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News from Haiti
Here's a note from David Smith, and here's the latest newsletter that came with it:
Dear Colleagues,
If you have been watching the news, you know that Haiti had brutal weather this summer, with four severe storms in four weeks. This has caused untold suffering to the people in this impoverished country. To counter this overwhelming bad news with just a little bit of good news you will find attached our latest Education for Prosperity newsletter.
Featured stories include news of the graduation of seven students from Lekol Pa Nou ("Our School" in English); photos of the dramatic campus improvements with the new classroom buildings; and more stories from our network of collaborators, whose ongoing support provide the foundation that has made the other "good news" items possible.
Our key collaborator from Port-au-Prince, Liné Balthazar, was in Michigan in August. He brought us first hand news from Haiti and a wonderful vision for the next stage of development.
First, we were surprised--delighted and embarrassed at the same time--to learn that our featured newsletter graduates were actually the second graduating class from Lekol Pa Nou. Unfortunately, the challenges of regular communications between Michigan and Haiti can be vexing. Sometimes this is due to the distractions of civil unrest there, and sometimes it is due to the fragile nature of Haiti's Internet infrastructure. Nevertheless, Liné informed us that Lekol Pa Nou had eight graduates in June of 2007, as well.
Second, Liné brought with him a Powerpoint presentation that captured some of the history of the development of Lekol Pa Nou and then went on to outline a vision for economic development for the region. This involves the use of "jatropha," a plant that grows wild in Haiti. It turns out that jatropha seeds are 40% oil and have provided the basis for biofuel production in developing countries in Africa and Asia.
Liné and I will be attending a conference on jatropha at the University of Illinois next week where we hope to learn enough to begin implementing this process in the Pichon/Belle-Anse area. If people can begin cultivating jatropha in a systematic way, and processing the seeds to produce biofuel locally, the economic possibilities are very exciting. We will keep you posted on these developments. Watch for future newsletters.
With warmest best wishes and grateful appreciation,
David
Dear Colleagues,
If you have been watching the news, you know that Haiti had brutal weather this summer, with four severe storms in four weeks. This has caused untold suffering to the people in this impoverished country. To counter this overwhelming bad news with just a little bit of good news you will find attached our latest Education for Prosperity newsletter.
Featured stories include news of the graduation of seven students from Lekol Pa Nou ("Our School" in English); photos of the dramatic campus improvements with the new classroom buildings; and more stories from our network of collaborators, whose ongoing support provide the foundation that has made the other "good news" items possible.
Our key collaborator from Port-au-Prince, Liné Balthazar, was in Michigan in August. He brought us first hand news from Haiti and a wonderful vision for the next stage of development.
First, we were surprised--delighted and embarrassed at the same time--to learn that our featured newsletter graduates were actually the second graduating class from Lekol Pa Nou. Unfortunately, the challenges of regular communications between Michigan and Haiti can be vexing. Sometimes this is due to the distractions of civil unrest there, and sometimes it is due to the fragile nature of Haiti's Internet infrastructure. Nevertheless, Liné informed us that Lekol Pa Nou had eight graduates in June of 2007, as well.
Second, Liné brought with him a Powerpoint presentation that captured some of the history of the development of Lekol Pa Nou and then went on to outline a vision for economic development for the region. This involves the use of "jatropha," a plant that grows wild in Haiti. It turns out that jatropha seeds are 40% oil and have provided the basis for biofuel production in developing countries in Africa and Asia.
Liné and I will be attending a conference on jatropha at the University of Illinois next week where we hope to learn enough to begin implementing this process in the Pichon/Belle-Anse area. If people can begin cultivating jatropha in a systematic way, and processing the seeds to produce biofuel locally, the economic possibilities are very exciting. We will keep you posted on these developments. Watch for future newsletters.
With warmest best wishes and grateful appreciation,
David
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