The United Church of Fayetteville and Haiti Educational Partnership are appreciative of Dr. James T. Spencer, the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble, Jared Shepard and the UCF Handbell Choir for their inspiring music at the Brass and Bells concert! Thank you for your attendance and contributions for our Haiti Partnership and the F-M Community Outreach Food Pantry. There were many kudos by our visitors at the reception! We thank our talented musicians, decorators, sanctuary helpers, bakers, kitchen crew, ushers, parking lot attendants, program creators, our Pastor, the local newspapers and guests for all your help and support. We were able to raise about $1,200 for preschool books and chlorine tablets to make the water drinkable in Haiti. Our gifts of hospitality will extend beyond our walls to those in greater need as we act on their behalf!
Since 2010, United Church of Fayetteville has been a member of the Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery Haiti Educational Partnership, which is a collaboration of several churches and many USA French Clubs, teachers and friends partnering with FEED to improve the quality of education, water, nutrition and medical care in Paulette, Haiti, a little town to the northeast of Cape Haitian. FEED’s letters translate in English to the “Foundation for the Development of Underprivileged Children.” This is a grassroots organization made up of Haitian professionals (teachers, nurses and administrators) who donate 10% of their salaries to improve the quality of life for 100 orphans and the elderly in this area.
Our Central NY team has traveled to Haiti a half dozen times to share teaching methods with teachers and principals in French, math and art and has taught literacy and English lessons and helped with a sustainable garden. Thanks to its friends’ generosity, the team has raised funds for literacy booklets prepared by Pebble Hill’s Ruth Colvin (creator of Literacy Volunteers and member of the Educational Partnership). These were translated into French by one of our team’s retired French teachers for the literacy classes. Funds have been raised for teacher training, mobile medical clinics, sports equipment, new metal roofs, tables and chairs for the FEED headquarters, students’ books and workbooks. Recently we raised money for repairs for a well, a motorcycle-ambulance, a laptop computer, a camera and nutritional supplements for children and the elderly. We also help with tuition, uniforms, shoes and backpacks for 100 children, chlorine tablets to make water potable, latrines and hand-washing stations. The team continues to support a teenager’s education in secondary school and Principal Serge’s continuing education.
A few of our future goals include helping to fund supplemental meals, medical clinics, tuition and adult literacy. A trip is planned for 2016 to share teaching methods requested by teachers in several subjects. For further information, please contact Scott or Gloria Manuel (members of UCF) at sgmanuel40@gmail.com or chair of the team, Dr. Timothy Schmidt, tschmidt@twcny.rr.com.
