Praxis Haiti - Progress

Your Donations, Her Ambition

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Thanks to your donations, Praxis is sponsoring 8 students during the 2012-13 academic year. One beneficiary is Danou Telemaque who is starting her second year of nursing school.

Danou, a soft spoken and tender-hearted 26 year old, spent much of her adolescence in and out of medical facilities getting tumors removed from her jaw. These procedures left her disfigured, but did not hamper her ambitions; instead, her experience grew her desire to join the medical field. “I love caring for others, but I’ve had to sit out the last two years of nursing school because I could not afford the tuition. At the end of this year, I will be qualified to work as an auxiliary nurse,” explained Danou when we interviewed her.

Education and jobs are pillars of development in any community. Help us empower the community of Lavanneau by making a donation today.

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Long Haul 100 Ultra-marathon fundraiser for Praxis

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, December 04, 2012

"It's a marathon towards the development of Haiti, not a sprint."

That is is the idea behind the Long Haul 100 Ultra-Marathon

An Extreme Event for An Extreme Cause

The Sponsor Drive for the 2013 Long Haul 100 is underway and we are aiming to make it the best year yet. This could be a great opportunity to advertise your business: we are in need of corporate sponsors through tax deductible cash donations, in kind giving and/or matching grants. Click sponsor poster below for more information.

This year, we've added a few family friendly divisions to the ultra-marathon divisions:
Grab a friend --> 100 furlong (12.5 miles/one loop on course - w/an AM or PM start)
Join a team --> 100 kilometers w/5 Person relay team
Run with a group --> Final Mile Run (run 99 miles before race day, run final mile at LH100)
Cheer on the kids --> Kids 100 Yard Dash

YOU can help us make the 2013 LH100 the best year yet, by:
Share --> The story of Praxis Haiti with your friends and family
Join -->Our LH100 Sponsorship or Fundraising Drive
Run --> Run the race (individually or as a team)
Volunteer --> Options available before, during and after the race

Visit --> The Long Haul 100 website at www.longhaul100.com for registration forms, etc
Contact --> Jen Pearson, Race Director at Jen@longhaul100.com

Leanne Otero, Administration Director for more information at Leanne@longhaul100.com

Together, we are making a difference in this community, one step at a time.
We'd love to see your company logo on our 2013 Long Haul 100 Sponsors

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Give the Gift of Giving

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, November 27, 2012

We happily offer to send an announcement of your (tax-deductible) gift to your family and friends this holiday season.

You can give knowing you made a difference and shared the work of Praxis Haiti with your family and friends.

When you make your donation, please note that you want us to send a gift announcement (providing the address for the same in the note section of your donation) and we will confirm with you once it has been mailed.

DONATE

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Partnership is a Key to Our Success

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Individuals, organizations and corporations fund the work we do in Haiti. We want to highlight three Tampa-based companies that are making a difference in Lavanneau.

Quality Electrical Solutions (QES) of Tampa Bay donated $3,700 to Praxis this summer from revenue generated through recycling leftover scrap copper. QES owner, John DuBois, stated: "my partner, Rick Tramel, and I are serious fans of the Praxis team. After first-hand visits, we believe they are doing a difficult, but necessary work in Haiti. So, after reviewing QES’s processes and looking for ways to help, we felt that recycling revenues from our U.S. efforts would be a good source of capital for Praxis. In this small way, QES has addressed two issues; here in the U.S. we are maintaining vigilance in environmental issues, and globally, we are making an effort to partner with organizations like Praxis, who are providing real-time solutions to difficult problems."

Solar Advantage and Applied Thermal also contributed by donating and installing solar panels at our headquarters in Haiti. This renewable energy system significantly reduces overhead costs for Praxis' operations.

Haiti is a complex place that requires creative solutions. Consequently it's vital for Praxis to partner with individuals and businesses that provide innovative support. These donations allow us to continue and expand the community-driven development projects underway in Lavanneau.

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Haitians Training Haitians

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The leadership at Praxis strongly believes in having programs that are designed and managed by Haitians. With this in mind, we actively mentor and train local leaders with a goal of transitioning programs into their care.

