Vassar Haiti Project

As most of you have started to realize at our farewell party, our lovely seniors are graduating and leaving Vassar Haiti Project for now. They have all been such a treasure for Vassar Haiti Project, and nothing would have gotten into place if it weren’t for their guidance. Many of them have spoken their thoughts at our farewell party but much much more are to be said, so some of them wrote a few mores for VHP to share with all members.

Even though they may leave VHP a while for now, they are still with us, either in spirit or actually working across the alumni network. Let’s see what they have to say about the four entire years most of them spent with VHP!

• Claire Frohman, Director of Water Initiatives

I’ll keep this short and sweet because looking back over my past four years with the Vassar Haiti Project, that is how the experience seems. I can hardly believe how time has flown, how the project has grown, and the constant influx of incredible individuals who seem to be magically all drown to this organization.
Being a part of this organization has been fundamental in the formation of the person I am today, and the experience I have shared with my fellow VHPers over the course of the past few years will remain forever in my heart.

I know they will be in my heart, and not elsewhere, because during my time abroad in Bologna, Italy my junior year I noticed a physical aching in my chest. It was a void that could not be filled by the beauty of my surroundings or all of the delicious pizza and gelato and strolls in the park that were a part of my daily existence.

What I finally realized I was missing was the incredible energy and love that emanantes from the Vassar Haiti Project both within the confines of the group and outward toward the rest of Vassar, the Poughkeepsie community, Haiti, and really teh world at large. The desire to share, to engage, to question, to change, to build, to assist, to relieve, and to love all bundled up into one body of individuals is not something easily found.

I have cherished my moments as part of this group and I hope that everyone who passes within its warm embrace will do so as well.

Lila and Andrew are gleaming angles who breathe life into hundreds of little shining stars whose glow and warmth play off of each other to create a light that helps brighten this world.

I give my deepest thanks to all who have been a part of this journey with me.

• Laura Livingston, VP for Merchandise

Dear Andrew, Lila, and VHP,

A lifetime could be spent thanking you for all the learning and love that I have received from VHP in the past four years. However, I will not test your patience, even though I know it to be infinite. A short list will have to pretend to suffice, so thank you for introducing me to Chermaitre and Haiti, for trusting me, for questioning me, and for being my Vassar family. I remember that my first VHP activity was stuffing envelopes to inform our mailing list followers about the 2008 hurricane. I was a shy freshman, and when this lady named Lila gave me a hug within ten seconds of being introduced to me, I thought she was crazy. It was a saintly and strategic move on her part because once Lila hugs you and tells you that she will see you at the next event you know that you will be attending that event.

VHP has been both a refuge and a portal for me. It has provided shelter from college-life stress and frustrations and an opportunity to contribute to projects that have such tangible and potential benefits for people in Chermaitre. VHP people have taught me to think practically and to imagine grandly. During every meeting and event I am awed by everyone’s dedication, deliberation, and compulsive enthusiasm. I have been incredibly fortunate to have known and learned from VHP members. This past year has been an adrenaline rush for VHP as we have moved forward on the initiatives, conducted art sales, and been stars of on campus events. Again, the responsibility and leadership that flow from VHP people is inspiring and astounding. I cannot wait to see what develops in VHP and Chermaitre over the next few years.

Love and cheers,

Laura

PS. Question of the year: If you were a Haitian handcraft or painting, what would you be?

PPS. I would be a blue rooster :)

Dip Patel ’14 is a highly dedicated member of Vassar Haiti Project and has taken on many initiatives during our largest sales. For the Cos Cob sale in Greenwich on April 25, the last Wednesday, he was a leading organizer. Here, he recounts his experience with the entire event.

The sale at the Cos Cob School which serves grades pre-kindergarten to 5 in the Greenwich School District of Connecticut was a rewarding experience not only for volunteers of the Vassar Haiti Project but also for the school children and teachers. It was a refreshing example of the outreach and community building that the VHP does. Personally, it was a great opportunity for me to go off-campus for a day and interact with a far younger audience than I am accustomed to. For a change, we were not telling adults about our project and efforts in Haiti but we were, in a sense, educating children about the type of community service we do. Not surprisingly, the young ones were very excited and “persuaded” their parents to buy Haitian handcrafts from the eight long tables we had set up (in an impressive time I must add).  We made out receipts using the names of the children and handed over their purchases to them as opposed to their parents who were happy to handle the payment portion of the transaction.
The reason we were invited to the school was because they were hosting a “Caribbean Night” to which we could contribute not only a fundraising element but some knowledge about the region. There were performances and various ‘tables’ including bake-sales, rock-painting, flag-making and of course, there were our VHP tables. We did not raise an impressive amount of money but we raised a lot of awareness and excitement about Haiti among a young population that we hope to have motivated and entertained. The beautiful smiles everywhere were an indication that the sale was a success.

