I ♥ Haiti T-Shirt Project!

The I ♥ Haiti T-Shirt Project is something I thought up several weeks after returning from Haiti. My plan was basic, I designed I ♥ Haiti T-Shirts online and financed the ordering of the shirts myself. I sell the shirts a few dollars more than what I bought them at and all the profits gained I donate. After the experience of being in Haiti and witnessing all the problems the country has I wanted to donate the money to Haiti in the form of education. Visiting with people in Haiti I asked each person if they could fix one thing in Haiti what would it be? I got several different answers but they all seemed the same; jobs, education, food, shelter, clean water. I figured the biggest impact I could make was donating to education. Investing in the education of young Haitians in my opinion will bring change the country. The youth of Haiti can and will be the change. With this in mind it is important to realize there is little or no public education in Haiti. Kids living in abject poverty must pay money to go to school. When I say pay money I mean pay for tuition, books, uniform, and school supplies. If I could change one thing in Haiti I would make education free and available to all children. So that was the idea for the project.
This is a common site at night, young haitian kids will crowd around street lights to study at night because they don't have electricity in their homes. Haiti's youth want to learn! They want an education!


Due to the recent earthquake that has devastated the country I have decided to donate all profits from the sale of shirts here in Ada, Oklahoma to Southwest Church of Christ. Southwest has made the commitment that 100% of donated money will go to heal, rebuild, grow the Port-au-Prince area. They are the perfect organization in my opinion to donate to aid the relief effort. Many of my friends contacted me after the earthquake and asked me my feelings on the situation: "While this is a huge set back in the progress of Haiti, now billions of dollars in aid are flowing into the impoverished nation. Now average people all over the world know where Haiti is on the globe. Now people are learning of the extreme poverty Haitians live in. Now more and more people want to help Haiti and that's great. I just hope people never forget about Haiti or the suffering the people have been going through decades before the earthquake hit."

My friends at Southwest have done a great deal of good work in Haiti and continue to do so. If anyone wants to really make an impact and help out Haiti I suggest donating to them. I have been to Haiti and seen all the great work they do and I'm very thankful for them. Visit: www.swcocada.com to learn of the work Southwest is doing in Haiti.










The I ♥ Haiti T-Shirt Project is going great! The African Caribbean Student Association, Tigers for Christ, and East Central Soccer Club have helped me promote the project. Last week we donated the first round of profits to Southwest in the amount of $1,000.00. While this may seem like a small amount here in the states it will go a long way in Haiti. I would like to personally thank everyone who has purchased an I ♥ Haiti T-Shirt or I love Haiti wristband. Still there are more shirts and wristbands available for sale! Shirt prices are $12.00 (S,M,L,XL) $13.00 for XXL. Wristbands are $5.00 a piece! Send an email to lovehaiti100@yahoo.com to inquire about getting a shirt or wristband.

$1,000.00 to Earthquake relief! We can do more! Tell a friend! Support the effort!

Haiti trip detail break

I still have posts I need to write detailing my first trip to Haiti but I am pressed for time and would like to inform friends of the I ♥ Haiti T-Shirt Project. Haiti Trip posts will be up soon! In the mean time check out the I ♥ Haiti T-Shirt Project!

Center for Biblical Training

After a long day of traveling and meet and greets we arrived back at the Center for Biblical Training in Galman du Plaa. We stayed at the visitors quarters located at the Preachers College. It was apartment style housing with running water, frig, stove, and electricity. While it wasn't the Ritz Carlton it was a nice place to stay and I enjoyed my stay there. Many Haitians don't have the luxuary of electrcity, clean running water, bathrooms, showers, refrigerators, microwaves, or even a stable house. We had no television, internet acess, and my cell phone didn't have any service but I enjoyed the time away from modern technology. At night or during free time during the day we usualy just sat and talked. There was a plethora of National Geographic magazines and I spent most of my free time reading those or the Kreyol English dictonary we had handy.



