Haiti Orphanage Project ESPWA were delighted to be selected as one of two Irish Life Staff Charities for 2012. On January 29th 2013 Irish Life Group presented us with a generous donation of €70,000, proving yet again the willingness of people to look beyond their own lives towards those in need within the wider community.
Our primary goal is to provide facilities and implement best practice for disadvantaged children inHaiti. We advocate for the dignity and rights for all people, with projects that look at access; health; education; security; opportunities for employment and independent living.
Our current project is with the L’oeuvre St François D’assises orphanage on theislandofIllea Vache in the South of Haiti. The orphanage has over 70 residents including 8 young adults and 22 children with special needs. Achievements to date include new dormitories; a new kitchen and canteen facilities; pathways for wheelchair access; Water & Sanitation and Livelihoods training for Haitian team members.
In February 2013 the team, Irish and Haitian, will reunite to work on a new project. Thanks to the funding from Irish Life Staff Charities, we will upgrade the existing physiotherapy unit at the orphanage on Ille a Vache. Along with renovations to the existing building the project includes storage areas, wash and sanitation facilities and a new classroom for special therapies.
The Irish Life Staff Charities can be assured that the money they have donated will reach the intended beneficiary. All the work carried out is on a voluntary basis, with the team giving freely of their time and expertise. Fundraising is channelled into project costs including materials, labour costs and equipment. In other words 100% of donations go directly to the projects in Haiti.
Eighteen Irish volunteers will travel out to Haition February 9th 2013. Six of the Irish team will work on two new initiatives, a boat project and a tractor project, providing Livelihoods training over a two week period. The remaining twelve volunteers, working alongside their Haitian counterparts, will break ground for the new therapy room.
The work is manual, the heat intense and the humidity is high. This international team comprised of men and women, plan to complete the foundation work in one week. The team will return in July 2013 and complete the job right down to kitting out the unit with new equipment donated and shipped fromIreland.
The new building will help us build more secure futures for thirty young adults and children. It will provide a high quality facility to support the individual care plans for each resident. In doing so it allows each individual to receive the necessary support to achieve their full potential.
Warm blankets for cold nights
Barry
October 20, 2020
As a charity, we focus on improving the lives of Haiti’s most vulnerable children. Firstly, there’s our work on the
