Shoes for Sassier
Once again this year, we are collecting gently-used shoes, sandals, sports shoes, etc. for the people of St Jean Baptiste Parish in Sassier, Haiti. In Sassier, many of their parishioners walk up and down the mountains with no shoes or ones that are badly worn. Children come to school barefoot and many people walk more than 2 hours to the nearest market in nothing more than flip-flops, if they have shoes at all.
The nurses in the parish’s medical clinic frequently treat infected foot wounds. All kinds of shoes are welcomed, except winter boots–it doesn’t get cold or snow in Sassier. Please drop off your shoes in the SHOES for SASSIER containers in the Gathering Space at Sacred Heart Parish Church or in the Sacred Heart School lobby from February 25 to April 1.
Read MoreHaiti Teen Trip 2012
Haiti Teen Trip 2012
Sponsored by ZanmiSasye and Sacred Heart Parish
ZanmiSasye and Sacred Heart Parish are sponsoring the 2nd Teen Trip to Haiti this Summer. This is a great opportunity for Teens to experience Haiti and to share themselves and their talents with the teens of St Jean Baptiste, Sacred Heart’s twin Parish in Sassier, Haiti. If you know someone who might be interested, please pass this information along to them.
Teens! Are you interested in a Mission/Adventure trip that you will remember for the rest of your life? If you are, the Teen Trip to Haiti 2012 is for you. You will have the chance to experience a new culture, make new friends, and work side-by-side with Teens from Sassier to make a real impact.
In 2008, 16 Sacred Heart Teens journeyed to Sassier for 10 days and were transformed by their experiences. Several of them are planning an Alumni trip next Summer. Even though their languages weren’t the same, all the Teens (American and Haitian) found it easy to communicate-through music, sports, dance, prayer and laughter. Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation from the 2008 trip!
We will leave Chicago Saturday, July 28 and return Monday or Tuesday, August 6 or 7 (this is after the end of summer school at New Trier and Loyola). We will stay together in Sassier in the same accommodations as the 2008 trip.
The first Teen Trip Team meeting is Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 3 PM at Sacred Heart Parish in Winnetka, IL. For more information contact the Team Trip organizer, Deacon Gerry Keenan at gkeenan@shparish.com or 773-251-6626.
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Sassier School Construction Update – January 26, 2012
Construction on the Sassier School continues to move along fairly well. Although the iron and carpentry work for the pouring of the first half of the roof of the large building was complete before the end of the year, the actual pouring could not be accomplished until January 9 because there was not enough water to make the cement. Both large cisterns in the existing school had run dry, since there had been no rain for 6 weeks. (Remember that last November and December, it rained almost every day, making it impossible to construct the school’s foundations until January.) Rains came on January 3, providing sufficient water to complete the first half of the roof on January 9 and 10. On January 19, the bamboo supports and scaffolding were removed and work began on the last half of the roof. If the weather cooperates, the last portion of the roof should be poured by February 15.
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- View of small building (left) and the completed roof (southern half) of the large building. The doors for the first floor of the large building are completed and most exterior doors have been installed.
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- Doors installed on first floor of the large building.
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- The doors are made on-site by the carpenters.
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- The windows for the first floor have been delivered and will be installed in the next few weeks
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- Architect Jason Krumm with the new windows for the first floor of large building.
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- Electrical work has also proceeded along with the rest of the work. Below are the electrical boxes for the large building.
Voldrogue School Construction Update – January 26, 2012
The construction on the new school in Voldrogue was begun on December 11, 2011. The excavation for the foundations of the Preschool and Administration buildings was completed prior to Christmas.
After a break for the Holiday season, work resumed during the week of January 9. As of January 21, the foundations of the Preschool building were complete and work was proceeding on the columns, deck beam and other components of the main floor of the building.
The Primary School Building was laid out by Architect Jason Krumm, Engineer Patrick Duval and General Foreman Mondy Pamphile on January 20 2012. Work will begin on that building in the next week or so. We will use a front loader with a backhoe to do the necessary excavations, including the cisterns that will be located under that building.
Click each thumbnail below to view the image in full size.
