GSF continues earthquake recovery work
GSF sewing teacher, Seimon, with his class and their shirts and skirts
Since the earthquake which struck southern Haiti on 14 August, 2021, GSF has been active in supporting recovery and rebuilding in our community on Île à Vache. This is all in addition to our continued long-term support of these communities through the presence of our school and our sustainable agriculture program on the island, both of which are active and ongoing.
We are pleased to be able to report a number of encouraging recovery efforts showing results barely a month after this disaster. This has been made possible through the generous support of our donors, and we would like to thank especially the Rotary Club of Tortola, British Virgin Islands, for their gift which has supported the reconstruction of 40 damaged homes and the living and educational expenses for 9 children orphaned by the earthquake.
A recently repaired house in Soulette, a village on the island hit hard by the earthquake
More reconstruction work supported in part by Rotary BVI has been the reconstruction of 3 baking ovens which were also damaged, and the restoration of three wells which were impacted as well. Thank you once again to the Rotary Club of Tortola for remembering GSF and the people of Île-à-Vache in this difficult time. This work has also been made possible from the many generous donors who participated in our Facebook campaign in response to the news of the quake. Your support is already having a positive effect on people’s lives.
One of the reconstructed baking ovens thanks to Rotary support
Through all the recent challenges, the earthquake being the most recent, the GSF Agriculture Program has continued to be a major source of stability and food security for Île-à-Vache and our school on the island. Anousse Paul, GSF lead agronomist and farm manager, has recently summarized the activity of the Sustainable Agriculture program over the last six months. Some of he and his team’s accomplishments include the production of 500 kg of corn, and 200 kg of peanuts, the first fruits appearing on our breadfruit trees planted 3 years ago, a recent expansion to new land rented by GSF for increasing food production, and successfully producing 25% of the feed for our laying hens locally in our farming operations. This is particularly important because of the high price of imported feed, as well as the increasing difficulties in obtaining it. The egg laying operation has increased in importance over the course of these recent crises, and is now the only remaining egg producing facility on the island, a critical food security resource. GSF’s long-term commitment to sustainable agriculture for the food security of our students in our education programs and the communities where we work has been made possible by the generosity of our donors, and is truly “bearing fruit” — thank you!
Food distribution for the elderly in the community
Lastly - we continue to educate and support our students. As people have left the badly-damaged city of Les Cayes after the earthquake, our class sizes have swelled. Our main school funder has generously agreed to cover the cost of some important additional items to respond to this situation, including hiring new teaching assistants, supplies, books, and lunch program support. At our IMECT school in Morne Tapion, we are also seeking a regular or corporate donor to support our operation there, which is consistently one of the best performing schools in that province despite its shoestring budget.
Despite the continuous challenges Haitian people have faced, they continue to persist and excel, and we at GSF are proud to contribute to the support they so deserve. We thank all past and current donors of GSF for allowing us to be present during these crises and we will continue to count on your support in the future. Thank you!
A recent teacher training for all our teachers in La Hatte school, plus one teacher from all the other schools on the island