Back in November, our first Biznis Pam class graduated from entrepreneurial training.  We thought you might like to know how they’re doing today.

Monite, our field director and trainer, sent us an update this past week.  Here’s the good news:

Of the five people who attended the first class, four created business plans that were approved and funded with micro-loans.  (The fifth student didn’t meet all class requirements.)  All four new businesses are in operation.  Here is Monite’s report on the status of each:

Three of the four new businesses are growing.  One of the ladies keeps thanking us for her  loan. Another, who has been selling women’s clothing recently started selling a new clothing item for men.  Our candy seller added cookies to his list of tasty products.

All four have already made their initial loan repayments on time.  All this reflects tremendous success for which we are very thankful and gratified.  It clearly affirms the effectiveness of our new program.

Monite’s summary of the work is, “…so exciting that SFH is involved in that!”

What’s next?  Monite is ready to begin her second session, with potential students on a waiting list.  The demand for the training is very high.  The only thing holding us up is financial support for the training and a new set of loans.  Our trivia fundraiser helped, but we need you, too.

Can you commit to helping a family start a new business and thereby a new hope for the future?  It’s more involved than sponsoring a child, but it pays long term dividends to the family, neighborhood, and nation.  Contact us or donate today to learn how you can be part of building a brighter tomorrow for Haiti.

Fridge space is at a premium.

It’s not easy getting support for our current mission. What we do is hard to wrap up and describe in pithy sound bites.  It doesn’t have a simple handle that people can grasp easily.  And there’s nothing to put on your refrigerator.

Back when we first started Servants for Haiti, we helped only children.  School.  Orphanage.  All we had to do was show a picture of one of those cute kids.  People would fight over them.  They paid their monthly support and got an adorable picture of the child to put on their refrigerator.  Everyone wins.

That was great.  A child got educated, fed, cared for.  Nothing wrong with that.  Nothing at all.

Until later.

Since those days, some of those same children have graduated.   They have a high school diploma and nothing else.  No more education.  No job.  No free meal at lunch time.  And nothing to do with that diploma.

That’s where we come in now. Servants for Haiti wants to fill that black hole with bright hope.

A medical school scholarship for George who will some day be a doctor providing medical care for his people.

Stephanie’s tuition so she can be a nurse in a nation that lost 400 nursing students during the earthquake.

A sponsor to pay Junior’s way through auto mechanic school.

A new business for a woman with two young children and a husband who recently lost his job.

These are the kinds of things that aren’t exactly suitable for adorning your refrigerator.  But they are the kinds of things that change lives and, when reproduced enough times, a nation.

So if you’re looking for refrigerator ornamentation, there are plenty of organizations doing good work that will accommodate you.  If you’re more interested in bringing a brighter future to Haiti, we invite you to work with us.  There are plenty of ways to get involved, from a simple donation to traveling with us to Haiti.  Contact us today.

But if you still want a cute picture for your refrigerator, try this one:

This is Magdala and her brother Samuel, whose mother is now running her own business thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

From time to time, people have asked us to make redistributable information available so they could spread the word about Servants for Haiti.

As such material is produced, we will add it to the following list:

SFH brochure – Full color informational brochure about SFH, its history, and mission.  Feel free print out or email as many copies as you need and spread the word.

…more to come…

If there is anything you want to see here, let us know.

When Servants for Haiti began in 2005, we served children in an orphanage and school.  To graphically represent our mission, we created the following logo:

The picture of Haitian children coupled with that slogan effectively got our message across.   We helped individual children get a good start in life through care and education.

About a year ago, that task was transferred to a new organization, HIA, and SFH moved on with our new calling.  Today we are helping young adults and whole families get back on their feet through new homes, businesses, and continuing education.  As such, the old logo was obsolete.

The new logo is shown here:

This logo will often be accompanied by a new slogan: “Building a brighter tomorrow.“  That’s what we’re doing, still one family at a time.

A few different ideas are represented by the new look.

First, the hands represent the partnership between SFH, our friends in Haiti, partner organizations, and you, our supporters.  This task is far greater than any of us could possibly undertake on our own.

The sun in the center reminds us that we can brighten Haiti’s future.

Finally, it’s inspired by the Haitian proverb, “You must have patience to raise the sun.”  This means that any great task will require patience before results are seen.  The final product, however, is worth the time and effort.

---

All that captures our mission perfectly.  There will be no sudden, dramatic change in Haiti next month, next year – maybe not in our lifetimes.  With patience, perseverance, and faith, along with the helping hands of many, we will see a new dawn breaking over the entire nation.

Your support is crucial to building a brighter tomorrow – long term and sustainable – in Haiti.  Join us as we raise the sun.

Our 3rd annual Trivia Night and Silent Auction fundraiser is now history.  And a historical event it was!  Almost 160 people were in attendance at the Lowell Elks.  All expressed their excitement over the evening’s events.  Here’s a sample of the comments:

We all had a great time at Trivia last night.

You have done a wonderful job of growing this event, every year.  It looks like it is now established as a Spring Tradition, at this point, and hopefully a solid fundraiser for Servants for Haiti.

Really nice venue – a lot more space than last year and climate control was top notch!

If you were there, we’d like to have your feedback, too.  Please fill out our evaluation form.

If you weren’t there, here are some highlights.

First of all, let it be known that Trivia Night sold out three weeks in advance.  Part of being a long-awaited annual tradition is that, if you miss it one year, you have to wait a whole year for the next edition.

For the third year in a row, the event has grown by 50% in attendance and funds raised.  (Rumor has it that we’ll have to rent out TD Garden in a few years.)

To start the festivities, we played the following video, now also available on the SFH YouTube channel:

Thank you from Haiti

All the people in this video express their gratitude for the service SFH has rendered to them and their families.  Thanks to the generosity of the good people who supported Trivia Night, we’ll have more friends thanking us in the coming years.

Music was a big part of the evening, but this video song was a highlight:

Davidson’s song

The collection of nearly 50 Silent Auction items saw ardent and enthusiastic bidding.  Though thankfully no fights broke out, there was strong contention for the weekend on Martha’s Vineyard, as well as the framed, autographed pictures of Rob Gronkowski and Tim Thomas, among other desirable goods.

The lesson should be an obvious one: Next year, get your tickets early.  And bid early, often, and high.  (By the way, we’re already planning next year’s event for April 6.  Keep it open.)

SFH and the people of Haiti say, “Mesi anpil!”