We are pleased to announce the beginning of this process with our popular culinary program: Praxis hired and trained Suze Pierre and Fania Floristal, two participants of previous offerings, to manage all aspects of the class from selecting the menu, to teaching the recipes. With Suze and Fania at the helm, we launched the next class with 10 new students, including our first male candidate!

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Praxis Fall/Hurricane Sandy Update

Praxis Haiti - Thursday, November 08, 2012

Hurricane Sandy's historic impact did not spare Haiti nor the area of Lavanneau. Starting on Tuesday, October 16th in the afternoon, the slow-moving storm ravaged this community with strong winds and very heavy rainfall until Saturday morning. Flooding became a problem as the river that separates the town from the city of Jacmel became impassable, blocking access to food and much needed supplies. Many members of the community suffered loss of gardens and animals, but the most tragic was the loss of a 26 year old man who attempted to cross the river. We mourn with those who mourn in Lavanneau as well as in the Northeast, where one of our partners Beacon Church of Long Island is situated.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Raging River after Sandy

Crossing River on Saturday, Oct 27th

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Outreach Opportunities

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Praxis Haiti currently sponsors several students ranging from kindergarten to high school. Though this is not a core program in our mission, we know that investing in education is critical to human development.

We are raising $1500 to pay for tuition, materials and uniforms for up to 8 students during the 2012-2013 academic year. If you are interested in donating towards this education fund, please note “education” on your check or paypal donation.

In our last newsletter, we made an appeal for 6 used laptops for training classes in the community of Lavanneau; thanks to a collaborative effort between Sue Dunn, Gina Coles, and Sunnking Inc, we received all 6! They will be put to good use this summer, as we partner with local associations to provide basic computer classes to high school students.

What amazing support from our friends, thank you!!

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Agricultural Education

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, July 17, 2012

We are pleased to present the latest member of the Praxis team!

Calixte Christin is a young agronomist we met at the symposium on agribusiness in February. He is a recent graduate looking for experience and is very interested in our projects. He will work with us on a part-time basis and serve as our technical adviser and trainer.

He will teach our next community seminar to be held on June 29th on natural pesticides.

His hire is a direct result of your donations; thank you!

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Culinary Classes

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, July 10, 2012

In April, we held a week-long class taught by Emily Troutman, of Tampa, Florida. Together, we taught pie crust and basic baking skills to some of our former students. We made several recipes; most were very appreciated but the winner was a patė (like a Spanish empanada) which the women thought they could sell.

The photo on the bottom right is simulating a Dutch Oven concept. For the most part, no one in Lavanneau has electric or propane stoves. To bake you have to improvise. This is a method of cooking that we taught using a cast iron pot with a tin roofing piece as a cover to trap the heat.

Our next class is being planned for early July.

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Beacon Chicken Program

Praxis Haiti - Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Thanks to the generous donation from the Beacon Church of Long Island, the Beacon Chicken Program recently completed its month-long program of teaching and training students to raise meat chickens, a sustainable model for this community.

The classes were held daily, starting with theory and followed by practical application. Students were put in groups of 3 or 4 and were assigned a day of the week for caring for the animals. They were not allowed to miss more than 3 classes or risk being removed from the roster. Gerald Joseph, a locally-trained young Haitian farmer, taught the following topics: preparation of a coop, types of chickens, stages of the life cycle, food preparation, diseases and medicines, daily care and maintenance, butchering techniques, and managing the business (including cost models and profitability, market analysis, key contacts ect). We took the students on a field trip to visit a commercial chicken farm.

In the end, 15 of the 16 students finished the program (one dropped out) and 49 of the 50 chickens survived (we lost one a week before graduation). The butchered chickens were used for the graduation meal which was cooked by students of the cooking class, some of whom attended the chicken program. Each graduate received an “acknowledgement of completion”, a booklet of the lesson notes, a Praxis shirt and 2 live chickens. The remainder of the chickens was given to those who had supported the program and poor members of the area.

We are encouraged that a handful of the students were interested in starting their own business. Consequently, we’ve held follow up meetings to help with business plans and foster collaboration amongst interested students. Praxis is committed to helping entrepreneurs launch small businesses as we believe this is a sure step toward the economic development of Lavanneau.