The 2020 KPP

The 2020 KPP “Prix d’Excellence” Awards

On: October 27, 2021 By: potapiman

On Thursday, October 21st, 2021, as part of its customary program, Konbit Pou Potapiman Inc. (KPP) conducted a special ceremony to recognize and reward the laureate of the graduating upper class (Philo) of the commune of Port-a-Piment with the Prix d’Excellence Marie Denise Belfort Henry for the school year 2020-2021 It was also the occasion to present the Prix d’Excellence ERIC BELFORT to students who had excelled academically at the levels of Philo and 9ieme Année Fondamentale.

The event took place at the Ecole Evangelique Baptiste in Port-a-Piment. In the presence of schools directors, parents and students,

Mrs. Paule Edeline Orcel, KPP Secretary, addressed the audience to advise them of the goals of the program: to recognize excellence in the classroom; help promising students defray the cost of higher education and become better citizens of Port-a-Piment and Haiti. She strongly emphasized the importance of a good education and encouraged the award recipients to work harder to reach their goals.

This year, and at the suggestion of the Belfort family who provided the funds for the awards, the Prix d’Excellence Marie Denise Belfort-Henry was established to honor the life of the late Mrs. Belfort-Henry. “ Marie Denise Belfort-Henry was a firm believer in the power of education and made it her mission to support students. Mrs. Belfort-Henry was an educator for 40+ years, but her pride and joy came from being a liaison for community needs and mentoring young adults and families.”

The Prix d’Excellence Marie –Denise Belfort Henry KPP Certificate and Cash award were presented to

Jocelyn Frederic of the Ecole Evangelique Baptiste.

As part of the KPP annual Excellence Awards program, five (5) other students who achieved high academic scores were also recognized and honored with the Prix d’Excellence Eric Belfort.

This prize was also funded by the Belfort family The late Eric Belfort was a local businessman, and the patriarch of his family. He believed strongly in the power of Education and he provided the means for many of the young ones in his family to attend school. The Certificate and Cash awards were presented to the following students accompanied by their parents,

Madeleine Musac – Finalist at the Lycée de Port-a-Piment
Wols-Kerry Justable-Finalist at the College Stella Maris
Christella Gaudar- Finalist at EFA de Port-a-Piment
Nadege Jules- Finalist at Evangelique Baptiste
Othniel Germeil Finalist at the Lycée de Port-a-Piment

Konbit Pou Potapiman is proud to be associated with this Award program, which stimulates our youth to reach their best academic potential. We thank the Belfort family for their support and interest. We also thank Mrs. Paule Edeline Orcel for her leadership as we salute all KPP members for their dedication to our ideals.. ..A word from the laureate:

Photo: Jonel Musac

An Agricultural Event!

On: October 18, 2021November 12, 2021 By: potapiman

An extraordinary event happened on Sunday October 17^th 2021: Konbit Pou Potapiman (KPP) delivered on its promise to assist the farmers in the various villages of the commune of Port-a-Piment in their quest to recover from the economic downturn caused by the devastating earthquake of last August 14^th 2021

Our project was to provide the farmers with the seeds needed to cultivate their land, and also to accompany them with technical assistance for a successful harvest of beans in the next 3-4 months.

Early on that Sunday, farmers from 13 villages of the countryside started to converge on Grandpas, one of the neighborhoods of the town of Port-a- Piment.

They were 300 who had registered to receive 5 “buckets“ of beans seeds each for planting.

The identification of the recipients was carefully reviewed. Each of the farmers was the holder of an ID card provided by KPP. These cards were created to facilitate the process of distribution.

A roll call by villages was made to verify the presence of the beneficiaries. Mr. Jean Robert Isidor, the KPP representative, took to the podium to welcome the farmers. In his speech, he reminded them of the meaning of October 17th in Haitian history: date of the death of Jean Jacques Dessalines, Father of the Haitian Revolution. Jean Robert stated that the distribution of the seeds was a great way to honor his memory. He also reiterated the objectives of the program: to help the farmers improve their family’s finances, while helping others do the same. Upon harvest, each farmer is to return 1 “bucket” of beans to KPP to help further the program to other villages. Four other members of KPP also spoke to the crowd.

The farmers, armed with their registration cards, were then called by villages. The operation went on smoothly for 4 hours. Our reports indicate that all farmers did receive what was promised to them. And they expressed their gratitude to the organization.

