Children in Chermaitre, Haiti waiting to have their height and weight measured by representatives of the Vassar Haiti Project, who recently visited the village in mountainous northwest Haiti. To the children's right (not pictured) is a new school that has been built completely with funds raised by the all-volunteer Vassar initiative. Photo by Andrew Meade/ Vassar College
“The road was broken, so we fixed it,” writes Andrew Meade in notes about the recent trip to Haiti that he made with 15 others with the Vassar Haiti Project (VHP). On the way to the village of Figaro to look in on a school under construction, four members of the group came upon a broken culvert that made the road impassable. Haitian associate Pere Quatorze stepped out of the car and started to fill the broken culvert with boulders – a task joined by Meade and a few students, who hauled the biggest, flattest slabs of broken concrete that they could carry. “A broken culvert in the US most likely means one turns around and finds another route. Here in Haiti, we were back on our way inside of ten minutes.”
And so went the March sojourn of 12 Vassar students led by Meade and his wife Lila, with registered nurse Pam Bunker and VHP member Caryn Halle from Albany. In addition to assessing the progress of VHP initiatives in the mountain village of Chermaitre, the group delivered more than 1,000 pounds of medical and school supplies, stuffed animals, tee-shirts, toothbrushes and toothpaste, toys, games and soccer balls. They hiked the mountainous terrain along with villagers for daily water rations, and generally slept under mosquito nets on concrete floors. They met with village stakeholders to coordinate future projects, and they bought nearly 60 paintings from the local art market in Cap Haitien.
Andrew and Lila Meade have strongly family ties to Haiti (he lived there part of his childhood, her mother grew up there), and were inspired to co-found the Project nine years ago, with the goal of providing assistance to a country that, even before this current disaster, had 98 percent deforestation, 70 percent illiteracy and 50 percent unemployment. Since then, they’ve raised over $500,000 through various efforts, including an annual art sale and auction held at Vassar College.
The all-volunteer organization is now nearly 100 members strong, and maintains the initial commitment to funding primary education while pursuing partnership efforts to improve reforestation, access to clean water and health care in the village. These initiatives include planting thousands of fruit and coffee trees on the hillsides around Chermaitre; establishing water collection and purification systems in Chermaitre, with the cooperation of the Poughkeepsie Rotary; and, with support from the Trinity Church in Fishkill, establishing the first medical clinic in the neighboring village of L’Acul.
The ninth annual Haitian Art Sale and Auction takes place Friday, April 9 through Sunday the 11th in the Multi-Purpose Room on the second floor of the College Center. “These days, art is one of Haiti’s few viable exports,” explains Meade. “Through the Vassar Haiti Project, we’ve discovered that not only is there is a growing market for Haitian art, but that the art is a powerful tool for educating about the Haitian people.”
The trip to Chermaitre had been planned before January’s earthquake rocked the island to ruin, making the group’s mission even more important. Though not directly hit, the villages served by VHP are impacted by food and medical supply shortages, plus the influx of thousands of refugees. Meade emphasizes, “In this time of great need, it is essential that we continue to provide support and relief to these communities and artisans…Sales from our annual art sale and auction will be dedicated to this.”
The live auction will be conducted on Saturday, April 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. by Bill Rinaldi of Rinaldi Auctions; registration and preview run from 2 to 4 p.m. Absentee and telephone bidding will be accepted. More than 300 paintings, sculptures, handcrafts and hand-painted silk scarves will be offered, including the works of Seymour Bottex, Reynald Joseph, Raymond Lafaille, Jean Laguerre, Fritzner Lamour, Mario Montilus, Fernand Pierre, Jean Adrien Seide and Frantz Zephirin. A preview exhibition in the Palmer Gallery will be on view from April 4 through the 7th, and is also available at http://projects.vassar.edu/haiti.
Additionally, the Department of Music and VHP will jointly present a concert in the Chapel on Sunday, April 24 to benefit the rebuilding of the Holy Trinity Music School in Port-au-Prince. “Harmony and Hope: A Musical Bridge to Haiti” will feature hundreds of participants, with performances by nine musical ensembles drawn from Vassar College as well as from the Hudson Valley community, including the Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir and two Stringendo ensembles: the Strawberry Hill Fiddlers, a group of 18 classically trained string players from Dutchess County-area high schools, as well as the award-winning Vivace Orchestra, comprised of 34 high school students from the Dutchess County area. There will also be six Vassar College ensembles: the student-run Mahagonny Ensemble; the student-run Baroque ensemble, the Vassar Camerata; the Vassar College Choir; the 20-piece Vassar College Jazz Ensemble; the Vassar College Orchestra; and the Vassar College Women’s Chorus.
The program begins at 7 p.m. in the Vassar Chapel. Tickets to the concert are $10 for students, $20 for general admission (minimum donation). Donations of $50 and above will include admission to a post-concert president’s reception. Further information and directions to the Vassar campus are available at www.vassar.edu.