Vassar Haiti Project

More news from VHP members in Haiti. Remember to check back for regular updates on their trip.

We’ve had quite a journey these past few days in Cap Haitien and Gros Morne. In the Cap, we had the opportunity to meet Pere Noe, an amazing man who does great work for Haiti. He has built a school where students learn French, English, and Creole grammar– seeing the school was uplifting. All of the students were so excited that we were there, smiling and waving whenever we passed by. I don’t speak French, but I was able to manage on my limited Creole. It was a beautiful feeling to see students so energized and excited. Pere Noe’s school is flourishing and is such an incredible role model for all of the work we intend to do in Chermaitre.

After visiting the school, we split into groups, half going to the art market and half going to pick up medication from the Cap Haitien Health Network. I went to the art market. I expected a market where you wandered through stalls and eager vendors tried to push you to buy things, but I’ve learned that in Haiti you should throw every expectation out the window. The market consisted of individual stalls where the artists were working and selling their own pieces. When we entered the market, all of these artists approached us because they remembered Lila and Caryn. I am so glad that VHP has built a relationship with these artists and I can’t wait to go back there to spend more time and buy more art!

The ride to Gros Morne the next day was very hot, crowded, and bumpy. I have never been on such bad roads in my life! It was tiring, but once we arrived in Gros Morne we hit the ground running and starting meeting with various contacts. I have been working on reforestation and was able to meet these two nuns who have done work in the area. After a while, it was clear that they actually were not the right contacts however they had incredible information about water, new cooking stoves, pigs, and just education about the environment in general. I think they are going to be an amazing resource for VHP and I am excited to work with them in the future. After seeing the nuns, we stopped by the hospital and took a look around. David was hoping to talk to the administration to get help with our clinic, but I believe that is going to wait until after the journey to Chermaitre.

Now, this morning we are preparing to head to Chermaitre. After a good night’s sleep (in my lovely bug tent!) and a shower (in a stream of cold water- best moment of my life), I am so refreshed and energized to finally see the village that all of our efforts have gone to support. It is going to be fantastic!

Here are a few thoughts from some of our members:

Alex:  So excited to go up the mountain and finally meet the people of Chermaitre!

 Francis: I feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel good, ta na na na na. Smiles all around, it’s as if I’m back home.

Caitlyn: I am so thrilled to be here in Haiti and I am dancing in my hiking boots to get up this mountain and finally be back in Chermaitre. It is truly THE best place in the world and I can’t wait to get there. I feel blessed to be a part of this group.

Charlotte: I’m really excited to finally be in Chermaitre in a bit, and although Francis is joking that I won’t be able to make it up there, I will persevere.

Cindy : We are finally heading up to Chermaitre today and our entire group is full of energy! We’d also like to welcome Peter – David’s friend from the hospital in Port-au-Prince. He will be coming with us and we are so excited to have him in our trip!

Tamsin: We’re all in good spirits and feeling ready to head up to Chermaitre! I can’t wait to finally meet the students and teachers at the Chermaitre school J

Caryn:  We have had some great meetings thus far and look forward to seeing the progress the village has made with all our initiatives.  I am thrilled to be part of such a great and energetic group and look forward to getting up that mountain and being in Chermaitre.

 Fiona:  Brilliant to be here, absolutely loving it. Saw some of the most beautiful landscapes on our drive to Gros Morne (drove through 4 rivers). We had a warm welcome and a delicious breakfast from Pere Quatorze and his wife Fifi J Everyone is being an absolute trooper and having the best time getting to know each other. I’ve missed Haiti and it’s just so great to be back.

Sahara: I’m feeling great, super excited about going up to Chermaitre today! We had a great meeting with Pere Noe about education so I’m really looking forward to seeing our school! Everyone’s energy in the group is amazing and is keeping my spirits high!

 Laura: It’s time to head up the mountain! I’ve had a fantastic time in Haiti so far. We just had an informative and awesome meeting with Rochny, who has been overseeing the reforestation initiative.

Fourteen VHP members are officially en route to Haiti, where they’ll assess and advance our projects in Chermaitre. We’re sending them our love and best wishes from home. Read their first dispatch below (and don’t forget to check back over the next two weeks to hear more):

On Saturday March 3rd, our group of 14 Haiti trippers packed into Lila and Andrew Meade’s home for what is fondly termed among VHP veterans as “The Infamous Pack Day.” We spent the day packing (and re-packing!) medical supplies and school supplies for Haiti, as well as our personal luggage, trying as best as we could to do things systematically and patiently.

