REBUILD HAITI: Mission Possible 2009

By Jennifer Browning

For the second year in a row, Coral Gables Congregational Church will host REBUILD HAITI: MISSION POSSIBLE.

The fundraiser will feature Haitian-American writer and 2009 recipient of the MacArthur “Genius Award,” Edwidge Danticat. Danticat is known for her contemporary work of Haitian heritage writing in English from her award-winning 1994 debut, Breath, Eyes, Memory and her equally lauded 1995 short story collection Krik? Krak!.

REBUILD HAITI will also include a silent auction, wine reception, entertainment, and Haitian crafts display. Monies raised will go directly toward Project Medishare, Haitian Education Leadership Project, the Lambi Fund of Haiti, and FAVACA.

Please come help REBUILD HAITI and support Project Medishare Friday, November 13; 7-10 p.m. Please RSVP by November 10 at (305)448-7421.

Can’t join us but still want to help us in our mission? Click here to make a tax deductible donation to Project Medishare.

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UTHSCSA wins $10,000 grant for Project Medishare on Ideablob.com

By Jennifer Browning

Since their first partnering trip with Project Medishare in December 2008, University of Texas Health and Science Center in San Antonio (UTHSCSA) has been working toward raising enough money to send two medical groups to Haiti in 2010.

They received quite a boost after the group won a $10,000 grant from Ideablob.com this month.

UTHSCSA trip leader, Sheridan Fielding found out  about the website by two friends who are involved with, Play For Hope, who successfully used Ideablob to win a grant for their organization earlier in the year.

“It is truly a remarkable site,” Fielding said. “The $10K monthly prize is clearly very neat in itself, but when you look closer at the site, it’s a dynamic website for idea exchange and encouragement of entrepreneurship. It also has become a fantastic venue for non-profit and/or public health organizations in particular to spread the word about the work they are doing and receive good advice from others who may have expertise in an area that is helpful to them.”

The Texas group’s involvement in Haiti and Project Medishare was inspired initially when Project Medishare Co-Founder Dr. Fournier visited their campus. Fielding said the first year medical students were captivated by the stories and work being done in Thomonde with community health workers, and wanted to learn more.

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Project Medishare’s Dr. Barth Green joins panel discussion in Washington D.C.

By Jennifer Browning

In November, Project Medishare’s Co-Founder, Dr. Barth Green will join UN’s Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti, Dr. Paul Farmer  and Haiti’s Ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph during the panel discussion “Meeting the challenge of the Millennium Development Goals in Haiti: A progress report from the poorest country in the Americas.”

The panel will discuss Haiti’s experience in order to inform audiences about several Millennium Development Goals.

Project Medishare is currently partnering with The Global Institute at the University of Miami for successful implementation of the Integrated Community Development Program currently underway in the community of Marmont. Both organizations use the Millennium Development Goals set forth by the United Nations Development Program as a model to guide them toward the success of the Integrated Community Development Program in Marmont.

The November panel discussion is the first dialogue in the monthly, yearlong series “OUR GLOBAL CHALLENGES: A Series of Dialogues on the Most Pressing Global Issues of Our Time.”

The series of panel discussions is sponsored by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) who is partnering with University of Miami’s Knight Center for International Media.

The discussion will be November 2 between 3-4 p.m. at CSIS in Washington D.C.

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“Sweet seeds” sowing for good in the social gaming world

By Jennifer Browning

If you’ve been tending to your crops in Farmville, think about purchasing some sweet potato seeds in an effort to feed children in Haiti.

Under Zynga’s “Sweed Seeds” initiative, when Farmville users purchase special sweet potato seeds,  50 percent of profits are donated to non-profit organizations in Haiti.  Those being FATEM.org and FONKOZE.org.  FATEM said Zynga’s contributions have already provided education for 500 children in Mirebalais.

Read more.

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Send holiday cheer to Haiti

By Jennifer Browning

Coral Gables Congregational Church (CGCC) is partnering again with Project Medishare this holiday season to provide toys for children in Thomonde and Marmont. The church annually hosts an Angel Tree/Toy Drive campaign and chose  the children of Haiti be the beneficiaries of the toy drive campaign once again this year.

CGCC collected toys last year for the children of Haiti’s Central Plateau in the aftermath of the hurricanes which battered the plateau.

Toys can be dropped off or mailed to Coral Gables Congregational Church until December 15. For questions, call (305) 448-7421. Toys can be dropped off or delivered to 3010 De Soto Boulevard, Coral Gables, FL 33134.

Click here to read about the angel tree/toy drive children benefited from last year.

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Carter plans to combat malaria in Haiti and Dominican Republic

By Jennifer Browning

An estimated 30,000 Haitians were infected this year and several thousand more across the border in the Dominican Republic. Such statistics prompted former President Jimmy Carter to begin a $200,000 pilot program to fight malaria in Ouanaminthe and in neighboring Dajabon, Dominican Republic. The pilot program is operated by the noprofit, The Carter Center.

Carter will visit the two countries Wednesday in hopes of spurring their leaders to join an island-wide pact to fight the disease.

Carter hopes to spread the campaign, but health workers say this task will be more difficult to do in Haiti. Spreading the campaign won’t be cheap, health officials say they will ask donors for $200 million to launch the malaria campaign.

Malaria is a disease that causes high fevers and flu-like symptoms killing more than one million people each year.

Read full article here.

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Big names come to Haiti in search of investment

By Jennifer Browning

Over the weekend, big names congregated in conference rooms in a luxury hotel in Haiti. Big names like Levi and Gap were interested in the potential of American trade legislation that wipes out duties on apparel assembled in Haiti. Citibank and Scotiabank were on hand to discuss loans.

With the State Department downgrading its travel warning for Haiti no longer advising  Americans to avoid nonessential travel to the country, there is hope that Haiti can begin to build its tourism back to what it was decades ago. Hundreds of potential investors visited the tiny Caribbean country to network and discuss possible projects from historical sites and brassieres to mangoes.

United Nations special envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton gave his stamp of approval after visiting last week, declaring the country as safe as it has been in years.
Read about the investment visit in Marc Lacey’s story, Still Fragile, Haiti Makes Sales Pitch.

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Boots made for walking also help Haiti

By Jennifer Browning

Got a mountain in mind to climb? Are the Everglades calling you to traverse it’s ghostly winding paths? Now you can choose your next pair of boots from Timberland, who has created a 16-boot footwear collection specifically for Wyclef Jean’s Yéle Haiti organization. The musician and his organization have teamed up with the Timberland Company to raise global awareness on Haiti, as well as to promote environmental progress.

“Tree” t-shirts designed by art students from Haiti will also be sold in Timberland stores nationwide, with $1 from each sold shirt given back to support art programs and reforestation. The shoes are expected to be released next month.

Read more here.

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