I wanted to let you know about a fundraiser for Haiti taking place on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 6 PM at Smythe Street Cathedral. Tickets are $20. Thanks to the generosity of the artists (Dan Hill & Liz Rodrigas as well as Fredericton's own "The Stringers") and all involved, 100% of the ticket price will go to support emergency relief of World Vision in Haiti. For more information and to purchase tickets on-line, please go to www.freddylink.com.. Tickets can also be purchased at Tonys Music Box, Long & Mcquade and Smythe Street Cathedral in Fredericton. I will also be sharing from my own experience in Haiti.
More information on our project:
FreddyLink, is a Fredericton based initiative aiming to provide long-term support for Haiti. One of the most effective ways to do this is to support World Vision community development projects in Haiti. This is what we were initially going to visit in our recent trip to Haiti but did not get to because of the earthquake. We will be returning to see these projects first-hand once the situation has stabilized enough for us to return.
This World Vision community development project targets the central plateau region of Haiti, which is the most poverty stricken area in the western hemisphere. These projects typically have about a 15 year life cycle. There is a period of about 2-3 years during which the needs of the community are assessed, a self-governance structure is developed, and a plan created by the local community. The plan is designed to meet the specific needs of that community in a holistic way, and may include activities like drilling water wells, building schools, health and nutrition education, immunizations, and disaster preparedness. The community then implements their plan, with World Vision providing what additional support the community needs. For example, if the community needs a school, World Vision may provide building materials while the community provides the labour. The goal is that at the end of the cycle, the community is now self-supporting, and World Vision can move on to a new community.
These community development projects are funded through child sponsorships. The sponsorships are $40/month. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, they will be available at the fundraiser, and they are also available through me at any time.
This is actually a pilot project with World Vision. We are creating a direct link between the community of Fredericton and the communities in Haiti through these sponsorships. Child sponsors have always been able to write, send and receive letters from their sponsored children. Now, we can have a more direct link where some of us will visit the communities in Haiti, and may be able to visit and take pictures of the sponsored children. We will also have individuals from Haiti come to Fredericton, and there will be annual updates on progress in the community. This way sponsors get to see how their support has contributed to changes in the community. Once we get the Freddylink site fully up and running, it will be a source of information and updates for the project. While not yet available, there should soon be an excellent video available on the website produced by World Vision which explains how these community development program work using a community in Tanzania as an example.
Please pass this on to anyone you think may be interested.
I hope to see you on the 21st.
Heidi
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