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- Preschool Building Construction Site – January 20, 2012
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- Preschool building construction site with Clinic Building – January 20, 2012
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- Ironworkers fabricating reinforced concrete columns
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- Due to soil conditions, it was necessary to dig the foundations of the Administration Building deeper than anticipated. Stable soil was found at about 1.2 meters. Foundation work is now moving ahead on the Administration building.
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- Architect Jason Krumm, Engineer Patrick Duval and General Foreman Mondy Pamphile using triangulation to ensure the location of the new Primary School building is correct.
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- Truck unloading sand for the construction project.
Voldrogue School Construction Update
On December 11, we broke ground for a new preschool and primary school building in Voldrogue, about 45 minutes’ walk from Sassier, although still in the Sassier Parish. For a number of years, children from Kindergarten to 3rd grade have been attending school in the Chapel of St Ann there. Every day, more than 150 students attend classes.
After finishing 3rd grade, the students now have to walk 45 minutes each way to attend school in Sassier. Thanks to the generosity of the German Government, the Germany Catholic group Kindermisionswerk and the Association for Schools in Hispaniola, children in Voldrogue will soon be able to attend school through 6th grade near their homes.
Construction is expected to be completed in time for the beginning of the 2012-13 school year in September. Check out construction pictures below (from January 2012).
Concrete blocks are made on- site.
Ironworkers tying rebars for columns for new school in Voldrogue.
Click here to view some pictures of the excavation work.
Read MoreNew Sassier School Construction Moving Ahead Rapidly
Work on the construction of the new preschool and primary school is now moving ahead very well. The 2nd floor roof on the smaller building was finished in mid-November. Work is now focusing on 2nd floor of the larger building, which should be complete in early January. The doors and windows of the rooms on the 1st floor of the large building have been ordered and will be installed in December. The new building should be ready for occupancy in March 2012. The whole Sassier community is getting very excited about the completion of the new school. Everyone is grateful to the German Government, the Germany Catholic group Kindermisionswerk and the Association for Schools in Hispaniola for providing all the funding for the new school, new school furnishings and a new playground. Sassier is also becoming the talk of the provincial capital, about 10 miles away. In the past month, the local national Parliamentary Delegate (Congressman) and the local national Senator came to Sassier to look at the new school building and the new concrete road, amazed that such things could be happening in such a remote area. In our last new letter we showed you a picture of the workers completing the first floor roof of the larger portion of the new building. Here is a picture of the same building December 14 and a picture of the smaller building, which is now structurally complete.
Large building–note work on roof beams to hold the concrete roof.
Small building–note that the three rooms on the first floor are already being used for classrooms. There is no other place to put all the children!! There are 28 classrooms of students but only 20 classrooms in the existing school building.
Sassier Water System Rehabilitation and Expansion Project
Started in August 2011, this project will rehabilitate and expand the potable water system in the area around Sassier. The water system has not been operable since the Hurricanes of 2008. The original system was installed in 2005; prior to that time, there was no access to potable water.
The project will have three Phases. Phase I has three components: a) organizing a Water System governing committee that represents all of the villages that would be affected by the water system; b) hiring a water system engineer(s) to prepare a rehabilitation and possible expansion plan for the system; and c) doing some repairs to the existing distribution system that would get people involved in the project and be a visible sign of that something is happening.
The whole community is actively involved in the project, led by a Project Steering Committee is made up of 2 representatives from each of the 14 villages that will be served by the rehabilitated and expanded system. There are 4 subcommittees to focus on the various aspects of the project. These include: 1) Governance Committee, focusing on the long term governance, operations and funding aspects of the system once it is completed; 2) Planning Committee, focusing on working with the engineer to plan the rehabilitation and expansion of the system; 3) Motivation Committee, focused on organizing the community to give their support and participation to the actual work that will need to be done to accomplish the project; and 4) Communication Committee, focused on keeping the community informed about the project and its progress, particularly through community meetings that will be held throughout Phase I.
The Steering Committee will have two days of training in December on how to work effectively as a team and how an Association/Water Committee is structured and operates. Since the community will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the water system once the project is completed, it is very important that the leadership is competent and has the skills necessary to keep the water system operating.
