|
Cycle4HaitiOrganisation ID: MYC0038 About Cycle4Haiti
The Soul of Haiti Foundation was established when a group of entrepreneurs and finalists of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year travelled to Haiti in 2007. These entrepreneurs set up a number of small humanitarian projects in the South of Haiti. The entrepreneurs returned to Haiti in 2008 and subsequently established a Board of Directors to carry out the Foundations mission. The Foundation has gone from strength to strength and after the devastating earthquake in 2010 we ramped up all projects. Despite further challenges in 2012 with Hurricane Issac and Hurricane Sandy we remain committed to helping the communities that we work with to build sustainable livelihoods.
Our Projects(where the funding is going) To date the Cycle4Haiti has raised over €300,000 for the Soul of Haiti Foundation and is the single largest fundraising event for the Foundation. Expenditure of these funds initially centred around our emergency response in Port au Prince funding medical equipment for hospitals in the capital. Funds are now mainly focused on our community & livelihood projects in the South of Haiti, namely the orphanage on the island of Ile a Vache, the fishing village of Abacou and our project in St Martin in Port au Prince. Funds raised for the Soul of Haiti Foundation are used to support sustainable communities and livelihoods projects. Since our establishment in 2007 Soul of Haiti has been working with key communities in Haiti with a focus on the south of the country. Here, we aim to engage in a meaningful way and use our business skills and resources to help the Haitian people develop their communities. Our core goal is to assist in the development of enterprise, education, medical facilities and general community engagement & support. The communities we support are:
Ile a Vache
In 2007 Soul of Haiti visited L’oeuvre St François D’assises orphanage and immediately knew that this would be one of our core projects. The orphanage is on the island of Ile a Vache off the South coast of Haiti. It is run by a Franciscan nun called Sr. Flora and is home to 76 children 25 of whom are physically or mentally disabled. Soul of Haiti have been working with Sr Flora and the orphanage since 2007 to improve the living conditions, equipment and structure of the orphanage so they can provide better care for the children through training & development of staff. As well as facilitating visits by other organisations to the island, Soul of Haiti organises annual visits of medical doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and other volunteers working to improve both living and medical facilities for the children. In the recent year we have extended our support to the local market village of Madame Bernard and provide support to the local medical centre and school. Soul of Haiti is also working with the local mayor and community to focus on development of the market square and to provide training programmes for the local inhabitants. In 2013 we will be putting a new roof on the medical centre as well as doing further work on the orphanage facilities.
Abacou Soul of Haiti in partnership with Grant Engineering has been leading the development of the fishing village of Abacou since 2008.
The Foundation has built a well to provide fresh water for the inhabitants of the village and has recently started the rebuild of the local school. In order to create local enterprises and sustainable livelihoods for local inhabitants Soul of Haiti recently completed the building of an enterprise centre. This enterprise centre will act as a hub for existing businesses, a centre to create new businesses and a training facility for the local community. It has been kitted out with solar paneled refrigeration units for use by the fishermen and additional facilitate to promote and facilitate further small business creation. Funds from the Cycle4Haiti have been used to support the local school in Abacou and to buy school supplies and books for the children. Soul of Haiti will also be supporting the refurbishment of the school building including re-roofing, knocking and rebuilding a number of walls which are hazardous, building toilets and providing training courses for school leavers who want to learn a trade
Funds from the Cycle4Haiti are essential to assist with the continued work that the Foundation is undertaking in Haiti. With the funds from Cycle4Haiti 2012, the Soul of Haiti Foundation hopes to begin work in on a new orphanage in Haiti. We will also continue to support the existing humanitarian projects in the South of Haiti.
Addtional Projects Christine Farms
Agriculture in Haiti is severely undercapitalized. Most of the “farms” consist of 3-4 acres, which is farmed mostly by hand or animal power. In partnership with Irish Farming experts, Country Crest, The Soul of Haiti Foundation has established Christine Farms located in the Christine Valley in Southern Haiti and has rented an 18Ha farm on a 10 year lease. This farm is become a centre of excellence for farming practices in Haiti. Our aim is to empower local communities in developing local food producing enterprises through training & development in best practice farming methods. Our focus is on
We employ 10 full time staff and an additional 20 part time / seasonal staff and we expect this to increase dramatically as we ramp up our activity in 2013.
St Martin Community Development The St. Martin area of Port-au-Prince is severely economically deprived. With a population of 85,000 people, 85% of whom are unemployed the area suffers from high levels of gang violence, anti social behavior, IDP's in temporary housing and a lack of government services. Despite all the challenges in the area there is a strong community of emerging entrepreneurs in need who require advice and training. Soul of Haiti aims to stimulate economic growth in St Martin by empowering disadvantaged entrepreneurs to succeed in business by supporting their personal and professional development. In addition to running business training programmes Soul of Haiti is developing a Business Training Centre which will act as a hub of business development and will offer a comprehensive programme aimed at helping St. Martin’s small and medium enterprises grow and develop. Soul of Haiti is also engaged with the local groups running regular soccer tournaments facilitating a number of community led initiatives to generate community pride.
|
