Welcome to Haiti Allies
Greetings, and thanks for visiting our website. While this may seem shocking to hear, we are still responding to the needs of our partners and friends in Haiti in the aftermath of the January 12th earthquake. Cite Soleil Community School continues to shine as a beacon of light in a ravaged landscape. It is a pleasure to witness the beauty of what our partnership efforts have accomplished there! Be sure to click on elementary school for up-to-date photos and for details on the school. You can also visit our new blog site to see photos of CSCS and to read personal stories that visitors to Cite Soleil Community School are sharing.
Just outside the walls of Community School, the big areas of destruction in Haiti are still in ruins with no evidence of visible large scale effort underway to change the situation. The tent cities are still there too, and the tent city residents have lost the battle to stay sheltered and dry. The tents and tarps could not hold up to nine months of sun, wind and storms. They are tattered or gone, and whatever is left of them no longer offers any real protection to the people.
Here is another mind blowing detail about the situation in Haiti: The massive amounts of aid dollars pledged have not yet gotten to Haiti. These dollars are stalled, right here in the US, earning interest. Please check this link to read more about this issue, and then visit our "How You Can Help" section of this site.
Who are we? We are a church based group of folks rooted in Madison, WI. Our church is called Madison Christian Community or "MCC" for short. MCC is an ecumenical partnership between Advent ELCA Lutheran Church and Community of Hope United Church of Christ and the MCC building is where we hold our monthly meetings, however there are various other Wisconsin churches and many individuals involved in this partnership as well. We have been involved in partnership with the people of Haiti since 2000. Our Mission Statement does a good job of stating what our work is all about, so please read it when you get a chance. Our working philosophy is aimed at the realization that we all have different kinds of "gifts" to lay down at the common table. We work together, as equals but all initiatives are born in Haiti. We always try to listen first, and then respond with Haitian's in ways that affirm Haitian initiatives. We have 4 primary programs that we’re committed to and that we’d love to invite you to explore with us:
- An Elementary School called Community School of Cite Soleil—200 young students from one of Haiti’s poorest communities, grades K-7, receive an excellent and free education as well as a daily hot meal. We are one of three organizations which help to support and develop this school.
- A Student Sponsorship Program called SPARE—SPARE stands for “Sponsorship Program Aiding Relationships and Education.” This program focuses on providing a comprehensive and respectful approach to student sponsorship. Most students in this program are in secondary school, and 8 are now in college! Read all about this exciting and growing program by selecting the icon for Sponsorship Program.
- Literacy and Rural Outreach—We are currently exploring some new ways to engage in supporting adult literacy and rural agronomy. Keep checking for details.
- Group Trips to Haiti—Come to Haiti with us on a group trip! The next one is from Feb.10-18, 2011, and there are still a couple of spots open! Just select the Trips to Haiti icon and you can read all about these trips that we call "Missions of Mutual Exchange."