FET MANMAN – Mother’s Day in Haiti
A Day Away from the Mud and Heat
On Saturday April 24 thousands of children from the AFD Mobile School gathered for a cultural celebration at the Aristide Foundation. Since late February the AFD has been operating open-air classrooms serving 1260 children who lost their homes in the January 12, 2010 earthquake. The schools are in refugee camps at Fontamara, Nazon, Tarpage, Carredeux, and Building 2004.
For two weeks leading up to the event teachers and kids in the Mobile Schools prepared presentations on the theme “Life with Love.” On the afternoon of the 24th buses from the Foundation brought the children, their families, and friends to the AFD for the event — over 2000 people in all.
Marie Stuart Roche, the director of the Mobile School project welcomed all the kids to the Foundation — which she reminded them is their home.
Toussaint Hilaire, the Director of the AFD welcomed the children and their families on behalf of former President Aristide and his wife. He reaffirmed to them the Foundation’s commitment to work with them for a better life –a better life meaning: school, food, healthcare, hospitals and parks for them to play in.
Zamor, the coordinator of the schools at 
Nazon then took over as MC and introduced the kids, who put on a spectacular show. The kids from the schools at Nazon danced and sang, the schools from Fontamara put together a threatrical piece about what they lived through at the moment of the earthquake. The kids from the camps near Building 2004 danced and read poetry. The schools at Carradeux and Tarpage performed music and danced.
All the children who attended received new t-shirts, part of a large gift of new clothing from American Apparel. The AFD is distributing these clothes to the kids in the Mobile Schools and to others living in refugee camps around Port-au- Prince. We want to thank American Apparel for the generous donation. There are a lot of used clothes coming into Haiti as donations right now, and while people are in great need of all kinds of assistance, it is especially nice to be able to give the kids new clothes — made in the US, and sweatshop-free to boot.
After the event, everyone present, teachers, kids and their families shared a meal together. It was chance for everyone to be out of the mud and heat that is a daily part of their lives and to celebrate what the teachers and kids in the Mobile Schools have accomplished together over the past two months, under these extraordinary circumstances.
International Women’s Day – 2010
Yves Marie Stuart Roche, coordinator of the AFD Mobile School Project speaks at Women's Day Event
On March 8, 2010 three thousand women gathered at the Aristide Foundation to mark International Women’s Day, under the banner “Women of Haiti say, Haiti will not Die”. These women, coming from all over the greater Port-au-Prince area, mobilized both to honor those who were lost in the quake, to affirm life for those who survived, and to affirm their right to participate fully in the rebuilding of their country.
3000 women gathered at the AFD for International Women's Day
Dr. Jessie Pierre Louis, the Medical Director of the University of the Aristide Foundation noted that in the wake of this massive disruption in the lives of all Haitians, it was the time as never before for the women of Haiti to bond together for their liberation. Far from being powerless victims, she called upon them to be ingenious and courageous, to become the engine of Haiti’s rebirth. She called on the women of Haiti, and women around the world, to echo the call of those gathered at the Foundation for the return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family to their homeland at this time of national need. (the full text of her remarks in French and Creole is below.)
An ecumenical service honoring the victims of the earthquake was led by Father Freddy Elie of the Parish of Fleuriot de Tabarre and Pastor Evens Dorelien of the Baptist Church of Lillavois. The program featured music by COLOMBE D’OR, the choir of the Aristide Foundation, made of of young people from the Tabarre area.
As part of the program the Foundation announced the beginning of a series of free primary care clinics, the first of which was held in the auditorium of the Foundation on Wednesday March 10th.
After the ceremony all the women present received a bag of food supplies to take home. Most of these women are living in refugee encampments around Port-au-Prince–all of them are struggling to feed their families under these incredibly difficult circumstances.
Discours de Dr. Jessie Pierre Saint Louis, Director Medical de UniFA (Universite de la Fondation Aristide)
C’est sur que le moment n’est pas a la fete mais plutot aux reflexions, aux mures reflexions, a de nouvelles reflexions sur nous memes haitiens, haitiennes, sur nous memes femmes d ‘Haiti, sur notre devenir.
Une pensee d’amour et de lumiere a l’endroit de toutes les femmes haitiennes tombees le 12 Janvier 2010, a l’endroit de tous les hommes et de tous nos enfants. Paix, amour, lumiere, qu’ils se reposent en paix.
