Empower Haitians With Disabilities Now!

The adults of St. Vincent's bring the brightness of their solidarity, working toward a better future. We have much good news to share!

Recently, the residents of St. Vincent's celebrated Haitian Mother’s Day. It is observed on a Sunday, a few weeks after the US counterpart. Mother’s Day in Haiti is a big holiday! Our collaborators, the adults who were formerly children in residence as St. Vincent’s, have begun to fill an important role of encouragement and recognition for the staff. This year, they hosted a fête (party) and invited all the students and staff members to join. At the fête, certificates of recognition were given to the six women who have worked at St. Vincent’s the longest, the caregivers of the young kids, the cooks and housekeepers. It was a meaningful event for the house mothers as well as the adults who facilitated it.   

One of our scholarship recipients, Jean Marc, is continuing his courses throughout the summer. Classes were interrupted October to December 2022, pushing the courses into the heat of the summer. Friends of St. Vincent’s scholarship students value their education highly: only a small percentage of Haitians complete their high school education; the percentage is far less for people with disabilities. St. Vincent’s students can finish 8th grade at the Center, where the education is appropriately accessible. However, that is not the case for community high schools. Friends of St. Vincent’s proudly supports each student’s unique personal needs by providing specialized tutoring, braille typewriters, recording of lessons on smart phones, and hearing sign-language interpreters.

With your help, we continue to pay the salaries for two essential employees for the adult residents. One is the nurse who monitors the health of the adults (blood pressure, weight, heart rhythm, intake of vitamins) and facilitates access to medical care off campus when needed. The other is a motorcycle messenger who provides access to outside services for the adults who cannot leave the premises. In the absence of a working postal system, a messenger with wheels is needed every day to pay bills and support banking processes. The messenger makes purchases for the adults and also carries messages by hand within Port au Prince as needed.

As in most countries, many many messages go by internet. Happily, Friends of St. Vincent’s pays for augmented internet service for the adults and entire St. Vincent’s campus to allow work at a distance, online classes and communication. On a lighter note, the internet provides a good source of entertainment too, as travel outside of the walls of St. Vincent’s for adults with reduced mobility or sensory differences is more challenging and dangerous.

The funds you have provided over the last quarter have supported the quiet miracle of everyday community living. Our adult community continues to be a beacon of hope amidst the darkness of Haiti at this time. We thank you for contributing to this light.

In the midst of severe times in Haiti, St. Vincent's adult residents bring the brightness of their solidarity, working toward a better future. We have much good news to share!

First, the scholarship recipients who have been working from their home campus with a tutor have returned to school! Their high school year will be extended into the summer, to make up for lost time. It may seem odd that our young adults are still in high school, but due to these interruptions, many high schoolers may be 19 or 20 or older! The tutoring using brailleurs and specialized cell phones (funded by you!) has allowed our students to maintain their skills during the closure.

Second, the dream to start a vocational education program is taking root at St. Vincent’s! The adult residents, who have a variety of job skills and abilities, are ideally suited as coaches in a vocational program. For instance, a blind adult can best work with a blind young person who wants to learn to manage the sound system for a musical group; a deaf adult is best able to demonstrate to a young deaf person how to keep inventory on the computer; an adult who uses a wheelchair is the best guide for the trade (and art!) of wheelchair repair.

The adults have submitted a proposal to St. Vincent’s Center to implement a pilot program for graduates who prefer to learn a vocation rather than continue their formal education. 

Members of St. Vincent’s Board have expressed interest in working with the adults to establish a variety of small businesses that can be the vehicles of vocational experience. Being considered are: 
• sound system management for events
• computer skills for small business
• wheelchair repair
• solar panel assembly
• bicycle repair

In addition, St. Vincent’s small restaurant, Bar Resto, will be the ideal place for several kinds of learning, starting with culinary classes by Judith, our GlobalGiving funded chef!

The funds you have provided over the last quarter contributed to these miraculous accomplishments given the horrendous gang violence, basic resource scarcity, exorbitant inflation, and governmental paralysis. Our adult community continues to be a beacon of hope amidst the darkness of Haiti at this time. We thank you for contributing to this light.