We expect the water engineers to provide a final plan and budget for the project by the end of January, after consultation with the Project Steering Committee.
We are pursuing funding for the whole project, which we expect to cost about $350,000 to $500,000. A grant from Catholic Relief Services is providing a portion of the funding for Phase I. If you have any ideas about potential funding sources, please let us know.
Read MoreRoad Rehabilitation Transforms Greater Sassier, Haiti Area
Since November, Orgaizasyon Zanmi Sasye has been rehabilitating nearly 7 kilometers of roads leading in and out of Sassier. Funded by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the project has provided work for more than 1000 Sassier area residents—providing benefits for nearly 4000 additional family members. Unskilled workers earn US$5 per day—a large amount in an areas where they are few jobs and much need. Women comprise nearly 45% of the workforce, assuring that benefits also flow to single parent households
Most of the work has been accomplished without machinery—with shovels, picks, hoes and wheelbarrows. The work is very hard, but the teams have taken great pride in their work. They are building a new future for themselves and their families. Try spending the day pushing a wheelbarrow full of cement up and down a hill! Or carrying 40 pound pails of water uphill from the river to the cement mixers!
The Project will have significant economic development benefits for the community. Prior to the beginning of the project, the road conditions were abysmal, with the only road to Sassier impassable for days during rainy periods. A primary focus of the project is creating a concrete, two lane surface for nearly a kilometer of the most treacherous portion of the road. Creating year-round road access will create new business opportunities and ensure that needed supplies can reach Sassier, despite the weather.
Read MoreHaiti Payday: Food For Work
Today (Sunday) is payday for the all 525 workers (non-qualified labor in USAID-speak) on our road rehabilitation project. These workers have worked 24 days over the past 5 weeks, doing heavy manual labor on the roads. Since this is a Food-for-Work project, the workers get paid at the end of their 24 day shift. Over a 7 hour period, about 58,000 pounds of dried green peas, 58,000 pounds of soy-enriched bulgur, and 2625 gallons of cooking oil will be distributed. Each worker gets a 110 pound bag of peas, a 110 pound bag of bulgur and 5 gallons of cooking oil. (total weight of about 265 pounds). A little bit different from going to the grocery store in the US.
For some, it was a family outing. The whole family came, brought extra bags and containers, split the large bags into manageable portions, and then carried them home together. For those of you wondering what “manageable portions” might mean, we saw women carrying half-bags (about 55 pounds) on their heads with no discernable problem. Local folks who own donkeys, mules or horses are doing a good business carrying the large bags for some workers. Donkeys are queued up at the bottom of the driveway like cabs outside a major hotel, waiting for a fare.
The process is well organized and thorough, to prevent cheating and fraud. These additional steps, however, slow the process somewhat. Despite the long wait, people are very patient. Fortunately, a light cloud bank covered the area soon after the distribution started, so waiting for a long time in the middle of the day is a little easier.
In some ways, the distribution has become a social event, as families from all over the 40 sq mile area who have not seen one another for several months get a chance to visit, catch up on community events and maybe even exchange some juicy gossip. There is a constant din outside of the house here, but the smiling faces of those receiving food, and even those waiting, portray the happiness of everyone here. This food will feed families well for weeks. After Hurricane Tomas ruined so many people’s crops in early November, this food will prevent hunger and associated disease and misery for many families.
Workers are called to the registration desk by team, have their hand stamped, dip their index finger in indelible ink, and stamp their fingerprint on the payout record, next to their name. More than half of the people are completely non-literate, so getting signatures is not an option.
Read MoreCommunity Development in Haiti
Like most of rural Haiti, the Sassier area lacks even the most basic of public services. There is no electricity, water, public transportation or similar infrastructure. Most of the area is served by only one road, which is almost impassable after heavy rains.
Most residents are subsistence farmers, whose existence is largely dependent on good rains at the right time. Although some agricultural assistance has been available, farming techniques are poor, seed quality is inadequate, and soil conditions are poor due to erosion, rocks and clay deposits.
