Published Tue, Jun 28, 22.
Written by Rebecca Honorat.
When Renel & I were dreaming about creating an organization that could provide Haitian students with educational opportunities, while keeping them in their family units, we had many conversations about whether we had a foundation solid enough to build a charity that would effectively empower families in Haiti.
We believed that our faith, passion, and combined experience were three of the cornerstones, but the fourth would be the hardest.... finding like-minded people that would have enough confidence in us, and our vision, to support Alongside Families in Haiti financially.
There is a Haitian proverb that says;
'Kay san sol tombe san van.'
'A house without a foundation falls even when there is no wind'
As Alongside's support base grew Renel & I started referring to the donors that gave regularly to the general fund as our 'Sol Supporters'. While donations to our programs are also very important, these Sol Supporters are the ones building our foundation and allowing us to act quickly when urgent needs arise.
This past month we experienced a strong wind - a horrific accident which affected some of our families in Haiti. If you missed seeing those emails you can view them on our blog: A Horrific Accident and An Update on the Accident.
Thanks to the supporters who have committed to giving to Alongside's general fund on a regular basis we were able to get funds to Haiti immediately so that those critically injured were able to be admitted into the hospital. In Haiti you need to pay a downpayment for hospital expenses or you will be turned away. It bought us time to reach out to our broader support base to raise relief funds.
On Saturday we experienced another strong wind - Davidson, one of the young men hurt in the accident, hadn't been able to urinate for 48 hours due to secondary issues caused by the trauma. He needed a suprapubic catheter urgently and he was turned away from the hospital because he didn't have the money he needed to pay for the operation. Thanks to our SOL Supporters, we were able to get the money to the hospital and Davidson had his surgery on Sunday night. We are hopeful that another operation, likely several months down the road, will be able to fix the problem permanently - but time will tell.
(A suprapubic catheter is a type of catheter that is left in place. Rather than being inserted through your urethra, the catheter is inserted through a hole in your tummy (abdomen) and then directly into your bladder.)
In both of these wind storms our foundation not only held our house together - it allowed us to provide shelter to people who were in life and death situations. Thank you Sol Supporters. And thank you to those that gave generously to the Relief Fund once you found out about the accident.
We feel incredibly blessed to only be in our third year of operation and already have a solid foundation in place.
Together we can make a difference!
Rebecca Honorat Executive Director
These two pictures were taken Sunday morning. Davidson had just woken up from his surgery. His daughter, Daveleesha, is staying with her aunt and she sent Davidson this picture to encourage him.
If you would like to become a Sol Supporter, or donate to Davidson's surgeries, there are links to do that below. Davidson's surgery this weekend cost $2000 US and we're anticipating the next one to be almost twice that much. Reputable hospitals in Haiti are hard to come by, and very expensive.
Here is a brief update on the others that were critically injured in the accident:
Emilio is now sitting fairly comfortably and able to walk short distances unassisted. His steady progress is helping him feel hopeful for the future.
Sannon, Solve, and Louvemirka have had several followup appointments and the doctors are happy with their progress.
The Faustin family is still grieving the loss of Dieuvel'homme but they are encouraged by the love and support the community is showing them. After the funeral it was decided that the extra relief money raised for the Faustins was best used to close in their porch and add an extra room on the back of their house. This will give them more security and a place to store produce that they bring down from the family farm in the mountains.
Dieuvel'homme's children sang a song at the funeral (bottom right picture)
Extra storage room being built at the back of the house.
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Alongside Families in Haiti Society is a Registered Canadian Charity
