Month: July 2018

Last February 2018, Konbit Pou Potapiman Inc received an impressive donation of school supplies to benefit the students of Port-a-Piment. The benefactors were: the Links, Incorporated Fort Lauderdale Chapter (FL), in partnership with the United Nations Association of the USA (Broward County Chapter) and the New Mount Olive Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale.

Frantz Jean, President of KPP, Inc and Nicole Jean, member, met at the Mount Olive Baptist Church with representatives of the donators to take possession of the items and ensure their delivery to the targeted population.

              

Last July, members of Konbit Pou Potapiman Inc, as well as members of the local KPP Board, met with Mr Mondin Sincyr, Director of the Jabouin community School to deliver to him school supplies which included over 100 backpacks, 350 pencils, more than 200 erasers, 130 pencil sharpeners, loose leaf packages,color pencils, paper clips and glue sticks. You may recall that KPP supporters, in partnership with the organization BuildOn, and the community of Jabouin are now rebuilding the local community school which had been destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. We expect the building to be ready by the opening day of school. KPP local members will assist in the delivery of the supplies to the students at that time.

 

                   

On the same day, KPP members also visited the Lycée of Port-a-Piment, located in Figuiers, and met with M. Alguinaire Seide, Director of the Lycée.. The Lycée ensures secondary education to the older students of the commune. After a tour of the locale, an array of schools supplies, which included over 100 Composition Books, 140 Calculators, 100 Rulers, about 160 pens as well as paper clips, were delivered to Mr Seide for distribution at the beginning of the school year in September. We note that this marked the first opportunity for KPP to help with the older population of students and we thank the donators for this.

                                                          

At the closing ceremony of the 2018 KPP Summer Camp, many of our graduates received a school bag.from the supply of donated goods. They were also the beneficiaries of this large donation.

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On behalf of KPP members, the school directors, students and  families that benefited from this donation, Konbit Pou Potapiman Inc expresses its sincere thanks to  the  Links, Incorporated Fort Lauderdale Chapter (FL) in partnership with United Nations Association of the USA(Broward County Chapter) and the New Mount Olive Baptist Church for their trust and caring spirit.  Our very special Thank You goes to Dr Eileen Davis-Jerome who has never wavered in her commitment to our cause.

The support we receive makes a huge difference in our ability to help our community.

 

The 6^th KPP Annual Summer Camp was held from July 2^nd through the 13^th  from 8AM to 2PM daily, This year, the chosen site was the Ecole Nationale de Figuiers, which accommodated well our 80 campers and over 20 staff members. The school is located out of town, across the street from the ocean, and provided a much relaxed atmosphere. It also offered the opportunity of a much enjoyed bus ride to and from camp daily.

As in the previous year, 80 children, aged from 7 to 12, and from the 8 schools of the town and the village of Potus participated. They were all selected by their respective school administrators, on the basis of academic excellence. Most of them had ranked 1^st or 2^nd in their class. The opportunity to attend the KPP Summer Camp has remained a strong motivating factor for doing one’s best in school.

Under the skillful guidance of the Camp Director, Mrs. Paule Edline Orcel, a diverse staff led the children into a daily routine, which included:

Meeting at the bus stop (Church of Notre Dame du Rosaire)

Arrival at the Camp

Morning talk by Mrs.Orcel and Mr. Frantz Jean, President of KPP Inc.

Sports to Music

Hand washing

A Hot Breakfast

Rally of all 6 groups, with songs

Arts and Crafts

Lecture by a Guest Speaker

Freestyle Sports

Hand washing

A Hot Lunch

Rehearsal of the graduation program

Return to town

Each component of the program offered the campers the opportunity to acquire new values. From the guest speakers, they learned about health, civism and how to protect the environment. Mealtime was the opportunity to practice good hygiene and table manners. The campers also learned to have fun while practicing sports, memory games and puzzles, as well as winning prizes in contests. They also learned new skills such as crocheting, and applying logic to solve Sudoku problems.