Zanmi Sasye and its collaborators have provided funding for the construction and expansion of the Sassier community center, the purchase of a large solar-powered oven that cooks lunch for school children , and the purchase and installation of solar panels to generate electricity for the community center. The center provides meeting, education, and recreation facilities to Sassier’s citizens and currently serves as the site of College Pierre Toussaint’s Computer Lab.
Working with the Piram Agro-Forestry Cooperative, Zanmi Sasye has worked with farmers to improve farming techniques, reduce deforestation, provide watershed protection through terracing and new plantings, and promote fruit and vegetable gardening. In one project, more than 7,500 saplings and plants were planted to reforest hillsides and arrest soil erosion. In 2008, more than 70 Sassier community members terraced 40 plots of hillside farmland covering 3 hectares (7.5 acres), and planted 46 new fruit trees on land adjacent to the school as a model orchard. Post-completion evaluation indicated a marked reduction in erosion and an improvement in soil filtration capacity.
Since October 2010, one of our Haitian collaborators Oganizasyon Zanmi Sasye, has been implementing a $200,000 project that will substantially improve the road to Sassier, including building a bridge over the Guinaudee River (which you now have to drive through) and installing a concrete road service on nearly a mile of the worst portion of the road. Completion of the project is expected in the First Quarter of 2011. This and other road-building project in the Grand Anse province will provide significantly enhanced access to markets for agricultural products from the Sassier area.
Our future projects include:
- planning, financing and installation of a rehabilitated public water supply for the Sassier community;
- programs to implement better agronomic practices (seeds, planting and harvesting techniques, irrigation);
- expanded reforestation and watershed protection programs, including hillside terracing;
- expanded focus on increasing programs to increase employment in and cash incomes from agriculture and animal husbandry’ and
- creation of cooperative organizations to facilitate access to urban markets within Haiti and select export markets.
Micro Credit
In 2002, ZANMI SASYE—PARTNERS WITH SASSIER’s predecessor organization provided the start-up capital for Kredi Fanm, the local women’s credit cooperative. Kredi Fanm makes micro-loans to women for artisanal sewing and embroidery, animal husbandry, small-scale retail activity, and cash crop agriculture. The cooperative now has 210 participants and is completely self-sustaining. There have been no loan defaults.
Read MoreCommunity Center
ZANMI SASYE—PARTNERS WITH SASSIER has financed the construction of a community center (2004), the purchase and operation of a solar-powered communal oven (March 2005), and the purchase and installation of solar panels to generate electricity for the community center (July 2005). The center provides meeting, education, and recreation facilities to Sassier’s citizens, and a link to the outside world through CyberCafe Sassier, where residents can make Internet-based telephone calls and send e-mail messages.
More recently, we financed an expansion of the Sassier community center and the addition of solar-generated electrical supply capacity for it and the school. In March 2007, four new solar panels and batteries were added to the array on the roof of the community center, which also houses the school’s computer lab. These panels permit the computer lab to operate without the backup generator on sunny days. The computer lab comprises six laptop stations, a server, a printer, and storage. It is regularly used by secondary school students after school and in the evening. We have also installed two wireless Internet devices there, and connected the CyberCafe desktop directly to the Internet via the existing satellite connection.
Read MoreAgriculture
In the summer of 2006, ZANMI SASYE—PARTNERS WITH SASSIER and the Piram Agro-Forestry Cooperative launched a program to improve farming techniques, reduce deforestation, provide watershed protection through terracing and new plantings, and promote fruit and vegetable gardening.
In 2007 and early 2008 more than 7,500 saplings and plants were planted to reforest and arrest soil erosion. In the summer of 2008, more than 70 Sassier participants built new retaining walls, protecting 40 plots covering 3 hectares (7.5 acres), and planted 46 new fruit trees on land adjacent to the school. CPT students are now caring for the orchard. Post-completion evaluation indicates a marked reduction in erosion and an improvement in soil filtration capacity.
Read MoreNext Steps
Projects in preparation will target:
- better agronomic practices (seeds, planting and harvesting techniques, irrigation)
- continued reforestation and soil improvement measures
- wider marketing of embroidery and other craft products
- programs to increase employment in and cash incomes from agriculture and animal husbandry.
