Chermaitre
Chermaitre, unreachable by road, sits in the mountains of rural northwest Haiti, outside the city of Gros Morne. About 275 children atend primary school in the village. Beginning in fall 2008, classes are being held in a new 7-room school built entirely with VHP funding. Classes were previously held in a one-room, bare-earthed building.
Partnership Program
One of the primary goals of the Vassar Haiti Project is to raise money to support education and sustainability in Chermaitre, a village located in the rural northwest of Haiti. Chermaitre is among six outlying villages which, along with the larger town of Gros Morne, fall under the auspices of the Partnership Program.
Under the Partnership's supervision, a local Episcopalian priest oversees work aimed at improving education and exploring ways to make the villages more sustainable. We now work with Pere Louis Touissant Rosanas.
The Partnership Program's primary short term goals in Chermaitre are to provide a school lunch program and to pay teacher salaries. The Vassar Haiti project supports both of these initiatives. Our funds help ensure that the many children whose families can't afford to pay for lunch are able to eat at school, and that teachers, who might otherwise go for months without any income, are paid their salaries.
The School
The Partnership Program's biggest long term goal in Chermaitre is to build a 7-room primary school. The village currently uses a stone, open air, one room structure as both a school and a church. The lack of transportation to Chermaitre impacts the cost of getting materials there, and creates the added element of providing food for construction workers.
Our fundraising efforts in 2005 at Vassar grossed more than $60,000. Thanks to these unprecedented figures, the construction of a new school is underway!
Fundraising Efforts
The Vassar Haiti Project generates the majority of its revenue from the auction and sale of Haitian artwork and crafts, which is first purchased from the craftsmen at market price, providing them with an important source of income. The paintings reach us as unstretched canvases. By stretching them in-house, possible only through the efforts of a committed team of volunteers comprising Vassar students and members of the local community, we are able to turn a profit that goes towards the construction and operation of the school in Chermaitre.
Additionally, a significant amount of aid is received in the form of gifts and donations. To find out how you can help, or better yet, how you can be a part of the Vassar Haiti Project, click here!