The day was a flurry of activity and included frequent excited squeals – often indicating that somebody had just forgotten to pack something, or that somebody had just been hit by a wave of realization that we were actually going to Haiti after months of preparation and fundraising!

It was just past 11pm when we finally finished packing. Many of us were more or less near the point of hysteria, grateful for a few hours of sleep. We couldn’t have done it without each other, and the support of the friends and family who stuck around that day to assist the packing.

By 3:30 the next morning, we piled into a van to JFK Airport, ready to begin the journey. Our first flight was from JFK to Providenciales of the Turks and Caicos Islands. We were able to get some much-needed rest and recuperation in Providenciales after “The Infamous Pack Day” and the hectic months of planning.

As we type this, we are all winding down both emotionally and physically, and recharging ourselves before we fly off to Cap Haitien, Haiti tomorrow morning. So far, with the exception of a few minor hitches, everything has been smooth-sailing, and we feel as pumped and prepared as ever to begin the next leg of our journey.

We are all so proud to be here representing the Vassar Haiti Project and all our fellow volunteers, and to be channelling the energy of our donators and supporters.

More to come! With love,
Tamsin, Laura, Alex, Lila, Andrew, Caryn, Francis, David, Sahara, Sarah, Cindy, Charlotte, Fiona, and Caitlyn

Twice a week, students at Poughkeepsie Middle School learn about Haitian culture and language from VHP members.

VHP members have been making regular trips to Poughkeepsie Middle School to teach students about Haitian culture and Creole. Robyn Yzelman ’15, one of the VAST Haiti Project members, talks about their program and progress on the VAST blog and below.

Some VHP members in the Outreach Committee have been going to the middle school for the Vassar After School Tutoring (VAST) programme to conduct a VAST Haiti Project. Our goal is to explore Haitian culture with the scholars and involve the Poughkeepsie community in what we do. The scholars are very interested in all aspects of Haitian life, from Creole, art, songs, and even cooking. Look out for more posts on VAST outreach!

Livia Dinu '10 on the VHP Haiti trip, March 2010

With VHP members gearing up for their trip to Haiti in just one week, VHP alumna Livia Dinu ’10 looks back on her own experience of the Haiti trip and supports current members before their depart.
In March, 2010 I visited Haiti with VHP. The trip had a tremendous impact on students and the project. It gave the sort of traction to the Vassar Haiti Project that I had not experienced up to that point. The trip made the connection stronger between the people here and our partners in Haiti, helped us understand their needs, and it has developed in the students the ability to lead with the kind of passion and strength I have rarely, if ever, encountered before.

Now, the VHP has applied for NGO status and its partnerships are vast and growing, and the student body is more motivated than ever. And what I can tell you, given my experience with it and the way I have seen it growing, is that every added effort here, in the U.S., translates into so much more in Haiti. See for yourselves, yet do not expect to find a big, average, non-transparent and likely inefficient non-profit of the sort we’re so used to seeing nowadays.
I donated to support the trip and its students, and I encourage you to click here and do the same.

For me, it is a way of giving back to the project, helping it create for others the same kind of extraordinary educational experience in Haiti that it has created for myself – at a time when it was hard to afford the trip on my own.

Delicious home-cooked food, fine entertainment, and environmental friendliness: you can have it all in a single evening at The Dinner Party this Thursday. Charlotte Ong ’14, co-VP for Programming,  gives you the scoop.

VHP’s very first on-campus event of the year will be taking place on Thursday, 23rd Feb, 6pm – 8pm at the Villard Room. A collaboration between VHP, Vassar Greens and Slow Food Vassar, The Dinner Party is a classy affair held in support of our Reforestation Initiative! There will be five a cappella groups and a jazz combo performing, and food will be provided by some generous and lovely House Fellows and Slow Food. Plus, the event will be zero-waste, with the Vassar Greens’ help.

A sneak preview of Thursday’s menu: Korean Pulled Pork, Chicken Briyani, Grilled Chicken Cutlets and Fried Plantains. YUM.

I’m really excited about this event because we’re working with new partner organizations, drawing on each group’s strengths, making for some serious synergy! Organizing this event has been fraught with difficulties and obstacles, but despite all these setbacks and changes in plans I am confident that we can pull off yet another beautiful evening for everyone to enjoy, because that is exactly what VHP does best!

The Programming Team and Reforestation Initiative have been working hard to prepare for this event, so remember to stop by the College Center to pick up a ticket! You don’t want to miss out on this, trust me. Spread the word, bring your friends and join us for a lovely evening of wonderful performances and food cooked with love!