On Graduation day, the campers arrived in their Sunday best, each accompanied by a parent. They received their Certificate of Camp Attendance, as well as the gift of a book bag to start the next academic year. The bags had been donated by the Links, Incorporated Fort Lauderdale Chapter (FL) in partnership with United Nations Association of the USA(Broward County Chapter) and the New Mount Olive Baptist Church. The children put on a show of well-rehearsed skits, songs, dances and poems. A parent spoke on behalf of all to thank KPP and the staff for this unique opportunity offered to the children. And yes, her only request was that the camp would have lasted a whole month!!!  A modest reception of sandwiches and punch was also enjoyed by all.

It took a village….

Thanks to much diligence, prevention and care, our Summer Camp took place, with no negative incident. A staff of over 20 dedicated adults (monitors, dietary workers, general helpers, janitors, bus driver, security guards, artist/sports director, dance instructor, bathroom attendant), helped to provide a safe environment for the children. We noted with pride the diligence shown, as the bus broke down one Friday afternoon, and the whole staff rallied to walk the children back to town, safely, and under a driving rain. Thank you so very much!!!! KPP is also glad to have had an opportunity to create temporary work for so many.

The KPP 2018 Summer Camp is over! A job well done!!

Our thanks go to our campers and their parents for their trust; to Mrs Paule Edline Orcel for her leadership and creativity; to the camp staff for always doing their very best; to our guest speakers, Nurse Violette Jean, Mr. Gentil Abraham, Mr Phedeau Lubin for sharing their expertise; to all members of KPP Haiti as well as from abroad; to Carolle Paul, Nicole Jean, Frantz Jean who travel each year for this special occasion.

A special Thank You goes to the JGR LL Copa Company, to Food for the Poor-Haiti, Mrs. Doris Izmery, Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Verret, Mrs. Rasheda Sidney , Mrs. Marie Leach, Mrs. Sonia Auguste, Dr Eileen D Jerome for their special contributions.

To each and every one of you who has supported KPP in this effort: Thank You! Mesi Anpil! Merci!

Nicole Jean

 

Let us start by thanking:

• Mondin Saint-Cyr (Principal of the community school of Jabouin)
• BuildOn Organization
• Parents and community of Jabouin
• Contributors to the pledge
• KPP

We did it! The community school of Jabouin is becoming a reality.

A little history to bring everyone up to speed on how the community school of Jabouin started and how we ended up with the construction of the new school building.

 

Creation of the School

If we didn’t have a dreamer, or someone with great vision who was willing to take chances when most people would have seen obstacles or failures, today the community school of Jabouin would not have been a reality. Mr. Mondin Saint-Cyr, the dreamer, the visionary – who saw a need for the community and took a leap of faith to start a school without the resources needed to sustain it.

Shortly after the earthquake of 2010, Mr. Saint-Cyr who was teaching and living in Port-au-Prince at the time went back to his home town of Jabouin supposedly for a short visit. Once there, he realized the children of the area needed a school and decided to open one. Around the time he started the school, he met Frantz J Jean (KPP’s president) and asked for KPP’s help. From there, a partnership began. KPP since then has been assisting with payroll and school supplies. Before Hurricane Matthew, the school had 4 classes, 4 teachers and 108 students.

 

Destruction – Hurricane Matthew

As we all know, Hurricane Matthew devastating the Southwest of Haiti. Jabouin which is located about 2 hours walking distance from the town of Port-a-Piment, suffered devastation beyond what most of us can imagine. Of course, mother nature did not spare the school that so many of the children in the area depended on.

Mother nature struck a devastated blow to the school but that did not discourage the dedicated teachers and Mr. Saint-Cyr (the principal). They were determined to save the school. They went into action by setting a temporary site to conduct classes. Classes were conducted in open air or under a tarp. Around noon or early afternoon, the heat was unbearable. No need to say, when it rained, the kids couldn’t attend school; that used to be for several days in a row.

