The sound of music and cheering was heard throughout the Tiplas Kazo neighborhood yesterday as 520 campers and 32 teachers and assistants danced and celebrated in a parade to mark the first day of summer camp, made possible through your donations.

A small marching band led the parade from the St. Clare’s rectory (the site of the camp in the past) to its new location about a mile away – a rented building next to the land we recently purchased.  This building is the new home of the education programs we support (summer camp, school scholarships, and after-school program).  Summer Camp classes will take place inside the building as well as under tarps that have beenarranged on our land across the street.

As in the past, the camp staff will teach classes in music, dance, cooking, sewing, and various arts and crafts. The six-week camp will also give the children, aged 4 to 16, healthy lunches from the food program and plenty of time to exercise and play games.

In addition, three Haitian doctors will volunteer at the camp 2 to 3 times each week. They will engage the children in discussions, games and exercises designed to help them explore and process their earthquake experiences. Camp coordinator Jean Marie Noel says “the camp and the work with the doctors will be particularly critical for many young people this summer, given deteriorating conditions in the aftermath of the earthquake.”

The What If? Foundation has funded this camp for the last 8 years. We are so grateful to all of you for your support, which has made it possible again this year.  We’ll be putting camp photos on our website gallery and will keep you updated on what’s happening through our blog.

Relocation Update

We’re still in the beginning stages of planning for the building of a kitchen on the new land and the relocation of the food program. Thankfully, the food program can stay at the rectory kitchen for the next several months as we continue to work with our Haitian partners to explore and identify the best construction option for the new building, raise the money needed, and transition to the new location.  We look forward to sharing more information with you as we take steps forward.

Thank you for your ongoing donations.  They continue to provide children in the Tiplas Kazo neighborhood of Port-au-Prince with not only desperately needed nourishment, but also opportunities for fun and a break from the daily challenges they face.  As one camper said, summer camp is “the best part of the year!”