David was resonsible for teaching the Preaching students the book of Revelation, so during the day Sarah, John, and I had a painting project to work on. We were responsible for painting the outside of the living quarters and below dormatories. Painting wasn't that bad of a deal, I could think of a million other jobs I wouldn't want to do, so I was happy to lend a hand. We first started out by scrubbing the outside clean (which took about a full day) then we gave the outside a fresh coat of paint. We also painted the inside of the apartment across from ours.

Meeting the Preaching students was also something I enjoyed. They were some really nice guys. My sisters Kami and Kasi sent some dress ties down with me to give to them. I was also albe to hook each one of them up with a spiral notebook for their studies and a toothbrush also. I enjoyed conversing with them and playing cards. They taught me and John Haitian card games and each night we went down and played cards till lights out.

Later in the visit I got to play a couple matches of football (soccer) with the Preaching students and that definatley was a good time. I have played baseball my whole life and just recently starting playing soccer this past fall. Soccer is the main sport in Haiti and they love to play. Even though I'm new to the sport I managed to score a goal and had several assists.

The experience of staying at the Center for Biblical Training was great. The thing I most enjoyed was the peace you get from being there and away from everything we have here in the states. No TV, phone, or internet. You really just get time to sit, relax, and think. I frequently would just sit and admire the beautiful surrounding landscape. I also enjoyed the rice and beans we ate everyday. While it did get old eating the samething for lunch everyday it was good.

Meeting the Preaching student was a great honor of mine. As I learned about the role the church plays in Haiti I gained a great admiration and respect for good church leaders in Haiti. In Haiti the government does little or nothing for the people, millions of dollars in aid go to the government but yet Haiti's people still live in extreme poverty. When I was in Haiti I saw no government run aid or support for the people. I did see tons of support and programs for Haitians run by missionary groups and churches. While I don't consider myslef a religious person by anymeans I do support and appreciate all the work missionary and church groups do in Haiti. Leaving the Preaching students I tried to convey how proud of them I am. I know that when Haitians are suffering or in need of extreme help they go to the church for support and I know the church does as much as it can for the people. In my opinion the preaching students and leaders of the church are the true leaders of Haiti. These men do nothing but support a progressive Haiti yerning for change. Meeting these men truely was a honor I'll never forget.

Cap-Haitien Childrens Home

Once we got settled at the apartment we were sharing at the Preachers College we headed out to Cap-Haitien Childrens Home. Cap-Haitien Childrens Home is run by Bob Valerius and numerous Churches of Christ financially support the orphanage. My main reason for traveling to Haiti was to be with the kids and bring them the supplies and clothes. When we first arrived to the orphanage almost all of the kids were watching a soccer match on TV and didn't notice us coming in.


I brought along with me the two large duffle bags packed with items for the kids. I met Bob and we went inside his office to have a chat. He, David and I agreed to pass out the items later in the week at a scheduled time. After talking with Bob I decided to have a look around the orphanage and met Duchaine. Duchaine was then in the process of being adopted by my close friends the Paul's. Duchaine and Bob took me on a tour of the orphanage and I snapped some pictures.









Most of the kids are shy at first when you meet them, but they open up quickly to new visitors. After sometime all of them want to meet you and have a chat. I was very friendly and tried to use my best Kreyole when talking with them. I introduced myself to everyone, "Zanmi mwen! Koman ou ye?" (My friend! How are you?) Their response was normally a shy,"byen". I would then follow that with a, "Mwen rele Jean-Pierre. Wen kontan rekonet ou. Koman ou rele? (My name is Jean-Pierre. Nice to meet you. What is your name?) I'm terrible with names but I tried my best to remember the names of all my new little friends. We would sit and I would ask them how old they are, "Kilaj ou?" then they would ask me and I would say, "Mwen ven." (I am 20) Evenually after some conversation in Kreyol they would rattle off a phrase or sentence I didn't understand and I would say, "Ki sa ou di?" (What did you say?) They would repeat and I would say, "Pale pi dousman" (Speak more slowly) After saying this they normaly giggled and said it again slowly as if speaking to a child. If still I didn't understand I said, "Mwen regret sa, mwen pa konprann." (I'm sorry, I don't understand.) This was almost always a guarrented laugh and they would just tell me in english. Most of the kids had a good knowledge of French so we spoke in French sometimes being that my French is much better than my Kreyol. Of course all the kids had a good knowledge of english so they made perfect translaters when I needed help to say something in Kreyol and they are very good teachers also.









