LATEST NEWS FROM HAITI
Margaret Trost, margarettrost@yahoo.com
What If? Foundation,
http://www.whatiffoundation.org
September 9, 2007
I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer with plenty of moments of relaxation and renewal. I’m back from my trip to Haiti and have many things to share with you, including pictures from my trip that I hope you will view on our website.
http://www.whatiffoundation.org/whatif_gallery.asp (click on “newest What If? photos”)
INCREASE IN SCHOLARSHIPS
Thanks to your support, we were able to provide 125 scholarships for children in the St. Clare’s neighborhood in Port-au-Prince for the 2007/08 school year. This is an increase in 23 scholarships over the amount we were able to give last year. Without the What If? Foundation’s financial support, these children would not be able to attend elementary, high school, or technical school. We are also in the process of exploring college scholarships for three students who recently graduated from high school.
The Education Coordinators at St. Clare’s who work closely with Fr. Jean-Juste, have done an outstanding job identifying and working with the students. In June, 90% passed the state exam so were able to advance into the next grade.
During my visit to Haiti at the end of July, I had the opportunity to meet with these students. They all expressed their gratitude to you for making their education possible with your donations. I am always moved by their dedication and hard work. Each of them is determined to graduate and to use their education to make a difference in the lives of others. I am hopeful we will be able to continue year after year to send these children to school, and include more children if possible. With your continued support we will be able to do this.
AMAZING SUMMER CAMP
Another highlight of my visit was the Summer Camp we sponsor. (I’ve got great photos on our website.) It takes place in the St. Clare’s rectory, at the site of the food program, and is run by an incredible group of teachers from St. Clare’s. 450 children, ages 4 – 16 attended the six-week camp. They loved the arts and crafts training they received each day. The camp provides a much-needed opportunity for these kids to enjoy being children and to learn skills that could potentially bring income to their families. From sewing to embroidery to basket making to belt and sandal making – it was absolutely incredible! After a fun day of crafts, and a little soccer in the yard, the children received a hot, nutritious meal from the food program throughout the summer.
A PACKED FOOD PROGRAM
The cooks prepared all the meals for the camp as well as the usual 800 -1,000 meals for the food program. On the days that I visited, the food program was packed with children. Wave after wave of hungry children came to the tables to eat a generous, delicious portion of rice, beans, vegetables, and meat. I had never seen it so full and it was an important reminder for me of how critical this program is in helping these children stay alive and healthy.
INCREASED FOOD COSTS ARE STRAINING OUR BUDGET
The St. Clare’s cooks who work 10 – 12 hours/day to provide these meals Monday – Friday met with me to discuss the rising cost of food in Haiti. With a weakening U.S. dollar and rising fuel prices, the cost of food has increased significantly over the last year. We decided not to serve smaller portions to the children in an effort to spread the food out from plate to plate. Instead, in faith and hope that your donations will continue to come in, the What If? Foundation Board of Directors decided to increase the amount of money we send for the food program.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US
The food, education, and summer camp programs at St. Clare’s that serve thousands of children every year are entirely funded by the What If? Foundation. We are in our eighth year of providing the financial resources to support the outreach work of the members of St. Clare’s extraordinary community. Because you’ve shared what you can and passed the word on to your family and friends, we’ve been able to give more each year.
As I look ahead to 2008, I know we need to expand our donor base if we’re going to be able to continue to provide the current level of funding. I invite all your support, ideas, fundraisers in your community, church offering collections, and prayers to help us do this. If you are able to make a donation on a monthly basis via credit card, this is something we are able to do in our office (please call, email, or use the form on our website to set this up) and it helps us have a cash flow we can count on from month to month.
We remain committed to keeping administrative expenses extremely low so that your dollars go directly to Haiti to support these programs.
Thank you for all of your wonderful encouragement, your gifts, your prayers and your dedication to the children.
With love,
Margaret
P.S. I visited Fr. Jean-Juste in Miami on my way to Haiti. He looks healthy and strong and is in daily contact with the members of St. Clare’s who run the programs we sponsor. For an update on Fr. Jean-Juste and his recent visit to St. Clare’s, visit the “latest news” section of our website.
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Margaret Trost, President
What If? Foundation
1563 Solano Ave., #192
Berkeley, CA 94707
Tel: 510-558-9010
http://www.whatiffoundation.org
margarettrost@yahoo.com