x

 

 

We invite you to Carbon Offset your international airfare:

 

Elevate Haiti: Two Week Volunteer TripBook now!

Dates: July 22- August 5, 2012
Price: $2500 basic, $3500 upgrade

Are you a student, teacher or member of the Haitian Diaspora? Apply for sponsorship!

Each traveler will also be asked to raise an additional $500 from family and friends that will be directly donated to the organization we are supporting in Haiti. Elevate Destinations will provide you with the tools to make fundraising easy.

The January 12, 2010 earthquake shook the already frail country of Haiti mercilessly. Over 200,000 deaths resulted as well as the displacement and destruction of thousands of families and lives. More than two years later, human resilience prevails as Haitians move to pick up the pieces, making a new life out of less than the little most people once had. The emergency stage is over, and now the long-term rebuilding begins. The future of Haitians, like for all of us, lies in their children. Ensuring they have the resources for education is one of the critical tenants of long-term rebuilding.

This journey takes you just outside of Jacmel, a beautiful seaside town with great initiatives in sustainable development. Stand by Haitians as they start anew. This journey is for those of you who are moved into solidarity and action by the events of January 12, 2010.

The Project:

Elevate Haiti works with Let Haiti Live, a non-profit working to strengthen the independence and self-determination of the Haitian people in all areas of life.
Elevate Haiti works with Let Haiti Live’s youth group JADPE, an environmental-focused youth program in the southeast department of Haiti that consists of over 40 youth members.  The group’s activities center around reforestation and youth development, with its main goals being (a) to strengthen the community's three watersheds (b) to increase family-level food security (c) to provide youth development programs that include regular trainings and workshops in three areas: environment/reforestation, social/cultural, and leadership training. 

The Volunteer Work:

Volunteers will engage in one or both of two volunteer options during the one or two week Summer Camp.

1. Construction Project: (Mornings)

Elevate Haiti will be working on a construction project that will support the expansion of the group’s tree nursery and reforestation efforts in the community. The actual project is based on the needs of the organization and on the amount of donations volunteers are able to fundraise for it. Construction activities are led by an experienced Haitian work crew and generally consist of basic manual labor including lifting and moving materials, mixing and laying cement and other activities that require many hands.

2. Youth Summer Camp: (Afternoons)

Elevate Haiti will be conducting a two week Summer Camp teaching the JADPE kids (ranging from ages 5-25) English language skills and leadership development (among other relevant topics). Activities are developed in advance by Let Haiti Live and Elevate staff proficient in education and leadership development and are delivered by Elevate Team Leaders and the volunteers, following training. Activities and lessons are informed by the skills of the volunteers. We encourage volunteers with different skill sets to share their expertise, as relevant, during the Summer Camp.

Community Partner:

Elevate Destinations’ community partner is Let Haiti Live. Let Haiti Live is a comprehensive program for Haiti working to strengthen the independence and self-determination of the Haitian people in all areas of life.

Let Haiti Live mobilizes Haitians through popular education, alternative media, and food security projects; strengthens the capacity of existing organizations that share our philosophy of empowering Haitian leadership and vision; and supports Haitian-led solutions to some of the country’s most pressing issues, with a specific focus on environmental stewardship and rural development.

Let Haiti Live links a growing network of Haitian groups to an international advocacy movement and acts as both microphone and speaker, amplifying the voices of Haitians within and outside of Haiti and making information accessible to traditionally marginalized sectors of Haitian society.