Click here to read an article in Christian Science Monitor about Haiti Partners work in social business to improve quality of education in Haiti.

In this video the Haiti Partners WOZO youth choir sings to commemorate the 2 year anniversary of the earthquake.  The song was written and arranged by choir director, Alex Myril, and Merline Engle.  Lyrics can be found below.

January 12th, a day of terror and tears.
Eyes and hearts of Haitians filled with pain,
January 12th, a day of terror and tears.
Eyes and hearts of Haitians filled with pain
A horrific disaster, followed by cholera, and misery
take so many to their death

Your blood spilled,
and your souls live on and you are with us,
Giving your fellow Haitians strength
for the work of rebuilding Haiti

We finish this year with profound gratitude for our friends and colleagues in Haiti, the U.S., Canada, and around the world. We start the New Year excited about what is ahead in our journey together.

We pray that 2011 is marked by peace, joy, and hope for you and your loved ones. And of course we’re praying–and working–for the same in Haiti.

If you and your friends are still looking for ways to give at the end of this year, please consider a gift to Haiti Partners. Any gifts given by midnight tonight will be doubled, up to $100,000, by a generous grant by our friends and partners at the Vista Hermosa Foundation.

Changing lives through education is a great way to end one year and move into a new one: http://www.haitipartners.org/donate/

So, thank you! The choir sings for you in the video below–as a small sign of our love and gratitude for you.

Happy New Year from all of us at Haiti Partners!

My co-workers and I (John Engle) were thrilled to host in Haiti the WorldBlu team December 10-17. Their training on organizational and workplace democracy for our partner school leadership teams and for 35 people in our LEADERS Program was incredible.

We are so grateful to Vista Hermosa Foundation for making their visit possible. WorldBlu team also participated in Open Haiti Camp open space meeting, that was a follow-up to TEDx Port-au-Prince, and met with business and NGO leaders. Haiti Partners is deeply grateful to be part of the WorldBlu worldwide network of democratic workplaces. Thank you for making time available, WorldBlu team, to spend time in Haiti to help us build better schools and institutions!

Click on links below for albums of photos:
Habitat Santo Visit
Visiting Partner Schools
Seminar for Partner Schools Leadership Teams
LEADERS Program Seminar
WORLDBLU, Miranda Ash’s Photos

At this time of year as we remember God’s love being with us in Jesus, we’re filled with gratitude and hope. It’s also a time for us to thank you for your generous commitment to helping people in Haiti. We’re deeply grateful to have friends and partners like you.

Here is a song from the Haiti Partners Youth Choir, sung for you.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Haiti Partners!

My co-workers and I (John Engle) are having a wonderful time hosting WorldBlu team in Haiti this week. They’re putting photos and updates on their Facebook page. Click here.

We are so grateful to Vista Hermosa Foundation for making their visit possible. In addition to them participating in Open Haiti Camp open space meeting, that was a follow-up to TEDx Port-au-Prince, they’re networking with business and NGO people and will do seminars for leadership teams of Haiti Partners partner schools and for 35 participants in our LEADERS program. Thank you for being here, WorldBlu!
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It’s exciting to see community involvement in construction of Children’s Academy. Below is video and photos of foundation being dug and also of folks clearing land in preparation for a large open space community meeting to discuss “The Role of Education in Development of a Community.”

Below that is a video of a community meeting in November. There are 55 community members (2 groups) participating in Circles of Change training, which helps develop communication and collaboration skills. They are also doing research toward developing a business that generates revenue for the school.

Clear here for more photos.

Friend Scott Henderson, or “Scotty Hendo” is doing a daily blog during his time in Haiti with us right now. Below are first couple paragraphs of today’s with link. Thanks Scotty Hendo for partnering with us and for coming to Haiti with us!

#1 Thing to Learn from This Post:
The community school is the foundation for educating children, parents, and community members, giving the people of Haiti the bridge to a better life.

A More Detailed Exploration:
Waking up at 6:00am, our team hit the road shortly after 7:00am to make the drive to Leogane, the epicenter of the 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake and where the Haiti Partners team first began its work here twenty years ago. On a typical weekday, this twenty-five mile journey from Bellevue can take anywhere from 2-1/2 to 4 hours depending on flooding, traffic, and other factors.

Thankfully, traveling on a Saturday meant considerable less traffic and we made it there in 1-1/2 hours. It also helped that most of the highway is a paved, divided four-lane road. Last year, it was still under construction and considerably more arduous. Having a functional system of roads and highways is vital. (Click here to continue)

Nine of my close colleagues and I (John Engle) drew inspiration from Muhammad Yunus today. Hats off to Grameen Creative Lab for organizing this conference of thought leaders, entrepreneurs (all ages) and many like my colleagues and I who are committed to social business. It was wonderful to see the two young people awarded their prizes of all expenses paid to participate in Social Business Conference in Austria.

Later in the afternoon I joined with others working in close partnership with Grameen to discuss with Muhammad Yunus our various plans and projects for social businesses. His insights, questions and comments that come from decades of experience are golden.

Haiti Partners 2010-11 Annual Report covers our accomplishments from the last fiscal year and our plans for the next. To download the full report, click here.