2021 Haiti Earthquake Emergency Support

Stephanie Guirand is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

UPDATE: I have now UPDATE: I have now received the money from GoFundMe and have begun sending the materials and resources to the people.

The plan is:

Fierte Cayenne - $2000
Kaykok - $1000 (SENT)
New drums - $2000
Jeremie - $1000
Arniquet - $1000 (as funds for immediate needs)
Matawonn - remainder of funds towards the assessment of houses in Arniquet, fixing small damages to houses, the development of the rebuilding plan.

Dear Community,

It is with extreme shock and a heavy heart that we write this letter. This morning each of us woke up to flurries of phone calls from our relatives and community partners in Haiti to learn that there has been a massive earthquake, yet again (August 14, 2021). People are in dire need of our support right away. We are appealing to the greater community for financial and material support to send to folks. Please support our donation drive!

The Haiti Initiative (SUD) is a small grassroots project working with grassroots organizations, NGOs, and rural municipal governments in southern Haiti to inform the larger public about climate change and disaster preparedness. We do this work by organizing delegations to Haiti, organizing donation drives, and coordinating climate change conferences in Haiti. In the Boston-area, we are growing the number of first generation African-descended West Indian Americans who are concerned about climate change in the caribbean. Please see our reports from delegations below.

We are raising supplies to send to organizations and municipal governments in the South of Haiti. We are in direct contact with and are supporting an orphanage in Leogane, the Centre Communautaire de Kaykok on Ile La Vache, Fierte Cayenne in Les Cayes, the municipal governments of Arniquet, Torbeck, Port Salut and St Louis du Sud. We are sending direct financial support for people today so that food is made for community members today and for arrangements for people to have places to sleep tonight. We are collecting donations for folks and shipping them. Please see the list of supplies needed below.

On behalf of our Haiti-based partners, we are asking that you or your organization:

Sponsor a barrel full of supplies for $1400 (USD)
Sponsor a community to have food for the week for $500 (USD)
Please donate to our gofundme
Share this information within your networks

Donations can be made at this gofundme link and checks can be made out to and mailed to the YWCA Cambridge(7 Temple St. Cambridge, MA 02139); please note the Haiti Initiative (SUD) in the comment line. All contributions to The Haiti Initiative are tax deductible through the YWCA Cambridge (Tax ID #: 04-2103968). We are grateful for your contribution. Please contact us at [email redacted] with any questions.

We thank you in advance from the local and Haiti-based organizers.

Sincerely,

Nirva M. Guirand, Stephanie Guirand, Marc H Guirand, Marie Nirva Tancyl

The Haiti Initiative (SUD)

*****
*Who you are and where you’re from?

My name is Stephanie Guirand. I was born in Haiti and grew up in Cambridge, MA. I am a local community activist and a doctoral researcher in sociology. My siblings and I created The Haiti Initiative SUD back in 2016 to support local organizations that are working on disaster preparedness. We have developed great relationships with local organizations. See the ones mentioned above.

*Your relationship or contact to the intended recipients of your fundraiser's donations.

We are working with:

****Fierte Cayenne in Les Cayes.
https://www.facebook.com/ForceCayenne/

****Centre Communautaire de Kaykok on Ile la Vache
https://www.facebook.com/cckaykok

****We are working with municipal governments of Port Salut, Arniquet, Saint Louis du Sud, and Torbeck. We are also in touch with activists in Jeremie and an orphanage in Leogane.

A clear explanation of how the donations will be spent

There are three ways we are spending money.
1. We are sending supplies to our partners in barrels. We have a history of supporting our partners in this way. See the video for an example of the barrels we have sent in the past. The supplies are being distributed now during this terrible occasion.

2. We are sending funds for community meals. We have photos from these events that are uploading to this page.

3. We are in touch with a construction company that has supported us in the past. They are helping folks assess the damage and helping with fixing the homes that can be salvaged. We are paying for supplies and labor costs.

Your plan for delivering the fundraiser's donations to the intended recipient(s)

We are hosting community meetings this week. Please contact me to attend. My email address is [email redacted]. Please get in touch with any questions or if you wish to get involved.