Annoureveye Blog: Let's Wake Up

This week, we are asking you to support the efforts of Eritaj Foundation for Haiti’s renaissance.  Please see the note below; contact numbers are available at the end of the message.

Thank you for your support to the Eritaj Foundation, for your prayers and efforts to help in any way you can. The earthquake smacked Haiti as we were in the process of reporting on the Christmas for Me activity which took place in Carrefour, Port au Prince, at the church directed by Pasteur Jackelin Cantave from Eglise Baptiste Union Fraternelle. How Haiti has changed since then! Hundreds of thousand Haitians have perished, among them 300 future nurses at a nursing school, children, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, families and friends, officials and members of the United Nations mission in Haiti, staff from international NGOs. Nearly everyone in Haiti has lost someone.

Eritaj’s immediate response has been the establishment of a toll free number to call in family members who needed to be accounted for. This response bode well with our actual need to know of the situation of our own siblings, family members and friends. Approximately 17 individuals from New York, Florida, Massachusetts among other states called to volunteer and to work the phone. We received thousands of calls from all the United States and abroad. We launched a series of gathering locally, as well as phone and internet conferencing, focus groups to exchange information and decide how to help coordinate efforts.

Several networks have offered to fundraise on behalf of Eritaj as noted below. We will concentrate our intervention to help the churches we have worked with in the past. We are interested in supporting them in a community context- such as, cleaning up and getting the church up to functioning. However, we are aware that they are better situated to know of their own pressing needs and may decide to distribute small amounts of money to their members- $30-$50 range. Whichever way they choose to use our contributions, they will send us information which will be posted on the Eritaj’s website and forwarde to all supporters and donors. We need your help now to carry a fundraising activity at your church, workplace or your home with friends and peers.

Eritaj Foundation Inc. – Giving Hope to a Child of Haiti Eritaj Foundation promotes organizational, social and economic development in Haiti since 1999.

Based in Framingham, MA and Port au Prince Haiti, Eritaj (Haitian Creole for heritage) support grassroots organizations, including churches, clinics, schools and community based actions for sustainable socio-economic change.

98 Avenue Lamartiniere, PauP Haiti

73 Union Avenue, Framingham MA, 01702  Ph: (508) 881-8131;

Fax: (508)881-8159; www.eritajfoundation.org