Dear Friends and Family,

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The people there are affected by the highest rate of HIV/AIDS outside of Sub-Saharan Africa. Between the failed state of the economy, the ongoing violence in the capital of Port-au-Prince, and a lack of significant responsiveness from the international community, the country faces a grave future. During the past two years, I have been assisting in the development of a small, rural community in Haiti called Gran Sous. Most recently, the community decided to explore a project involving better access to clean water. I am writing to you asking for your financial support, in order to help a special community reach its goal.

I was originally scheduled to go to Haiti in February 2004, until former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted from the country, and the already unstable atmosphere worsened significantly. It became too dangerous to travel, and my trip was postponed. I made it to Haiti for the first time in May 2005. It was a once in a lifetime experience. The trip was a brief eight days. We were not there to build any houses, or teach in any schools. We were there as participants of a cultural exchange. We stayed with families in Gran Sous, and took part in their daily activities. We met with community leaders and listened to the challenges they faced in regards to education and employment. The idea was to see Haiti and hear about daily life in the country from the people who live it every day.

The trip provoked a lot of thought. I was confronted with the reality of populations of people forced to live without electricity, shower with a bucket of cold water, and go to the bathroom in dug-out cement blocks. It was a privilege to have the ability to listen and learn from people whose lives differ so greatly from my own. The members of my host family, and many individuals from the community became role models for me and living examples of what it means to make the most out of very little.

As I thought more and more about the complex country and the community I stayed with, I wondered what, if any, was the next phase of such an experience. In July 2006 I decided to return to the community that had left me with such a lasting impression. I knew my return would mean a lot to them, but I also had the desire to do more. I wanted to show the community how much of an influence they had on me and somehow get friends and family back home involved in Haiti. Recognizing the amount of financial resources we are surrounded by here in the States, I decided I would become a fundraiser for a small scale project agreed upon and implemented by the community, for the community.

I met with AAPLAG, a trusted group of residents from Gran Sous and the surrounding areas, dedicated to the sustainable development of their lands. I was introduced to them on my first trip by an American friend who has been living in Haiti for seven years and has been working directly with the group for a good majority of that time. After explaining my intentions, they asked me many questions, scrutinized my level of dedication to the project, gave me their advice, and finally their commitment. Confident in the organization’s extensive experience, first-hand knowledge of the community, and trustworthiness, I was pleased they were comfortable with the responsibility of coordinating the disbursement of funds during the various stages of the project. We decided on a date for the first meeting and hoped for the best.

I can enthusiastically say, the first meeting ended up having as much, if not more, value than the potential benefits expected to come from the final product. I had originally expressed a strong desire for there to be a wide assortment of representatives from the community present at the meeting. I hoped for men, women, elders, children, church members as well as non-church members. Such participation, I was told, would be significant, but not a likely occurrence, due to the existence of certain social constructs within the community. When the day finally came and the meeting began, the atmosphere was electric. All the male community leaders I had met a year before were present, and much to my excitement they were joined by a handful of women. There were young boys and girls in attendance, and I was told, both members and non-members of churches around the community.

I explained how I saw my role as fundraiser, and then asked the community what type of small project they felt would be most beneficial to the majority of the community. As they began to discuss, I tried to remain discrete and as removed from the decision-making process as possible, in order to try and ensure ownership remained with the community. The meeting astonishingly functioned without a single leader, and brought some members of the community together for the first time. Everyone, at least for the duration of the meeting, was able to claim the same amount of responsibility and opportunity as a decision-making member of the community. Disagreements worked themselves out, and the type of project was decided upon by all, successfully completing the first major step.

At the meeting it became clear that better access to healthy water was of utmost importance. Other suggestions were made such as constructing a professional center, resolving some of the electricity issues, focusing on reforestation, building a corn/millet mill, and paving some of the roads. However, in the end, a commitment was made to concentrate on water. The lack of access to clean water is problematic for both the community members of Gran Sous and for those that come back to visit family members and friends there. Residents are very proud of the amount of people who return, and even boast that Gran Sous has more friends and family return than any of the other surrounding towns. Many of those relatives and friends, however, fall ill due to water related issues. While seen as a frustrating circumstance, it is also seen as relatively easy to address. I plan on soon returning to Gran Sous with a preliminary portion of funds in order to show my community’s commitment to this project. I hope your interest has increased and invite you to be one of these supporters.

Your donation will not be tax-deductible, because it is not going to any established non-profit. However, as someone I hope you trust, I can assure that the donations collected are going to make a major difference in this community. In fact, every bit of your donation will go directly to the community. None of the money collected will go towards my expenses. I pay for my own airfare, living and other travel expenses, as well as my own financial contribution to the project. Your donation can be given to me in person, made through PayPal on my website http:supporthaiti.blogspot.com, or sent to my home address at 1325 18^th street, NW, Apt 303, Washington, DC, 20036.

While Haitians are very used to the presence of development organizations, they rarely have a say in the work that the organizations perform. They are told about the project and asked to help, but are not given any decision-making power. As you have read above, this project is different. I believe strongly in the community and the methods in which this project is being carried out. It is a small-scale project, allowing every member of the community to be part of both the decision-making, and implementation stages of the project. We have the unique opportunity to bring money into a community that is neglected by the Haitian government and large international development organizations, for a project that is being carried out on a grassroots level by the very people who will benefit most. I hope you keep in contact with me as the project is carried out so that we can share a better understanding of the community and Haitian culture as a whole. It is an important community made up of many people I can only hope you get a chance to know better one day. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Chad W. Bissonnette