftershocks in Cap Haitian, our priest contact there and his family are okay.

The Meades were immediately joined in their plans for aid by a group of international students who are currently on campus during Winter Break. So while the Meades travel to California this weekend for the awarding of Andrew’s doctorate at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara (CA) , the students are planning a series of relief initiatives; these will include monetary donations as well as material goods.

Although fundraising for Haiti is a vital part of Vassar Haiti Project under normal circumstances, we are not a relief organization that is equipped to deal with the immediate emergency needs of this catastrophe. The next few weeks are critical to Haiti’s recovery and we suggest monetary donations to several excellent organizations already with a presence in Haiti. Among those that we would recommend are Partners in Health, founded by renowned doctor and anthropologist Paul Farmer and written about in Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains ( http://www.pih.org/home.html ).

We are planning to establish a fund that will help displaced artists, artisans and their families. Art sales and donations alike will feed this fund. We will be working with our partners in Haiti to determine a responsible and effective way in which to distribute these funds. You may contact us or visit our website if you would like to contribute.

Vassar Haiti Project members are currently involved in ongoing discussions about how we can best help artists and galleries that are most certainly gravely affected in Port-au-Prince. To see beautiful and inspiring Haitian art, and to assist us in these efforts, please join us at one of our previously scheduled upcoming art sales. On Sunday, January 31, from 9:00am to 6:00pm there will be a Haitian art show and sale in the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester (High School Chapel, 555 West Hartsdale Avenue, Hartsdale). The sale will feature 200 original Haitian paintings, unique gifts, silk scarves, jewelry, and iron sculpture . In addition, from Sunday, January 31, through Friday, February 26, there will be an exhibition at the Gertrude C. White Gallery in the YWCA of Greenwich, Connecticut (259 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut). On Friday, February 5, from 6:00 to 8:00pm, a reception will feature live performances by Vassar students, the viewing of a short documentary film about the project, plus a display of a wide variety of Haitian handicraft. If you are unable to attend our sale, we urge you to visit our website, where you can buy and purchase art. http://projects.vassar.edu/haiti/art/

We are also anticipating the ongoing needs of Haitians in the aftermath of this crisis, and to that end, will begin collecting needed medical, food, and clothing supplies at Vassar College. Project members are involved in discussions about how and when best to distribute the supplies. Vassar students, led by senior Anh Ngo, will be setting up boxes in dorms and buildings throughout the Vassar campus, for people to place dry goods. Clothing is also needed in addition to the medical supplies and dry food.

“The priority of our drive is to have first-aid and medical supplies,” noted Ngo. “Over-the-counter medicines, pain relievers, bandages, are all needed. In addition, dry food, particularly powdered milk would be helpful.”

“We are seeking clothes for adults and children, summer clothes, suitable for temperatures of 70 degrees plus,” noted fellow senior Mario Arthur-Bentil ’10. “Donations should be freshly laundered and wearable, we know that right now our Haitian friends need everything.”in addition to the medical supplies, dry goods, and clothes, Ngo and Arthur-Bentil also said that they hope that some tents will be donated as so many people have lost their homes. The public is welcome to drop off donations to the boxes in the Campus Center and Main Building, among other campus locations. Arnoff Moving and Storage has generously volunteered to donate packing supplies and assist in the storage and packing of donated goods.

The Vassar Haiti Project students will also begin “tabling” in Vassar’s College Center, on Wednesday, January 20, the first day of classes. Here the community will be able to purchase a Haitian handcraft, which in turn supports the Vassar Haiti Project relief initiative, or could also donate funds towards the relief effort. The students said that they plan to “table” through the end of January.

In this time of crisis, we are incredibly grateful to the extended family that is the members and supporters of VHP. “The tragedy that has struck Haiti is all-encompassing,” noted Lila Meade, “but I’ve been so moved by the out pouring of response we’ve had from people in the immediate community and throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond, the spirit of one caring for another, that it is truly inspiring.”