Click image to enlarge

VHP co-presidents Fiona Koch ’12 and Caitlyn Anderson ’12 take a look at how VHP has expanded and improved over the past three and a half years. 

We’re only four weeks into Spring Semester, and the Vassar Haiti Project has already accomplished an unprecedented number of wonderful fundraisers and events: from the fabulously successful Sacred Heart Sale, to our brand-new VAST teaching initiatives, March Trip fundraising sales and Creole lessons, the upcoming ‘Dinner Party’ and the ever looming April Parents’ Weekend Sale – it’s a whirlwind! To top it off, we had over ten new members show up at our last General Body meeting, another great example of our unprecedented campus presence. In light of this fantastic momentum, we wanted to take a moment this week to reflect on where we stand as a collective.

Fiona: I know that for my part, in my three and a half years working with the Project, I have never witnessed such a high volume of activity and excitement among our members! VHP has always represented something important, something bigger, beyond the Liberal Arts’ tendency to focus on the individual experience. We have never been lacking in passion and enthusiasm – but I know from experience that it has taken several years and many improvements and lessons learned for us to reach this current stage of organized, professional enthusiasm.

Today, we have some amazing student teams working for Programming, Outreach, Publicity and Merchandise, as well as the Water, Reforestation, Education, Medical and Grants Initiatives – and while Lila and Andrew are still the loving guardians of the Project and its members, we have more students taking over leadership than ever before. I am incredibly proud of our Oversight team for the many hours they put into leading their students, and I am inspired by the continued commitment from every familiar face that I see attending our GB and Committee meetings.

With this blog post, I would like to acknowledge each and every leader and member for making this such a fantastic year to learn from each of you. While the sheer number of goals we set ourselves can sometimes be daunting, it is because we have set the bar incredibly high for this beautiful Project. Thank you for everything you do.

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by fate. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

Caitlyn: Throughout the past three and a half years I have spent at Vassar as an enthusiastic member of the Vassar Haiti Project, I have stood witness to the absolutely amazing evolution and on going development of this organization as a whole. For some of our newest members who may not be aware, VHP has been re-structured several times in the past few years and I believe that we have finally found our groove. Our efficiency and energy astound me. I have been taken aback this year not only by the number of new members who have joined but also by the energy and immediate commitment these fresh faces have been bringing to the table. I want to thank our Oversight members for helping to create an environment in which these new members can find their footing within the project with ease and excitement. I also want to thank Oversight for the blood, sweat, and tears they have all poured into this project all year. One would never believe we were also full time students!!

I am thrilled at our progress thus far and am so excited for the rest of the events we have planned for this year. I am so grateful to be apart of something bigger than me at Vassar. I truly can’t imagine my life without this project and thank the GB and Oversight for your positive energy and hard work ☺

Be sure to stop by the College Center on Monday (February 13th) to buy a home cooked lunch and support VHP’s Sustainable Project Assessment Trip fund!

VHP Munchy Monday Menu

 Mac and cheese

Rice and beans

Lila’s Famous Lebanese Soup

Cold potato salad

Soba salad

Slow-cooked vegetable stew

Sticky rice pudding

Cheesecake

Plantains

***

$7 for a combo of main dish + side dish + dessert

$5 for any two dishes

College Center

10 am – 4 pm

And make some last minute Valentine’s Day  purchases while you’re at it! Order flowers, chocolates, and balloons to be delivered to your valentine on the 14th.

VHP Valentine Sale

Carnations: $2

Roses: $3.50

Balloons & kisses: $2

For VHP volunteers going to Haiti this spring, fundraising will be essential in the weeks leading up to the trip. Cindy Fung ’14 explains some of the group’s plans for the coming month.

In exactly one month, we will be in Haiti. Even though we’ve already had two info sessions, the fact that we are going to be in Cap Haitien so soon was still hard to grasp until today, when we had a fundraising meeting. Our plans are finally taking shape. Working together to fundraise is challenging, a little daunting, but also very exciting. In addition to sending out letters to family and friends, we are also going to have a series of on-campus fundraisers, such as selling a home cooked lunch in the College Center, delivering flowers on Valentine’s Day, and possibly having a food and drinks booth in the Student-Faculty Basketball Game. I was most impressed with everyone’s energy in the meeting.

In 50 minutes or so we managed to turn vague ideas into concrete plans and to-do lists. With every new suggestion, someone would raise a concern or build upon it. This spontaneous check-and-balance system worked out well, and it only showed how committed everyone was in making our fundraising efforts a success. The upcoming weeks are going to hectic, but I look forward to working our way to the trip, step by step. I couldn’t be more grateful to be going with such a wonderful group of friends.