e-Newsletter

• Makaya Water Project Progress
• Servant Leader Scholarship
• Filming "The Road to Fondwa"
• APF Elections
• RIM Updates
• Spring Appeal

Makaya Water project progresses during the rainy season

During a March visit to Fondwa, PIP executive director Rich Gosser and his wife Daneen received a very encouraging report on the PIP sponsored Makaya Water project from project supervisors Eugenio Pompey and Frantzy Jean (pictured at the left). During the first phase of the project a new "pepinye" (tree nursery) was constructed in the Makaya neighborhood and the sprouting of seedlings begun. Intensive reforestation of the area is needed to protect and preserve the four fresh-water springs that provide potable water in the area. With the onset of the rainy season this month the planting is in full swing and is expected to be completed by May. The second phase of the project will "capture" water in an existing cistern and the total amount of water available will be assessed. New pipe will then be laid and a pump installed so that the captured water can be transported to a reservoir located at the APF commercial center. Management of this valuable resource in the "most water poor country in the world" will be done by a neighborhood council elected from APF members and others at large and the Makaya sources will provide water for the APF bakery and restaurant, the University of Fondwa 2004 and residents of the Tomb Gato area of Fondwa. More information is available at www.PIPHaiti.org .

Norma Mathias awarded PIP "servant leader" scholarship for University of Fondwa 2004!

Based on the recommendation of the university governing board and Dr. Rosemary Edwards, PIP board member and acting rector of the University of Fondwa 2004, Partners in Progress has awarded its "servant leader" scholarship to Ms. Norma Mathias, an agronomy student at the university. Norma, who comes from Hinche in Haiti's central plateau is the youngest of four brothers and three sisters and is the first member of her family to attend a university. Identified as "one of the highest achievers in her class", Norma describes her home community as "rich because of the productive capacity of the land." Her ambition is to pass on the knowledge and expertise she gains at UNIF to the peasants of her rural community. "By increasing their agricultural production", she says, "the peasants will gain greater access to the riches of the land." The servant leader scholarship will enable UNIF to absorb the cost of Norma's tuition, room and board for the duration of her studies. Congratulations to Norma and to all the students of UNIF for their achievements and their commitment to developing the riches of rural Haiti! More profiles of students at the University of Fondwa 2004 are available at www.PIPHaiti.org/meet_students.html and additional information about UNIF can be found at www.UNIF2004.org .

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Filming of "The Road to Fondwa" documentary begins in May 2006

Gifted film artist and Notre Dame graduate, Justin Brandon, is coming to Fondwa to record the "success story" of more than 15 years of creating and testing the Fondwa community-based model of integral and sustainable development. Working with Fondwa long-term volunteers and fellow Notre Dame graduates, Brian McElroy and Danny Schnorr, Brandon will interview APF members, international volunteers and UNIF students and staff to capture on film the compelling story of Fondwa. Check in regularly at the PIP website (www.PIPHaiti.org ) for updated news on "The Road to Fondwa" video project and for information about how to get YOUR copy on DVD!

APF elections reflect democratic ideals and orderly progress in Fondwa

Results of the April 9 elections of officers for the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF) were published recently by the APF electoral council. Of 299 APF members registered to participate in the election (about 75% of APF's membership) 209 members (or 69.9 %) participated in choosing a president, treasurer, secretary, administrative council, and the electoral council that will oversee the next APF elections. Participation in APF elections is an important right and duty of APF members and reflects the democratic nature of the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF) and the value APF places on democratic structures and modeling participatory democracy. Partners in Progress congratulates all those who were elected to positions of responsibility in APF and congratulates all those APF members whose participation contributed to the success of the elections! Like the Haitian national elections carried out successfully in February and April, these elections open up a new "space" and create an opportunity for sustained progress. PIP looks forward to a continuing and fruitful collaboration with APF during the coming year!

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Rich in Mercy (RIM) updates

The Rich in Mercy "division" of Partners in Progress promotes a global "culture of solidarity" by linking individuals and faith-communities in the US with their counterparts in Haiti and by inspiring initiatives and providing opportunities to meet the needs of the most impoverished people of the Americas. Rich in Mercy participates in the annual "mission co-op appeal" of the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, PA. More information is available at www.RIMHaiti.org .

Rich in Mercy has provided ongoing funding for the construction of a rectory in Fondwa so that the people of St. Antoine parish can some day have a resident priest! The rectory project has seen considerable progress in the past year and a second quarter RIM grant will enable construction to advance rapidly after the rainy season. The rectory is expected to be habitable by autumn after which the parishioners will petition the Archbishop of Port au Prince to assign them a pastor!

The Rich in Mercy "Skip a Lunch, Save a Child" program, begun by Marlene Shaw after she visited Haiti on a RIM sponsored "reverse mission pilgrimage", provides support for an early education and nutrition program in the St. Louis de Montfort parish in Port au Prince where Fr. Nicolas Girard is the pastor. Sr. Eileen Davey, a Holy Union Sister from Fall River, MA is the director of this "head start" program which makes possible a daily nutritious meal and educational enrichment experiences for more than 70 preschoolers! Support for this program comes from Marlene's friends and family members, parishioners of Holy Trinity parish in Ligonier, PA, and contributions from the Holy Trinity religious education students. PIP Executive Director, Dr. Rich Gosser, presented Sr. Eileen with first quarter grant of more than $1600 during a site visit to St. Louis de Montfort parish in March 2006.

Rich in Mercy has also provided direct support to the APF secretariat to help meet its 1st. quarter operating expenses, volunteer support to the University of Fondwa 2004 (UNIF), and partial support for some of the international volunteers in Fondwa. Medicines and medical supplies collected in the "Meds for Missions" campaign conducted by the Holy Trinity RCIA in Ligonier, PA will be shipped to clinics in Port au Prince and Fondwa under RIM auspices in the Fall.

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PIP Spring appeal invites YOU to become "Sustaining Partner"!

PIP's donors are both very loyal and very generous! A simple "mesi anpil" ("thank you VERY much") never seems adequate as a response to the continuing support PIP receives from its donors. Your support is essential if PIP is to have the resources needed to carry out its mission of promoting and supporting the Fondwa community-based model of integral sustainable development in rural Haiti. Spring is a time of new hope and new opportunity in Haiti as PIP's Spring appeal and information mailing emphasizes. We know that the great majority of Haitians living in the rural provinces subsist on incomes of less than US $1 a day and PIP's Spring appeal asks YOU to consider making a contribution of $30 - one dollar a day for each day of April to support the continuing collaboration between PIP and the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF). We also invite you to consider multiplying the impact of your gift by becoming a "sustaining partner". Just click on the donations link of the PIP website (www.PIPHaiti.org ) and pledge a tax-deductible gift of $30 or more a month! Sustaining partners will each receive a copy of the 20 minute DVD "Road to Fondwa" edited by Justin Brandon and produced by Fondwa long-term volunteer Brian McElroy. Don't delay make YOUR gift today!