Founded in 2001, the Vassar Haiti Project (VHP) elevates the discourse about and awareness of Haitian culture and society, fosters sustainable development in a village in Haiti, and provides students at Vassar with a life changing experiential education in global citizenship. This unique, award-winning initiative engages students in very real ways with important concepts and tough questions relating to nongovernmental activity in the developing world. Students participate in grant-writing, research, presentations at schools and community organization, and fundraising events in the community and at Vassar, and have the opportunity to travel to Haiti to assess the progress of the initiatives they research.
- Current initiatives in Haiti include: (and year started)
- Education of 300 children in the village's primary school, by support of a lunch program and teacher salaries (2002)
- Dramatically improving access and purification of the village water supply (2011)
- Reforesting the barren hillsides with 100,000 coffee, fruit, shade, and lumber trees (2010)
- Staffing a clinic that provides the only healthcare available in the area (2009)
- Energizing the village's new women’s cooperative, Femmes de Chermaitre (2014)
All these milestones were achieved through generous support at art sales and fundraisers. The upcoming Sale will run from Friday, Sept. 18, through Sunday, Sept. 20, in the College Center Multipurpose Room on the second floor of Main Building at Vassar. Further details are as follows:
Haitian Painting and Handcraft Sale
Friday, Sept. 18. 12pm - 6pm
Saturday, Sept. 19. 10am - 7pm
5pm Reception and Student Presentation
Sunday, Sept. 20. 10am - 2pm
The event is free and open to the public, and will feature 350 paintings and thousands of handcrafts sourced directly from Haitian artists and artisans. All purchases are 50% tax deductible, with handcrafts starting at $5, and paintings at $50. For more information, please email [email protected], or call 845-797-2123.