Update Juanuary 30, 2010
SOPUDEP did have to abandon their school building about four days ago. It was being used as a shelter, but the stench of dead bodies was getting to strong. School director Réa Dol doesn't think it will ever work again as a school anyways because there was structural damage and all but three homes were destroyed in the neighborhood. It is time now for the school to relocate!
Now that being said, SOPUDEP did start payments on a piece of land last year in anticipation of building a new school for 2012 (when their lease would run up on their current building). Thanks to a generous donor from San Francisco, all but $20,000 of the original $60,000 is owing on the land. Seth Donnelly from the Bay area will most likely head up this fundraising project to pay off the land that will secure the schools future.
The Préval government has ordered schools to resume sometime in February. So, temporary classrooms are going to be put together for SOPUDEP's new property. An architectural group from Ryerson University in Toronto is working on a sturdy temporary classroom design using readily available local materials.
We have also set to work on the plans for a shipping container school concept that we came up with last year (concept pics seen here). Professionals and organizations are joining up for this project and an engineer and architect well versed in container architecture are on board. It could include a solar roof that could potentially provide electricity to surrounding homes. The nice thing here is that these kind of structures are hurricane and earthquake resistant. It could very well be a pilot project for other kinds of buildings like residential units.
Urgent Appeal For The People Of Haiti (Updated January 22, 2010)
Haiti is ten days in to this mess and very little has improved. Many people are on the ground trying their best to ease these peoples suffering, but the policy makers are largely stifling the efforts. We can only hope that their eyes are opened to the fact that human life is infinitely more important than an arbitrary bottom line. That's all I'll say about that right now!
There are many people taking action in the aid efforts and are doing what they can right now with whatever they have at their disposal. SOPUDEP School Director Réa Dol is taking action to help her community with little to no international aid.
Just two days ago, at day eight, starvation in SOPUDEP's area (as I'm sure is the same in the rest of the city) started to take a real tole. The generosity of a local grocer is now ensuring at least some are staving off hunger. Réa, because she has bought from him for the duration of the school's food program has developed a good working relationship with this vendor and he has given food to Réa on credit. 150 to 250 are being fed right now, but countless others could be included with some cash.
We are working on paying down that credit so she can continue to expand her food program. Right now we can only send down $500 a day through Western Union, but once the limit is lifted and the banks are open we hope that with your support we can expand the food program. This is just the beginning of this crisis!!!
Réa is also appealing to raise money to send families to the countryside to stay with their families where they can have better support. Medication and outdoor survival supplies are on the short list of things to get in the coming weeks.
SOPUDEP School
Located in Petion-ville, Haiti, SOPUDEP School is a comprehensive school serving the poorest residents of the city. Founded in 2002, the school has grown to over 554 students, many of whom receive their only regular meal through the school's hot lunch program.
SOPUDEP Updates
An Appeal For Teacher Solidarity
An Appeal For Teachers Solidarity Letter
A number of months ago, Roger Annis, Darren Ell and I embarked on a project to bring Teachers Union or general union solidarity to the staff salary program. We feel these individuals and groups understand more than anyone the need for steady financial and technical support for educators in these difficult conditions.
The letter that follows is ment to be a promotional tool and an introduction to this school. If you know anyone or organization involved in education, I encourage you to direct them here or print off a copy of the letter to pass around. I can also send you the original word doc or PDF brochure if you wish.
Ryan Sawatzky
Expanding Accessible Education In Haiti:
An Appeal For International Support and Solidarity
Street Kids Update
SOPUDEP is already half way through their school year and the street kids education program is working well. While they still are looking for funding to put them up in a home and food is scarce, these 31 kids are attending class everyday thanks to the interest being paid from an American teacher who happened to be teaching just up the road at another school.
Steven Kirby came to us at the start of the school year wanting to help with the street kids program. To my understanding he had just stumbled across the school while on the Internet.
Because SFF has been under some financial crunches and haven’t been able to put money towards much more than just the 47 staff we weren't able to hire the teachers that Rea needed to be able to educate these kids. Kids that regardless of age (5 to 17) are all starting from the same point in their education.
