A Truly Happy Holiday in Haiti

January 6, 2013

A few weeks ago, the 10 families of the first eco-village in Haiti’s Central Plateau celebrated their first full year in their new homes! Having joined the Papaye Peasant Movement in this endeavor from the beginning, everyone here at UUSC was really excited about this milestone. And we knew many of you, our UUSC members and supporters — who have helped make the eco-village a reality — were, too. To mark the special occasion, we decided to send holiday gift baskets and warm wishes to our friends in the eco-village.

We asked you to sign the card and share your holiday sentiments, and you enthusiastically responded — with almost 900 signatures and more than 350 personal comments!  I translated the messages into Haitian Creole and sent them to Nanouche Enaillo Forestal, our on-the-ground team member in Haiti. She included the messages in the holiday baskets, which she delivered by hand to the families in the eco-village.

Each basket contained seven packages of organic seeds, your holiday wishes, and some extra financial support. We know the seeds will flourish in the families’ growing gardens, which are key to their new sustainable lives and livelihoods in rural Haiti. And the baskets were purchased from the Haitian artisans at the Association for the Promotion of Integral Family Healthcare, a UUSC partner in Port-au-Prince.

Nanouche reports that the families were very happy to be remembered. “They put together their voices to thank UUSC and everyone who helped them,” she told me. “It was a wonderful day for all residents in the village, and I have confirmed their joys in their hearts.” Thank you so much to everyone who helped us celebrate not just this project milestone but also the people who are living it — together, we’re redefining recovery in Haiti and showing that Haitians themselves know how to transform surviving into thriving.