Living Out the Spirit

(From left) Fondation Haitian Project (FHP) staff member Dady V., outgoing FHP Executive Director Stéphanie B., head of FHP Patrick B., and incoming FHP Executive Director Fred E. stand by food kits to be distributed to LCS families.

The Haitian Project (THP) and Louverture Cleary School (LCS) communities have always taken their foundational principle of Matthew 10:8 to heart. Living out the spirit of “what we have received for free, we must give for free,” Fondation Haitian Project (FHP), THP's partner foundation in Haiti, was recently able to provide food and hygiene kits to the families of 233 LCS students. The remaining families will pick up their kits over the next week.

Through his extensive business relationships, head of FHP Patrick B. secured food from a nearby bulk distributor for the effort. He, along with a small and dedicated team including FHP’s incoming Executive Director Fred E., outgoing FHP Executive Director Stéphanie B., LCS Principal Myriam J. (LCS '10), and LCS Director of Operations Nicolenne P., worked together to ensure the kits were available to all LCS families, along with families from the neighborhood around the school.

Incoming FHP Executive Director Fred E. (left) and head of FHP Patrick B. (foreground, right) with families receiving food kits.

Because LCS has not been in session due to the recent escalation in gang violence, the Foundation was able to use funds that would normally support meals on the Louverture Cleary campus to provide these substantial kits, which included food items such as rice, beans, corn, salmon, milk, oil, and supplies for laundry and hygiene.  

From a logistical standpoint, this labor of love involved countless hours of work to measure and re-bag rice, beans and other items from bulk, communication with families, and careful orchestration amidst travel and security challenges. It also included bringing in additional staff to assist with sewing the large bags closed so that recipients could more easily transport the bags to their homes.  

As Stéphanie B. noted:

“[Families] have been in great need due to the crisis in Haiti. It was heartwarming to see how much they appreciated the gesture, which came to them as a complete surprise. We are all very grateful that we were able to provide these families with some relief while [LCS] students are home, and until it is possible for them to safely return to school.” 

The support extended beyond LCS families to include a generous donation to LCS’s partner in Cité Soleil, Le Bon Samaritain de Varreux School, to help provide food for hundreds of vulnerable elementary school students and their families.  

The LCS administration has received messages from many appreciative families. In the words of one parent:

“We say 'thank you' to all the leadership of Louverture Cleary for this beautiful gesture. May God continue to protect you, may God continue to bless all the Foundation’s donors. May God bless all of you in abundance."

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