With these conditions, Steven not only started volunteering his time to teach these kids, but he has been putting part of his paycheck every month from his other teaching job to hire three other teachers from the community to help in this endeavor. He is also lending a hand to purchase sewing machines for these homeless boys and girls to give them a skill to be able to earn a living on the street. It's a good start to this important project!
I know Steven probably would rather not be put into the spotlight, but I just thought this was a pretty cool story!
Lets do more things like that for the students and staff of SOPUDEP school! I can’t stress enough how important steady and regular support is no matter what is being given.
Thank you again to everyone who has given their time, energy and money to this very progressive program!
Ryan Sawatzky
Urgent Appeal For Financial Support
To those who believe that education is not a privilege, but rather a right for all, SOPUDEP School in Pétion-Ville Haiti needs your attention.
We are writing on behalf of the hardworking and dedicated Haitian educators of SOPUDEP School who wish to empower the most vulnerable children in their community. The children of SOPUDEP cannot afford to go to school because of Haiti's highly privatized education system. Without SOPUDEP School in their community, these children would never to learn to read or have access to a well-rounded education. Even though SOPUDEP is a registered Private School with The Ministry of Education, they turn no child away for lack of funds.
Parents of students are encouraged to pay for their childs education, it is not manditory. The money the parents do contribute goes towards bills like water, electricity, gas for the generator, uniforms, cleaning supplies, repairs and fees for special programs our teachers are required to attend by the Ministry of Education. They also must pay fees to renew the school's patent and license under the DGI and Ministry of Education each year.
The Sawatzky Family Foundation is a registered Canadian charity that was created in 2008 for the sole purpose of providing financial support and raising awareness about this wonderful local social program.
The Sawatzky Family has personally paid the teachers’ salaries ($26,000 (US) for 47 staff) and the majority of the food program that feeds over 650 students five days a week for close to two years.
We have run short on our own resources and are urgently calling for immediate support. With cuts to teacher salaries, they will be forced to find other work just to get by, thereby reducing SOPUDEP's effectiveness. Turning away students would become a very real possibility.
Fall 2009 Update
It’s fall again and SOPUDEP’s 2009/ 2010 school year is well under way. This year they are facing challenges new and old, but it has also brought some exciting opportunities for this school to extend their reach into the community. Through new initiatives to gain sustainable funding for their programs, future prospects of expansion, and the growing support and awareness of this awesome program, SOPUDEP’s longevity and impact in Haiti is looking bright.
Because SOPUDEP has always been an organization that serves the many needs of the community, even if it means extreme challenges like lack of funds or the actual physical threats of being shut down, they still strive to accomplish those goals of strengthening those who need it the most. The poor majority!
Some very generous donations came at the end of the 2008/2009 school year. This 
past summer School Director Réa Dol set about a small school expansion to squeeze in just a few more deserving kids. A three-classroom addition that will hold 60 or more students and a required retaining wall around the property was built under tight financial constraints. The lack of funds for labor was met with enthusiasm from members of the community as parents of students volunteered their time and energy to help build this much needed addition.
Supporting SOPUDEP Also Supports Other Schools
I think this may be my final blurb before the Christmas holidays. This is yet another story of how SOPUDEP is vital to the community to which they serve and further proof that this is a program that deserves our attention.
For the time that I've known about the school I've known that they do other social work outside their own walls. I finnaly got the lowdown from Réa on what they actually do and who they support.
For some time now SOPUDEP has been working with two other community schools in a much poorer area of Pétion-Ville: MOJUB, or the Youth Movement United for Bobin with 150 students and the Les Petits Amis du SOPUDEP (another school set up by the SOPUDEP organization) in Boucan La Pli with 40 students.
Réa and her staff find and recommend students for these schools. These children like their own students cannot afford to go to regular public or private schools. As well, they assist in their school formation, including school supplies and teacher training. Réa works with women’s organizations in these communities and it is through them and their activities that recommendations are made for staff employment.
When they have the funds, they also take SOPUDEP's students to prepare hot lunches and deliver them to these schools and help to cover the salaries of their teachers. These are rare occasion because they are pressed themselves, but they do what they can for them because of the extreme poverty and need in those communities. Funds for this are taken from their own staff and food budgets.
