Highlights of Fall Presentations and Events

We are deeply grateful to everyone for hosting us and for all of the incredible support!

First Presbyterian Church of Athens - Celebrating Over 40 Years of Support!

Athens, Georgia

Washington First Methodist Church (Washington, Georgia)

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

Warrenton Presbyterian Church

Rotary Club of Athens

Back to School!

We are so happy to share these wonderful shots of St. Barthélémy's students, thanks to Dominique Bruno! These students are enjoying their time at St. Bart's - playing, learning, and being alongside their friends! We thank all of our supporters for enabling these beautiful moments, and we ask that you pray for a happy, healthy, and successful new school year for our students, teachers, and staff!

Student Spotlight!

We are so proud of Chrisnel Cheramy at St. Barthélémy, as well as of our school's teachers and staff! Chrisnel began the 10th grade at St. Bart's this October and was recognized as the laureate for the Trou du Nord region of Haiti for the 9th-grade national exams! In Haiti, all students must take a national exam before they can proceed from 9th to 10th grade, which marks the beginning of high school in Haiti. All of the 9th graders at St. Barthélémy passed this year's exam, and Chrisnel received the highest score in the region! These results are a testament to St. Barthélémy's exemplary academic program and the commitment and skills of its teachers and staff, as well as the diligence of these students. For various reasons, only around 20% of Haitian children will advance far enough in their education to begin high school. Therefore, the opportunity to attend St. Barthélémy transforms the lives and future prospects of these students! Thank you to all of our supporters who have helped make this success possible! Image courtesy of Dominique Bruno!

Ordinary stuff

A few weeks ago I was walking a footpath in Haiti inspecting our summer's work. It was peaceful and ordinary - people stopping to talk to neighbors on their way to their farms, a man handing a mango over a hedge to an old lady, a girl with a slotted spoon and a pan of hot oil frying up plantains for a smiling customer.

This was not the Haiti of headlines. This was human Haiti. People tucked into their communities, doing what needs to be done, working to put food on the table, worrying about somebody they love, feeling proud of something. It was ordinary stuff, the stuff we all do, the stuff that makes us human.

When I bent down to see a little boy's truck, what caught my attention was the string because it was tied to an imagination that could see what I could not - a noisy 'taptap' piled high with people and sacks. What I saw was a toy made out of junk. It made me think, what is it we don't see when we look at poverty in Haiti?

One thing our imagination has been tied to is a star over Haiti. We could see it helping us. Now you can see it too, because it is powering our entire operation from processing farmers' crops to irrigating our nursery and truck garden. Without the expense of a diesel generator, we are doing more to help people. Imagination pays off.

Solar batteries can run our whole operation for three days without sun.

Lastly, this summer we sustainably increased the food supply for more a community of six hundred people suffering hunger. It's the kind of stuff we do that is NOT ordinary. 

Take care,

Rob

Rob Fisher, Exec. Director

PARTNER FOR PEOPLE AND PLACE, INC.