After sitting and visiting with the kids for a while I had somethings to bring Duchaine from Kim (his mother here in the states). We went in Bob's office and I gave him his presents and we took some pictures.









After that it was about time to head back to the Preachers College for the night so I bid farewell to all my new friends," "Yon lot moman" (See you soon) They didn't understand me and I was later informed thats more French based Kreyol and they don't learn that. So I grabbed a new friend and asked how to say goodbye see you tomorrow in Kreyol, "Orevwa zanmi'm yo. A demen."

Arriving in Haiti

I arrived in Haiti on October 11, 2009. I went down with David and Sarah Dirrum, and John Marble. I didn't know to much about my three new friends before leaving for Haiti with them, but they are some good people. From time to time I visit Southwest Church of Christ the church they are members of and Sarah and David ran Cap-Haitien Childrens Home (the orphanage we were visiting) for ten years. David is fluent in Kreyol and he and Sarah know a great deal about the country so they were the perfect people to go down for my first time with.

My good friends Sarah and David

We flew out of OKC to St. Louis then to Miami. We stayed one night in Miami then flew to Haiti in the morning. After finally landing in Port-au-Prince we got our luggage and headed to get a taxi to take us to Tortug’Air lines. The experience of stepping outside the airport is one I will never forget. It has been explained to me that 100's of people hang out in front of the airport to beg. Haitians will take your bags from you and carry them in hope that you give them a small tip. We arrived on a Sunday morning therefore there wasn't to many problems with "people wanting to help carry our bags". After some negotiation David arranged for a taxi to take us to Tortug'Air. When I say taxi I mean a guy with a jeep. Once we got to Tortug'Air we got are tickets to fly to Cap-Haitien. Are flight was suppose to leave around 20 minutes past noon but we ended up leaving several hours after that. I figure the airline just waited till we had enough passengers to fill up the plane then we left. That's just how somethings work in Haiti, while your boarding pass might say departure 12:20pm you won't leave until they want you to leave. Finally we left and flew on a small 20 passenger plane to Cap-Haitien, Haiti.


Picture I took flying into PAP


The plane we flew on to Cap









Once we arrived in Cap-Haitien we got our bags and met Michel who works at the Center for Biblical Training. Leaving the airport in Cap-Haitien we were greeted by more people "wanting to help us carry our luggage" and a group of beggars and disabled people. They took one of my bags and loaded it into the truck. Once all loaded up we drove to the Center of Biblical Training. Most roads in Haiti are not paved and full of bumps and pot holes. I found it more comfortable to stand in the back of the truck than to sit on the benches.

We got picked up from the airport in the red truck and used the white truck to drive around town.
This is a Tap Tap.