The community school of Jabouin after the devastation of Hurricane Matthew.

 

Our Partner for this Project

As we saw pictures of the conditions where children were attending school, KPP sprang into action. We decided to start a fund-raising campaign to rebuild the school. We took part in Giving Tuesday for Thanksgiving in November 2017 and did a pledge drive at our annual Gala of 2017. Altogether, we raised $5,952.00.

Although we didn’t have enough money to build the school, we decided on a ground-breaking date of June 2018. Like Mr. Saint-Cyr we decided to take a leap of faith. Somehow, we believed in the saying, “where there is a will there is a way”.

Of course, we didn’t stop there, we contacted several organizations and friends of KPP in Haiti to see if they could help us. We knocked on a lot of doors but finally, BuildOn agreed with us: the community of Jabouin needs a school. BuildOn is a non profit organization which specializes in building school in villages lacking adequate eclassrooms. BuildOn’s presence in the South is very much welcome. Headquartered in Cayes, the schools built  are structurally sound  to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, and severe storms, and many BuildOn schools served as community shelters So BuildOn partnered with us to realize this project.. They decided the project will be done in 2 phases. The 1^st phase: construct 3 rooms and latrines. 2^nd phase: based on the success of the school, come back and construct the additional room with an office and storage. BuildOn is providing an engineer, foreman and the bulk of the building materials. The community with the help of KPP is providing sand, rocks, gravel, water and some materials as well the payroll for the workforce.

As a complementary project provided by KPP, we are looking into constructing a well to provide water for the school and the community at large.

 

Realization of the Dream

As of this writing, the school has not been completed. But the building should be ready for September.

      

Community School Building of Jabouin – Construction in Progress

 

Let me conclude with a translated note from Mr. Saint-Cyr  :

“On behalf  of the committee of parents, the teachers and the school’s administration, we want to thank everyone who contributed toward the construction of the school of Jabouin. To the members of KPP, your contribution means a lot to the community and to the children. I wish God will continue blessing us and give us strength to continue working for our community.”

 

Yves Sidney

On Sunday June 23rd ,as it is a yearly custom, Konbit Pou Potapiman (KPP) presented  the “Prix d’Excellence Eric Belfort” Awards  to nine students from various schools of the commune of Port-a-Piment. The 2018 recipients were chosen by the School Administrators for their best academic performance throughout the school year.

 

Usually the Award ceremony is performed at the Church of Notre Dame du Rosaire in Port-a-Piment after the celebration of Sunday mass. Since the church was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, parishioners have been attending mass at the Salle Paroissiale and that is where the Award ceremony took place.

 

At the end of the mass, the Parish Pastor, Father Cherfils, introduced Mrs. Paule-Edeline Orcel, KPP board member in charge of the Award presentation, accompanied by Agr. Gerdy François, another KPP member. In attendance this year was the President of KPP Mr. Frantz Jean. In his allocution, Mr Jean took the opportunity to thank the parents, the teachers and the directors for their effort and guidance.

 

The students, one by one, went on the podium and were presented with a Certificate and a cash envelope to help bear the cost of higher education.

         

The 2018 recipients of the PRIX d‘EXCELLENCE ERIC BELFORT are:

Name	School
Jean Minold Rendische	Lycée de Port-a-Piment
Abigail Seide	Lycée de Port-a-Piment
Miermon Francois	Lycée de Port-a-Piment
Germaine Vital	E F A C A P
Vendinière Cayford	E F A C A P
Jullie Frederik	Ecole Evangélique Baptiste
Louinord Pierre-Louis	Ecole Evangélique Baptiste
Guerline Moise	Collège Stella Maris
Keveni Alcindor	Collège Stella Maris

Konbit Pou Potapiman will continue this tradition of rewarding academic excellence. KPP wants to say thank you to the family of Eric Belfort for providing the funds for this activity.

 

Thank you all for your support.

 

 

Carolle Paul