THE CATALYST
A publication of the Haiti Plunge
Vol. 7 No. 1
February 2015
Mailing Address
Haiti Plunge Inc.
21 Maple St., Adams, MA 01220 / P.O. Box 745 North Adams, MA 01247
Tele. ( 413 ) 346-3241 email: [email protected]
www. Thehaitiplunge.org FB: The Haiti Plunge
The Haiti Plunge mission is to challenge and empower young people to make a difference with their lives and to
be of service to others.
It seems impossible that another year has ended and what better time for us to step back and reflect on all we have done in
that space of time. This year the Haiti Plunge celebrated its 30th year since the original nine Berkshire students took the first
trip and founded both the organization and the location where we still work with the people of a nine village agricultual cooperative in the Cabaret Region In April 2014 Haiti Plunge Inc. moved out of Desab and is focusing its next development stage in the villages of Tima and Brely. The Desab village leadership is now maintaining their infrastructure which
includes schools, bakery, church, clinic, two roads, and a residence to house
other organizations. Teaching women how to embroider has provided many
families a second income. Throughout the years reforestation and erosion
control has taken place. Under the initiative of the Desab leadership another
organization, specializing in clean water, rebuilt the original capped spring in
the village of Dortel which supplies water to four surrounding villages. 2014
saw sixty participants, 90 % were high school and college students, whose
building projects included a basketball court in Tima and working on the Desab – Tima road loop which was completed in January ’15. The team truck
with John Mompoint riding shotgun, was the first vehicle to drive on the road.
The 3.5 mile road was the dream of John Mompoint from Tima
who started the project 5 years ago. Every Saturday the Tima villagers with their picks and shovels, worked with John on this project. The challenges were many especially during the raining seasons which washed out a lot of their hard work with heavy rains.
Each of the 2014 Haiti Plunge teams also took their turns working
alongside the people.
The teams also invested a great deal of time and energy in reforesting the area of Tima especially where sinkholes were
encroaching on major parts of the main road . Sandbags , loaded with rocks, were used to fill the sinkholes and nine inches of soil laid on top. Trees were planted on each sinkhole to hold the soil. Thus Project Oasis was initiated. Five oases
have been completed to date. Reforestation is critical to this area of Haiti. During the rainy season the deforested areas
cannot absorb the water thus creating dangerous flash flooding which can sweep children down the mountainside. Haiti
also loses 1% of its topsoil annually. This topsoil is essential for the farmers’ gardens.
The lifeline of the Haiti Plunge mission are our donors. The choices you make define who you are.
3rd Quarter Donors
2014
MAJOR DONORS
Rick Filiault
DeRosa & Dohony LLP
Edward Miller
John Quinn
Sonia & Brian Blomerth
Henry Beckett
Susan & Ian Warren
Louis Allegrone
Ellen Kennedy
Micah Singer
Susan Yates—Mulder
GlenGroup Marketing & Advertising
General Donors
Barbara Davis-Hassan
John & Donna Quallen
Clare Lorenzatti
Thomas & Janet Holland
Barbara Amata
Gabriella Bond
Janice & Robert Moresi
Albert & Lorraine Mancuso
Ed & Anne Conroy
Philip Knowles
Francis & Charles Conaghan
Robert & Diane Hitter
John & Kathleen Lanoue
James & Marietta Cawse
Helene & Norman Gajda
Matthew Harmelin
Meet the first recipient of the Linda Tassone Memorial Scholarship. Kelson Demosthene from the
village of Desab, Haiti. Because of the Tassone’s family involvement in the Haiti Plunge, Linda’s children, Susan and Bruce wanted to set up a memorial in her name. Kelson is the third of six boys in his
family. Since all schools in Haiti are tuition based it makes it very difficult for children, especially
those living in the mountains, to attend school at a secondary level. Even village schools charge tuition. Kelson and several of his siblings were fortunate to have sponsors for their primary school education. However, attending secondary school is cost prohibitive for a farming family that makes less
than $500 USD annually. There are no secondary schools in the mountains so students have to stay
in the city during the week and walk the eight miles to return home on weekends. Kelson is very
active in his village and a great role model. He is exceptionally bright and is so appreciative about having this opportunity to continue his education.
The village of Desab recently expanded their school by adding a new classroom for the
older students who have been attending classes in the church. The new addition brings
all of the students together. The good news about this project is that the Haiti Plunge
had no involvement. It was done by the people. As an organization, invested in sustainable development, our goal is to empower the population to take charge of their own future. This kind of progress supports the Haiti Plunge’s decision to begin development in
other cooperative villages.
Raised Gardens for Women is one of the next Haiti Plunge projects. These gardens
will be placed next to the houses of women allowing them to remain with their infants. Family gardens are spread all over the mountainside frequently miles apart.
This project will also provide an additional food source when bad weather damages
their major crops. The project is set up to empower women, especially those who are
in a single parent household. These gardens will be watered by hand and can be protected from violent weather by covering them. The legs of the gardens will be cemented into the ground providing protection
from animals. Haiti cannot produce sufficient food for its population. The cost per 4’ x 8’ garden will be approximately $100 including choices of seeds. Donors interested in purchasing a garden can send a check for that amount and put “garden” in the
memo section of the check. The women will be able to plant crops every 90—120 days depending on the crops. They will also be
taught about composting and the value of compost to the garden.
Boino
2015 Team Schedule
Jackie Boino, a senior engineering student at the U. of Kansas is instructing
Feb. 13—22
Feb. 28—Mar. 8
April 17—26
May 22—31
June 26—July 5
Aug. 7—18
Oct. 23—Nov. 1
Dec. 28—Jan. 6, ‘ 16
Applications are available on the website.
the Haitians on how to build a support wall with sandbags filled with rocks.
This is the only road to the village of Brely and needs to be protected from
washouts during the rainy season. The big MAC trucks will maneuver this 5mile road to haul the supplies needed to complete the building of the Brely school.
The trucks will start the trek up the mountains beginning in February in order to have all the supplies
in place by the time the April team arrives to the site. Nick Raschdorf, a member of the Board of
Directors, a master mason and Edens Mompoint, a Haiti Plunge mason, will be leading this project.
The people of Brely have been waiting since
2009, ( pre earthquake ) when the school
foundation was put in, for it to be finished.
They will all be on board to get this done.
HAITI PLUNGE INC. recently relocated its office to:
Pope John Paul Parish Center, 21 Maple St., Adams, MA 01220
Mailing address: P.O. Box 745, North Adams, MA 01247