Partners in Progress
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About this facility
- Mission
- Partners in Progress” (PIP) is a national, 501(c)(3), Pennsylvania based nonprofit corporation founded in 1999 by members of the Pittsburgh Regional Haiti Solidarity Committee. To achieve its mission “Partners in Progress” works “men nan men” (“hand in hand”) with the Association of Peasants of Fondwa, Haiti (APF), linking technical experts with the needs of APF, sponsoring “edu-tourism” delegations to Fondwa, and awarding development grants for community based projects initiated and implemented by the APF as part of a comprehensive strategy to overcome lifetimes of misery, decades of environmental degradation, and chronic scarcity of resources through self-reliance, participatory democracy, and communal organization. To increase awareness and understanding in the US of the achievements of Haitian peasant associations like APF and of the challenges they face in creating replicable models of sustainable development, “Partners in Progress” engages in direct educational outreach among various audiences in the US, providing information and educational resources relating to sustainable, rural development in Haiti. To foster its collaborative partnership with the Association of Peasants of Fondwa, PIP coordinates and nurtures existing sources of support for APF programs and projects in the US and Canada. Moreover, PIP identifies and solicits new sources of funding and other kinds of support in the US and Canada in order to equip the “organized poor” of Haiti with the tools they need to solve the problems they face.
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Notes
Jan 30, 2010
BLOG - http://www.piphaiti.org/blogs/index.php/richgosser
Update from Fondwa
After more than a week of frustrating uncertainty and lack of communication, telephone communication between the Fondwa community and the US has been re-established and conditions on the ground there are improving little by little. An "extreme team" from Heart to Heart International were the first to visit the Fondwa community after the quake of January 12, 2010 destroyed more than 20 years of infrastructure development by PIP's Fondwa partners, the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF). The team brought water, food, and medicines to the Sisters of St. Antoine and more than 50 children from the Fatima House orphanage. Soon after, Sr. Judy Dohner, HM, who was living in Fondwa at the time of the quake, delivered two tents and additional supplies. The Sisters are now operating a field clinic from one of the tents and are again providing medical care to the Fondwa community.
An APF engineer made an initial assessment of damage to property last week. Among other things he found that the orphanage suffered structural damage to its foundation, but that may be repairable. There are 3 pre-school classrooms at the St. Antoine School that are still standing and may be able to be rehabilitated for later use. A separate building with 3 classrooms is still standing. This building was found to be minimally damaged and can be restored for use. The school campus will have to be carefully cleared of rubble, but APF has set an ambitious goal of reopening the school in some manner by March 1.
Damage to the APF community and guest center (with the clinic and radio station) was severe, but rebuilding on the same location will be possible. The adjacent depot was also severely damaged, but a separate, unfinished building (intended to be a dormitory for the University of Fondwa 2004) survived mostly intact except for cracks in the water cisterns built into the foundation. The cisterns are repairable and construction can eventually be resumed on the building.
Several APF members and others in the community lost houses and suffered damage to property. Still efforts are underway to recover a degree of normalcy in Fondwa. The bakery and beverage depot are reported to be reopened and functioning
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It is too early to know how best to respond to the needs our own partners, particularly the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF) and Centre d’Intervention Jeunesse (CIJ), but also the schools, churches and other projects in and near Port au Prince that receive support from PIP. We anticipate there will be significant need for disaster assistance. Therefore, we are immediately setting up an "Earthquake Relief" fund that will help us respond to their needs.
DONATIONS can be made through our online DONATE NOW feature, or checks marked "Earthquake Relief" can be mailed to:
Partners in Progress
329 N. Fairfield Street
Ligonier, PA 15658
We will continue to update you via the PIP e-news distribution list and my blog. If you are not currently a member of the e-newsletter and would like to be kept updated, please register here.
Thank you,
Rich Gosser
Executive Director