Two week has passed since our Annual Artsale, but many of our volunteers are still looking back on it as they review their time with VHP. Here are some of their thoughts on the sale, from two of our dedicated volunteers.

Alex Ciucu ’12 (student in the middle of the picture below) is currently the Co-chair Intern on the VHP committee who came back from a year of studying abroad and started working with in her senior year. Here are her reflections:

The April Sale is one of the most demanding yet rewarding events that the VHP plans throughout the year. It is a wonderful occasion to engage with the Vassar community, since it takes place in the heart of the campus, and also because it coincides with parents’ weekend. Many volunteers take this sale as a chance to share the VHP with their families and loved ones, and Vassar students who are not usually involved with the VHP can also experience how our organization works first-hand. It is however, a very demanding event, as it spreads over three days, it includes an auction, and because we rely on our April Sale to provide the funds necessary for the year-long functioning of the Education Initiative in Chermaître. It is through the efforts of our many volunteers and thanks to the incredibly generous support of our community that we are still able to pay teachers’ salaries and provide a daily warm lunch to the children enrolled in our school.

This event is usually my favorite event that the Vassar Haiti Project organizes, but it held an even stronger meaning for me this year, after I returned from our trip to Haiti. Throughout our stay in Chermaître, I engaged in conversations with the teachers, and I was deeply moved by their desire to provide the best education possible to their students. They were very open and welcoming, and they shared their ideas about how to improve the school. Every time the VHP visits Chermaître, we realize that there are many more things that can be done in the village, and we rely on the expertise of our partners in Chermaître to guide us. The teachers are an excellent source of information, because they know the community quite well, and because their close relationship with the children ensures that they are always aware of the most stringent needs of the families. Among some of the issues we discussed with them were how to improve the children’s nutrition, and also how to encourage the continuing education of teachers.

We have succeeded in providing a basic education to many children in Chermaître, and for that we are incredibly grateful to our patrons. However, the education initiative does not end with the construction of the school building, but continues for many years to come. During our stay in Chermaître, the structure that served as the kindergarten collapsed, and we now have to think about how we can build a new, safe building for our youngest classes, which are also the most numerous. We need to keep thinking about how to ensure that the children are healthy, as well as educated, and for that we need to take a closer look at their nutrition. We need to make sure that the teachers have the best resources available, so that they are able to do their jobs to the highest standard possible.

The funds that we raised at the April Sale go towards such projects, and it is worth remembering that even the smallest support goes a very long way in Chermaître. Thank you to everyone who came and to all the volunteers that gave so many of their hours to this event. It was great getting to meet you all!

Manny Singh ’15 is currently a freshman who just joined VHP this semester. This is his first VHP sale to be volunteering at! Here are his reflections on this new experience.

I joined the Vassar Haiti Project earlier this semester and in my entire time here, I only can come up with one regret: not having joined earlier. Last week, we had our incredible April Art Sale and I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything quite like this.

From basically living in the CCMPR for a week, the transformation of the walls from being basically bare to full of vibrant Haitian art was astonishing. When I first signed up to bring down the art from the storage rooms, I had no idea just how much could be stored in two small rooms. After that, just arranging all of the art cohesively and in an organized way seemed to be an inconceivable task. But the part that makes the Vassar Haiti Project particularly special, is how working together made any sort of seemingly insurmountable task one hundred and fifty percent possible. People took charge, brought fantastic ideas to the table and all of this passion (from current students, alums, community members, volunteers and everyone else) fueled a sensational sale.

During the auction on Saturday, I was a runner and while I was holding the art, it really struck me how different this whole organization is. By using art to not only help Haitians, people get a great chance to appreciate and learn about a remarkable culture. If I could, I would’ve bought most of the art myself (just throwing it out there, the blue roosters were particularly fantastic). This was my first sale with VHP and I can absolutely say this won’t be last!

