Jean Bellande Joseph Foundation
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Jean Bellande Joseph Foundation is an initiative started by Claude Saint Hilaire and Paul Brunet Joseph in Cayes-Jacmel a small town on the southern coast of
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. The two men wished to honor their benefactor, Jean Bellande Joseph, who died on September 15, 2007.


Joseph

Jean Bellande Joseph was born on October 23, 1944. He married and had seven children while working professionally as a
tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
. He lived his life with the profound sense that he should share his successes with the disadvantaged. To that end, he supported several generations of rural children in their
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
s.


Rural issues

Families and households in the rural region of Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti face countless difficulties. The parents of disadvantaged children often practice
subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...
on leased land. The
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
of rural Haiti makes it increasingly difficult to make ends meet by farming, and parents are frequently unable to provide basic needs for their children, like adequate food, medicine and education. Of primary concern to us are the great numbers of rural children who are not able to go to school. These children are at risk of
delinquency Delinquent may refer to: * Delinquent (royalist), Royalists whose estates had been seized during the English Civil War * A juvenile delinquent Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful b ...
, but they are often undernourished and go without basic supports. Although several initiatives have been undertaken, the predicament of destitute rural children is too often ignored. This situation compelled us to found and operate an institution able to help the children that live in these onerous conditions.


Mission

Their mission is a social one, and their motto “S’unir pour sauver les enfants défavorisés” translates, “United to save disadvantaged children.” Jean Bellande Joseph Foundation is blind to the religion or sex of children. They are a social organization offering a non-profit service to society.


Objectives

Their objectives are to: improve the quality of life of disadvantaged children and provide them with adequate supports such as food and
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
s, support and strengthen the education of the child, so that she becomes a good citizen, capable of helping her country, empower rural children by helping them integrate socially in the broader society, combat juvenile delinquency, defend the rights of children, support and encourage the development of children at the social, economic, cultural, and artistic levels, achieve the elimination of all forms of
discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
against rural children. The Foundation has many donors who sponsor a few children who cannot go to school or have a square meal every day. They seek to provide a hot meal seven days a week for the children that frequent the foundation. They seek to provide a
vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...
program for the children to ensure that they are receiving the proper nutrients. They seek to
immunize Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the antigen, immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ' ...
these children and ensure that there is a medical safety net for them in the instance of their sickness. They seek to support the educations of these children, paying their school fees and providing them with scholarly materials such as books, backpacks and other school supplies, and the appropriate clothes and shoes for school. They seek to support the social integration of rural children by providing a place for them to come and socialize, learn and engage with their peers, while contributing to their local community through service projects.


History

They began their organization with the aforementioned goals and initiatives. Because of the economic difficulties of the recent past and the devastating
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
of January 12, 2010, that destroyed everything that they had, it was necessary for them to start anew. They have been struggling, ever since the earthquake to raise balance sheets to the level needed to sustain their work. This situation leaves them tremendously vulnerable. Their primary initiatives highlight the support and provision of education,
nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...
and health for 35+ children in the rural areas of Cayes-Jacmel. The calculations for their
budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
are based on anticipated expenses for each child during the year. Their annual budget is US$22,100. The food budget is for one meal per day for each child. This includes the food itself and the cost for preparing it. School starts in October and it is important to us that children are properly enrolled in schools at this time. The allowance for school includes scholarly materials and the appropriate clothes. The medical allowance provides for immunizations and emergency medications and doctor visits as well as a vitamin program. It is necessary that they provide support to the staff that work with the children each day. They have budgeted an allowance for the teacher and assistants at the foundation and for the facilities themselves.


References

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www.haiti-edu.org
Child-related organizations in Haiti Foundations based in Haiti