Aujourd’hui 8 Mars 2010, c’est une journee de manifestations a travers le monde, c’est l’occasion de continuer a revendiquer l’egalite, de faire un bilan sur la situation des femmes dans la societe. Pour nous autres femmes haitiennes, c’est le moment plus que jamais a travers ce recul, cette descente dans le bas fond de la vie en commun pour que nous fassions le bond liberateur, le bond de la deliverance.
Femmes d’Haiti, loin d’etre des victimes impuissantes, nous devons etre des femmes ingenieuses, resistantes et courageuses face aux epreuves. A ce stade, la vie doit forcement continuer, la vie doit aller vers plus. Ainsi, va la vie.
Haiti, au moment ou nous parlons est sous les levres de tous les citoyens du monde. Nous avons une formidable occasion de repenser Haiti. Et, si du coup, on ecoutait les femmes ? Ne pourraient-elles pas etre de veritables moteurs du developpement durable ?. Et le developpement durable ne pourrait-il pas etre une chance pour les femmes? Le moyen de mieux les reconnaitre et de leur donner la place qu’elles meritent.
Fanm dayiti debou ! Nou se fos Ayiti, Ayiti pap mouri ! (Bis)
Mwen sonje 8 Mas 96 sa fè 14 lane, 3 Mil fanm te koupe kod lonbrit Fondasyon Aristide, yo ede l mache, yo ede l grandi. Chapo ba nou medam. Bondye ap retire n nan soufrans. Delivrans lan pa lwen. Pa gen pèn san sekou.14 lane aprè, se avèk fyète nou akeyi menm 3 Mil fanm yo ki prezan Jodi Lendi 8 Mas 2010 la pou di : Fanm se fos Ayiti, Ayiti pap mouri. (Bis)
Menm ane a Prezidan Aristide mennen ba nou yon fanm ayisyèn, bèl tèt fanm, konpetant, disipline, kourajez, familyal. Bravo Mildred, Chapo ba pou ou.
Jodi a nou mande tout fanm peyi dayiti ak Fanm lot bo dlo sonnen konn lanbi nan zorèy pwisans entènasyonal la pou retounen Doktè Jean Bertrand Aristide nan peyi li. Peyi dayiti gen yon vid politik k ap travèse l menm pwofondè ak vid tranbleman tè a lese pou nou. Prezidan Aristide plas pa w la toujou li rele tenn fas. Mildred nou ba ou yon manda tou louvri : pase pran Madan Jakob Majluta, Madan Tabou Mbeki pou rive jwenn Madan Obama ak Madan Clinton konsa, wa mande yo de ki mannyè Doktè Jean Bertrand Aristide ak Fanmi l poko ka tounen lakay li pou vin sipote, ankadre pèp ayisyen an nan soufrans tèt chaje n ap sibi la a.
Mwen menm, mwen se fanm, mwen se Medsen, mwen santi m fyè akote 45 lot kolèg mwen yo paske anpil ladan yo te pran fomasyon nan Fakilte Medsin Inivèsite Fondasyon Aristide. Prezans nou sou podyom nan genyen anpil siyifikasyon sitou lè nou pataje bèl moman sa a ak 3 Mil fanm djanm, 3 Mil Fanm vanyan, nan reflechi sou sitiyasyon lavi nou, lavi fanmi nou ak lavi peyi dayiti. Gras pou Granmèt la ki te ede n pran konesans nan domèn lasante. Jodi a,se avèk kontantman nou deside pote sèvis lasante bay pèp ayisyen an. Konsa, apati Mèkredi demen an, n ap komanse yon seri de klinik pou evalye Fanm yo, Timoun, Granmoun ak lot moun nan Oditoriyom Fondasyon Aristide.
Kidonk, Mèkredi 10 Mas la apati 8 tè nan maten n ap resevwa tout moun kita renmen fè yon evalyasyon medikal. Ap gen Doktè tout kategori : Entènis, Pedyat, Doktè Zye, Chirijyen, Dantis ak anpil Jeneralis. Konsiltasyon an gratis, medikaman gratis, Tès nan laboratwa gratis, linèt gratis tou. Pandan klinik la, n ap mete 2 Sikolog osèvis moun ki pi twomatize yo pou fè seyans gratis pou yo.
Fanm se sous lapè ! fanm se fos Ayiti, Ayiti pap mouri ! (Bis)
Je vous remercie.
Taba, 8 Mas 2010. Dr Jessie Pierre Saint Louis.