Below, VHP co-founders Lila and Andrew Meade recap our 11th annual art sale and auction:

The Parent’s weekend sale was a fantastic event from EVERY perspective that one can possibly think: we would like to say THANK YOU to every participant who made this an unforgettable sale. At times there were up to 20 volunteers at a time in the room! We would also like to say thank you to all the alums who came back to help: Claudia Sanchez, Samin Shehab, Emily Strasser, Tian An Wong, Kristen Meade, Debbie Pham, guest alums Katie Interlichia and Jerry Giloigan, who bought their first Haitian ptg. ever, and Livia Dinu!….It felt like home having you all with us.

We made enough money to insure another year of education at our school in Chermaitre. The amount that we raised means one meal a day for students, a year of teacher salaries, uniforms and books for the students in the school. Our recent trip to Haiti gave way to many more very important initiatives which now have to be implemented.

Given our team, and our generous customers, everything is possible….ti pa, ti pa (little by little)… WE have so much more to do!

The level of ownership of duties was unsurpassed this year. The passion that we received from our audiences are gorgeous. We are so proud and grateful to you for all you do, for your great ideas and for your energy and passion that keeps us all A L I V E!!!

Please take a moment to really take in what we all accomplished collectively–our members, volunteers, visiting alums, generous buyers, kind donators…

It wouldn’t have looked the same if any pieces of the part was missing.

Volunteer Cindy Fung ’14 presenting her view on her trip to visit the village that we supported in Haiti

During the auction, all VHP volunteers raising their hands to show the efforts they put in.

During the auction, a piece is presented to all the audience

The beautiful room decorated by Haitian art and crafts.

Some additional thoughts on the sale and auction, from Alex Ciucu ’12:

The April Sale is one of the most demanding yet rewarding events that the VHP plans throughout the year. It is a wonderful occasion to engage with the Vassar community, since it takes place in the heart of the campus, and also because it coincides with parents’ weekend. Many volunteers take this sale as a chance to share the VHP with their families and loved ones, and Vassar students who are not usually involved with the VHP can also experience how our organization works first-hand. It is however, a very demanding event, as it spreads over three days, it includes an auction, and because we rely on our April Sale to provide the funds necessary for the year-long functioning of the Education Initiative in Chermaître. It is through the efforts of our many volunteers and thanks to the incredibly generous support of our community that we are still able to pay teachers’ salaries and provide a daily warm lunch to the children enrolled in our school.

This event is usually my favorite event that the Vassar Haiti Project organizes, but it held an even stronger meaning for me this year, after I returned from our trip to Haiti. Throughout our stay in Chermaître, I engaged in conversations with the teachers, and I was deeply moved by their desire to provide the best education possible to their students. They were very open and welcoming, and they shared their ideas about how to improve the school. Every time the VHP visits Chermaître, we realize that there are many more things that can be done in the village, and we rely on the expertise of our partners in Chermaître to guide us. The teachers are an excellent source of information, because they know the community quite well, and because their close relationship with the children ensures that they are always aware of the most stringent needs of the families. Among some of the issues we discussed with them were how to improve the children’s nutrition, and also how to encourage the continuing education of teachers.

We have succeeded in providing a basic education to many children in Chermaître, and for that we are incredibly grateful to our patrons. However, the education initiative does not end with the construction of the school building, but continues for many years to come. During our stay in Chermaître, the structure that served as the kindergarten collapsed, and we now have to think about how we can build a new, safe building for our youngest classes, which are also the most numerous. We need to keep thinking about how to ensure that the children are healthy, as well as educated, and for that we need to take a closer look at their nutrition. We need to make sure that the teachers have the best resources available, so that they are able to do their jobs to the highest standard possible.

The funds that we raised at the April Sale go towards such projects, and it is worth remembering that even the smallest support goes a very long way in Chermaître. Thank you to everyone who came and to all the volunteers that gave so many of their hours to this event. It was great getting to meet you all!

[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157629721018275″]

Click here to read about VHP in Vassar’s student newspaper, The Miscellany News!

Cindy Fung '14 working with students in VHP's school in Chermaitre, during the March 2012 Haiti Trip

Cindy Fung ’14, co-vice president for programming, was one of fourteen VHP members who went to Haiti over spring break. Below, she explains an unexpected lesson the trip offered her. Cindy will present this reflection as part of an opening speech in a VHP meeting with the Poughkeepsie-Arlington Rotary Club tomorrow morning.

