By Janet O'Flynn | Vice-president, Friends of St. Vincent's
Dear Friend,
Today, at the beginning of July 2024, it is time to pause and be grateful for the friends of Friends of St. Vincent's. Our special project for support for the blind adults at St. Vincent's Center is very near to achieving full funding ! Please click on the link below to see a short video on the Friends of St. Vincent's facebook page.
You'll see the president of the organization of adult residents, an accountant, coaching another young adult resident on his science homework: typing chemistry formulas on a Braille typewriter. It's a late spring day in Croix de Bouquets, Port au Prince, outdoors in the open-air shelter where the lunch tables are. You can see the pride in the smile of the high-school student, and the affection and encouragement on the face of the coach.
This is the small and innovative group of adult residents of St. Vincent's, those without the support of parents for a wide variety of reasons, who arrived at St.Vincent's as children, and grew up together. Under the president's leadership, this group of 14 adults has formed a Haitian non-profit organization, called CAHSAV, with the dream of finding or building adult lodgings (rather than a children's dorm); starting small businesses; and providing mentorship for vocational training for the young teens who are graduating now from the ninth grade (the final grade) at St. Vincent's Center.
The dream includes completing high school: which costs money. As you can see in the video, you have helped that to happen for the young adults with blindness. This project when fully funded will have covered tuition for three years for five young adults. It has also covered the cost of a tutor who works with the blind students after class every day. The project has paid for (used) smart phones for the blind students to take photos of the chalk board, to share with the tutor who will reinforce their learning.
The specific project for tuition for the blind adults will, God willing, close during the next few months. And then the main project where the blind adults work together with other members of CAHSAV will be ongoing: finding or building lodgings, opening small businesses, and giving back by teaching vocational skills to new graduates. We thank you SO MUCH for making this happen !
Links:
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