The ride to the Preachers college while bumpy was another experience I'll never forget. The experience of seeing the living conditions and the typical day to day life of Haitians was humbling for me. They don't have the benefit of having paved roads, traffic lights, street lights, caution signs, organized garbage removal, and proper sewage systems. I think I saw one speed limit sign that I'm sure no one pays any attention to. The looks you get from Haitians was another surprise for me. While I don't feel they have any hostility toward me personally I did get alot of hostile looks. It has been explained to me that they see me as an American and they might get the feeling that I think I'm better than they are because of where I'm from. (After spending a few days in Haiti I found that all you have to do is give a smile and a "Bonjou" or "Bonswa" and immediately you'll turn up a smile.") As far as driving in Haiti there is no typical order or method except you drive forward on the right. Streets are full of Tap Taps (mini trucks with a bed on the back with a bench inside, they are the Haitian form of public transportation) and motorbikes. Motorbikes typically stay on the outer sides of the road while vehicles drive more in the center. Whenever we were caught in a group of Tap Taps and other vehicles we just honked a few times and drove around. Finally we arrived at the Preachers College on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Preparation before leaving

Before leaving for Haiti I deemed it fit to do some fund raising so I could be able to make the biggest impact possible on my first visit. My first fund raising activity was very simple, I went around to close friends and family and just asked for cash. I explained to people the problems and challenges the people of Haiti face daily and ask for people to donate however much they wanted. After explaining to people that most Haitians live off of less than $1 USD a day people were more than happy to help. I had been sick with the swine flu 2 weeks prior for leaving for Haiti but got better a week before I was set to leave. After fund raising for a week I was able to collect $120 USD. All of this money was spent on school supplies for Cap-Haitien Childrens Home, and I was able to donate $50 USD to the widows home.

I took pictures with most of the people who donated me money so when I arrived in Haiti I would be able to show the kids and people my friends who donated and made it possible for me to bring them all the supplies. I uploaded all the pictures of donaters onto my ipod and let the kids scroll through and have a look. The kids loved looking though the album.


My friends Greg, Kyle and Colt.

I would like to again thank all who donated: Dr. Greg Sutton, Dr. Linda Resse, Dr. Scott Barton, Dr. Doug Weirick, Dr. Phyllis Isaacs, Dr. Jamie Burns, Matt McGaha, Karen Smith, Erica Martin, Kyle, Greg, Colt, Randell, Jared, Gavin, Meredith, Kasi, Kami, Tyler, DeShanna, Trent, Wes, and Daniel.


All of the donated clothes I was able to bring to the orphanage.

All the school supplies and toiletry items I was able to bring. 75 toothbrushes, 25 tubes of toothpaste, rulers, protractor and compass sets, pens, and spiral note books.

I would like to also thank Kasi, Scotty, and Chandler for helping me pack all the donated items in my bags!

Welcome

Well I guess me creating this blog is very past due. This blog will detail my involvement in Haiti and fund raising activities I do here in the states. I am in no way a journalist or a professional writer but I'll try my best.(I am terrible at spelling and grammar but I'll try my best) This blog mainly is for my good friends who help me out in helping Haiti. It is important to me to show my friends how they have positively impacted the lives of Haitians. I am very thankful for all of their support!

I should start off by introducing myself, my name is Jean-Pierre Francis Valteau. I was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated high school in Phoenix, Arizona. I now live in Ada, Oklahoma and attend East Central University.

My family on my fathers side are French Creole. It has been explained to me by family members that my family lived in Haiti(then called St. Domingue) when it was controlled by the French and left to immigrated to New Orleans around 1820. My great great grandfathers name was Francis and he was a French merchant that sailed ships across the Atlantic. Great great gramps finally settled in St. Domingue and farmed tobacco for sometime before finally leaveing for New Orleans. My family is mulatto in complexion I have family members that are white, mulatto and black. I share a strong cultural connection with Haiti and its people and this is one of the many reasons for me traveling there to do humanitarian aid work.

I first traveled to Haiti in October of 2009 with members of Southwest Church of Christ. I have always wanted the opportunity to travel to Haiti because of my family and cultural connection. Shout out to my main man Tommy Paul for getting me on the trip and to David and Sarah Dirrum for letting me tag along.

On my first trip to Haiti I visited Cap-Haitien Childrens Home, a Center for Biblical Training, and Bethesda Widows Home. All of these places are located in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.



This is me and my two little friends Wengeline and Opba!