Our four days in Chermaitre were productive and intense, gratifying and frustrating. One of the most unforgettable parts of our visit was the census. We went to 9 families in one morning – a little less than I’d hoped, but then again I hadn’t considered how spread out the houses in the village were. We asked many questions about their daily lives, such as what kind of food they ate, if they planted anything to sell or eat, where they got their water from, and where they would go if they were sick. I was a note-taker, so I processed all the answers into tidy, bullet-pointed lists. But what I saw and felt was far beyond what these lists could possibly express.

One of the homes we visited housed a 10-person family. There were 8 children living with their 70-year-old grandfather and 66-year-old grandmother. Throughout the visit I’d felt really uncomfortable because I was standing directly under the midday sun. There was no shade at all around the house (which was, incidentally, badly damaged from strong winds). The place felt like a furnace, and the thought of going back into the shade, or returning to a sheltered room back in the school was very enticing. The grandmother spoke very quietly, and our translators had to ask her to repeat her answers a few times. It was through this soft voice that we found out how desperate a state her family was in. “Everything we plant dies,” she said faintly, “because of the sun.” When I heard that, I was immediately struck by my own absurdity. There I was, standing in the sun for 10 minutes and already thinking about leaving. The sun had maybe only made me sweat a little more in those 10 minutes, but this family had to live with it. And to live with it means that every day their peanuts struggle to grow, every day they wonder if they would eat once or twice, and every day, the children adapt little by little, so that hunger would stop getting into their way of studying or having fun. I was ashamed of myself.

Some think that Chermaitre is like a piece of paradise. I beg to differ. Living the simple village life may be a wonderful escape for us. But the truth is, we can always leave – the people of Chermaitre cannot. We leave, just as I eventually left the soft-spoken grandmother, but every day people go on living their four-hour hikes to the market, their one meal per day, their unclean water, and their risks of cholera and malnutrition. Chermaitre is only paradise to us because we can leave it.

Our visit there made me see how incredibly important it is for us to continue our work in Haiti. I am going to keep giving back to Chermaitre because I know how frustrating it is to see 11.4% of the school children malnourished and not be able to do anything immediately helpful. I know how heartbreaking it is to learn that a child has to walk for 2 hours in half-fallen apart shoes to get to school. I know how helpless it feels to see a little girl use a piece of string she’s picked off the ground to tie a pen to her skirt so she wouldn’t lose it.

But I also remember how encouraging it is to find out that the school faucet has greatly reduced the time and distance that many families have to walk to get water. I know how motivating it feels to realize that the villagers’ goals and ours are aligned, and we are all determined to bring clean water to Chermaitre.

Vassar Haiti Project is an all-volunteer collaboration effort. Some people may doubt our ability – we are just college-age volunteers after all; what could we possibly do? Not much, when put into context of the entire country. But for us, right now, the big picture is Chermaitre, and our cooperation with the people there is more important than ever before. In these 11 years VHP has built a 7-room primary school, planted 8,000 trees, and begun the construction of a medical clinic in nearby Fierville. We have installed an effective and popular water access system. These projects have made a great impact on Chermaitre, and as we grow as an organization, it is our priority to continue expanding these initiatives and improving the lives of the people.

Click here for more photos and information (from Robyn Yzelman ’15) on how VHP’s Vassar After School Tutoring program is progressing!

The Vassar Haiti Project is proud to announce its 11th annual Haitian Art Exhibition, Auction and Sale!

Stop by the College Center MPR this weekend, see Haitian paintings and handicrafts for sale, and find out more about our (new) initiative donation opportunities.

This is VHP’s biggest campus event of the year– come join us!

Sale
Friday, March 30 12 – 8 pm
Opening Reception, 5 pm
Saturday, March 31 10 – 4 pm
Sunday, April 1 10 – 2 pm

Live Auction

Saturday, March 31
Registration: 2 – 4 pm
Auction: 4 – 6 pm

For more information, click here.

After three drives, two flights, and some wonderful sleep, we’re back at Andrew and Lila’s house.  Our pajama-clad troop is now eating Andrew’s buttermilk pancakes, and we’re back to work naming paintings. The last part of our trip was very eventful, with us spending a few days in Cap Haitien, and even squeezing in a short visit to the Dominican Republic. We all learned many things from our time in Chermaitre, and we spent our last days in Haiti trying to put our new knowledge and experience in a larger context. As you can tell from our photo, we spent our last days in the Cap at the art market, where we were able to meet with many of our artist friends.  In two days at the market we bought over eighty new paintings for our Vassar Sale in under two weeks!