We thank our members in Port-a-Piment for their leadership in planning, and executing the operation. Thank you Jean Jules, Paule Edline, Murielle, Phebe, Jonel, Rosie, Gayoni, Brian. Kudos to Jean Robert Isidor for his leadership in the preparation and realization of this phase of the project!

We also thank everyone who contributed to our fundraising efforts. Mesi, Mesi anpil!

Photos: Jonel Musac

or this link to our GOFUNDME: https://gofund.me/c974b54d

Update #3- Getting ready for School!

On: September 29, 2021 By: potapiman

By Yves Sidney

Since our previous update of August 30, 2021, our members on the ground (KPP-Haiti) have continued working relentlessly. They are coordinating various activities to prepare the schools and the children to be ready for the current school year which starts on October 4^th. In addition, they are putting in place what is needed to implement Konbit Pou Potapiman (KPP) new long-term focus: the revival of Agriculture in the farmland of the commune.

Schools

We are currently working with 3 schools: Lycée de Port-a-Piment, College Rwood Claudy Damas and EFA de Port-a-Piment. There are other schools which contacted us for help but have not yet specified what their needs are.

Lycée de Port-a-Piment: The Earthquake of last month had impacted mostly every building in Port-a-Piment and the schools were not spared. Fortunately this school has not sustained structural damages, However all classrooms showed visible cracks that needed repairs .

A request for assistance from the School Director, M. Aguilnaire Seide was received and approved by KPP. .As of last Friday, all repairs have been completed and the school has been painted. Another phase of the project which has already started, is repairs to the road leading to the school.

College Rwood Claudy Damas: This school was completely demolished. The principal, Mr. François Frasil, took the initiative to construct a hangar (tentative structure) to receive the children for the start of school. He reached out to KPP, and we helped finance part of the project. Work has started and the principal is confident that the structure will be ready to welcome its students

EFA de Port-a-Piment: This school which serves approximately 600 hundred children was fortunate not to sustain structural damages. As of this writing, the repairs have started, and we will be reporting on their progress in our subsequent update.

Agriculture

Farming: Execution of this project has generated tremendous interest from the planters in the commune. As a result, we are expanding the number of participants from 80 to 300. Mr. Jean Robert Isidor (member of KPP-Haiti) and the local agronomist, Mr., Gayoni Elie Germeil continue to identify more farmers to achieve the new goal..

In the meantime, the farmers are preparing their fields for the new crops, and the agronomist is aiding them where needed by providing technical help. We are now purchasing and bagging the seeds for distributions.

Thank you for your support. The need is great and we always appreciate your generosity. As mother Theresa said “together we can do great things”,

More to follow….

Photos: Jonel Musac

or this link to our GOFUNDME: https://gofund.me/c974b54d

Our work continues in Port-a-Piment

On: August 30, 2021August 31, 2021 By: potapiman

On Sunday August 29^th, 2021, Konbit Pou Potapiman made its second delivery of medical supplies to the Hôpital de Port-a-Piment. A stock of 36 boxes of medicines and first aid supplies, as well as 6 crutches were delivered. Mr. Evens Pierre, Hospital Administrator, Dr Astaly Cadet ,Medical Director, and Miss Jeuny Allien, Head Nurse acknowledged receipt of the shipment. KPP ensured the safe transport of the supplies which will help our brothers and sisters recover from the physical trauma of the recent earthquake.

On another front:

Konbit Pou Potapiman has selected as one of its long-term goals the revival of Agriculture in the farmland of the commune. The countryside is now in a state of total devastation. Crops and livestock have been lost to the one-two punch of the August 14^th Earthquake as well as Tropical Storm Grace which followed 2 days later. Agriculture remains the backbone of the local economy, and its revival will ensure increasing wealth, improved health, nutrition and housing for the affected population.

On Sunday August 29^th, 2021, Mr. Jean Robert Isidor (KPP representative in Haiti) held an initial meeting in the village of Dolian with about 80 local farmers. They all lost their crops and need help to resume farming. At the meeting, the farmers expressed their needs and concerns. Mr. Isidor profiled the KPP program, which would offer the appropriate seeds to the farmers, which they would cultivate under the professional guidance of the local agronomist. Mr. Isidor is setting up a formal registration of the participants, distribution of the seeds and monitoring of the project.

We will keep you abreast of our progress. Thank you again to all who support our work in Port-a-Piment. Your help is making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Mèsi. Mèsi anpil !! .

To donate ,please use our PayPal button: