Arts and Culture Haiti Project #14623

Give 30 Orphaned Children a Sustainable Income

by International Disaster Volunteers (IDV)

Project Report | Apr 24, 2015
Saving for the Future, While Cherishing the Moment

By Andy Chaggar | IDV Chief Executive

You're giving Fritz a future, and a childhood!

Since our last project report an amazing twenty donors have given an incredible $800 towards buying a vehicle for the HTDC orphanage.

Thanks so much to all of you, including those who donated before our last report.

While we’re still short of our overall target we’re continuing to set this money aside and moving ever closer to the day when we can buy the truck the orphanage dreams of.

Although our primary goal in buying the truck is still to provide the orphanage its own income, there are many other ways the vehicle will improve life for the kids.

As we discussed in our last report the vehicle will provide school transport for the kids. This will save the orphanage money, which they can spend on other essentials like food.

But the vehicle will be about providing fun as well. After all, there are 27 kids involved!

This year the orphanage directors have really wanted the kids to have some fun outside the orphanage. All the kids had rough starts in life and these day trips are a great way of giving them back some of the joy of being kids.

In March for example there was an amazing trip to the beach. The kids always love getting out of the house, but to leave the city and visit the sea is a very special treat indeed! On the beach the kids had food and drinks and above all, a great time.

Next month Haiti will celebrate its agriculture and the kids will also get involved here. The orphanage directors are planning to take the kids outside the city again, but this time to help plant trees. This will teach the kids about deforestation and protecting the environment, while giving them much needed fresh air.

Hiring vehicles for these trips isn’t cheap however. By saving your donations to buy the orphanage its own vehicle we’ll not only help them earn an income, we’ll also be to give the kids more fun, joyful trips. In many ways the vehicle will provide for the kids futures, while also giving them back their childhoods.

Thanks so much for these amazing gifts!

As always, if you ever have any queries about how we’re using your donation, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I would be delighted to hear from you.

Thanks to ALM Photography for these latest photos

A vehicle will give the kids more beach trips

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Jan 27, 2015
HTDC Orphanage Needs a Vehicle Now More Than Ever

By Andy Chaggar | IDV Chief Executive

The kids are thriving at their new school

Thanks to your fantastic donations the directors of the HTDC orphanage have been looking forward to their increased financial independence. While they can’t get started without help we’ve been saving your donations to this project to invest in a vehicle which the orphanage can rent out to earn an income.

As time has passed, we’ve moved ever closer to our fundraising goal and the orphanage’s dream of being able to meet its own needs.

But, owing to the developing situation in Haiti, the orphanage is faced with unforeseen costs, and the need for this vehicle has become urgent. The orphanage needs your support to buy this vehicle now more than ever before.

In our last project report we explained that we were planning to move the orphanage to the Bon Repos area of Port-au-Prince. We’d identified several properties and our favorite choice seemed ideal.

Sadly, due to a worsening political crisis, the security situation now means that we’re not confident Bon Repos will be a safe enough area for the kids, at least not after night falls.

There are other houses available in other neighborhoods, including in Clercine, where the orphanage has been based for the last several years. So, the kids will still have a safe new home.

But the kids are also already enrolled and settled in a new school in Bon Repos, which is still safe in the day. While we could move them to another school, nearer their eventual new home, their school fees have already been paid and it would disrupt the kids’ education and friendships.

If we can, keeping the kids in their current school is definitely the best option for the remainder of the school year.

But the challenge the kids now face is being driven to school everyday until June. This is expensive and it costs almost $450 a month to hire a vehicle. These costs were not budgeted for beyond December last year and so, with each month that now passes, the orphanage faces a shortfall in its available funding.

This is why the kids need a vehicle right now more than ever before.

If we’re able to buy this vehicle soon we can continue with plans to help the orphanage earn its own income and, at the same time, the orphanage can also save money by driving the kids to school themselves.

So please consider donating towards the vehicle costs today.

We’re sorry that the changing security situation in Port au Prince has affected our original plans and we thank you for continued support and understanding.

If you have any questions about this issue, or in general, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I would be delighted to hear from you.

The orphanage staff are looking for a new house

Your donations will buy a vehicle like this one

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Oct 31, 2014
Living sustainably at the HTDC orphanage

By Emma Taylor | IDV Head of Media and Marketing

You're helping these kids find independence

There are big changes afoot at the HTDC orphanage!

For the last four years the amazing support of donors like you has allowed us to rent a safe home for the kids in the Clercine area of Port au Prince. This home has provided a wonderful environment for the kids. Living there has allowed them to thrive and enjoy their childhoods.

But for the last couple of years the orphanage’s landlord has been developing the property, and he’s recently completed the addition of a whole new storey on top of the original house. The new additions mean that this house now has more room than the kids need.

The lease on the current house is up for renewal in November, and the orphanage directors have decided that rather than rent the unnecessary new space, it’s better to look for a new home for the orphanage and all the kids in its care.

We’ve already identified several potential new homes in the Bon Repos area of Port au Prince. Our favourite choice has a beautiful garden with mango, coconut and palm trees. What’s more, despite it having a little more room than the original house, the rent will actually be cheaper.

This cheaper rent is important to the orphanage directors for a number of reasons. At the moment the orphanage still relies on donors like you to pay its rent. But while the orphanage directors are extremely grateful for the help, they also never take this support for granted. They’re always careful about how they spend donations and they look forward to the day the orphanage will be financially independent.

Thanks to your donations to this project, that financial independence gets closer everyday. We’ll use your donations to buy the orphanage a bus it can rent out and earn an income. Of course, even once the orphanage has its own income it will still have to live within its means.

So, we’re delighted that the orphanage directors have found this latest way to make important savings while still meeting the needs of the kids.

As always, if you ever have any queries about how we’re using your donation, please don’t hesitate to email Emma@IDVolunteers.org. I would be delighted to hear from you.

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