Thanks so much to all our friends and family for supporting us through this trip.  You were always with us, and without your encouragement this wonderful trip would not have been possible.

If you can’t wait to see our new merchandise, we will be having a STRETCHING PARTY this Saturday from 1-5pm in the Main 3rd Floor Common Room.  Come join us for food, paintings, and lots of stories!

VHP members have been busy in Chermaitre! Below, VHP Co-president Fiona Koch ’12 details their most recent work, from meeting with village leaders, teachers, and focus groups, to running a clinic in Fierville.

The gang is back in a warm and windy Cap Haitien after spending five intense and overall very successful five days/nights in the rural inlands. We arrived in Chermaitre at 2pm(ish) on Wednesday, with Caitlyn arriving on site first. This gave us plenty of time to settle in and speak to the teachers and director of the school, after which we were led on a hike to the main water cistern and reforestation sites nearby. It was a beautiful evening, with stunning views of the tropical forest around Chermaitre, and we were very excited to see the source of our water purification initiative, as well as some of the mango, orange, avocado and breadfruit seedlings that were planted recently.

On Thursday morning, Andrew, Lila and Caryn led a prep meeting, after which we split into teams to do the health measurements of over 230 children in the school, recording height, weight and overall health (to be compared with the data we have from previous years). David, Caitlyn and Pierre (our superstar med student contact and translator, who joined us from Port-au-Prince) looked for signs of malnutrition and skin infections in the children. Sahara, Tamsin and I led small focus groups with some of the girls, in which we created a comfortable space to have a dialogue about health and education. The same evening, we attended an Episcopalian mass led by Pere Quatorze – which ended just in time before a massive rainstorm hit, and we had to take shelter inside. Part of the church wall fell down, which caused some havoc, but luckily no one was injured, and we even managed to rearrange our tents so that the leaks in the school roof did not bother anyone at night!

On Friday morning, we had a very successful 2-hour meeting with all of the school teachers, followed by a focus group meeting with 36 women to learn about their financial situations at home, and we brought up the need for a womens’ center. At the same time, another team gathered data on soil and water testing in the mountains. Laura, Cindy and Charlotte led this expedition, while Francis played soccer with the boys, and taught some of the younger kids to sing and count to ten in Swahili! (and I swear this song will be stuck in everybody’s heads FOREVER MORE). In the evening, we had another 2-hour meeting, this time with the village municipal leaders, during which we addressed reforestation and water, in order to better understand how to prioritize the funding for different aspects of the initiatives. We covered a lot of questions in all three meetings; the overall feeling was one of trust, respect and progress in dialogue, and we are contemplating a lot of new budding initiatives based on these discussions.

The gang split up on Saturday, with one team heading down the mountain at 6:30am to run the day-long clinic in Fierville, while the rest stayed back to do a small census survey of some of the households in Chermaitre. I was in the latter group, and helped translate from English to French to Creole with the help of the school director, as we visited 9 homes in two hours to gather important data about the daily lives of people in the area. We saw a wide range of wealth in this small sample. After the census, we packed up and headed back down the mountain to pick up the medical team, eventually driving back to Gros Morne for dinner and well-deserved showers at the rustic “Hotel” Georges. Our final days (Sun-Wed) will be spent back at Pere Noe’s house in the Cap, with trips to local sites and art markets.

We accomplished a lot in the short time we spent in Chermaitre. Having been on the trip in 2010, I am very pleased with the progress we made in communicating with the people who benefit from our education, water, medical and reforestation initiatives. In past years, we focused mainly on education and the children, but during this trip we were able to include the adults and leaders in the community, which is crucial to establishing a sustainable relationship. I was particularly moved by the dialogue we had with the women, during which many of them shared stories of personal loss and the hardships of subsistence farming. While some of these dialogues were intense, they were also very hopeful, and I am excited by the possibility of providing health care and business models specifically targeted to the women, based on our discussions.

Apart from a few head colds (brought on by the storms in Chermaitre, no doubt) and some minor allergic reactions, we are all healthy. It feels good to be back in the Cap with more time to process and discuss the ideas that developed in the past week. I don’t think any of us will be ready to leave Haiti this Wednesday… but we are excited to share our experiences with everyone when we return home!

N’ap boule. See you all soon.