From the president and founder, Louis Elneus

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Inside this newsletter you will find pertinent information relating to the work of Haiti Lumiere de Demain (HLD) Inc. on the Island of La Gonave, Haiti. The goal of this newsletter is to keep you informed by giving you a comprehensive view of what we do, how we do it and why we do it the way we do. We hope to keep you informed about our work through this newsletter on a quarterly basis. As you may know, sometimes things can be very difficult in Haiti, but we will try our best to

Our work focuses primarily on helping to break the cycle of the high rate of illiteracy and the lack of educational opportunity that has left so many young people impoverished and hopeless. Entrenched poverty and hopelessness in Haiti have created generations of dysfunctional citizens. It is our hope, with the work of HLD, that the young people will soon see better days.

I believe children must be given the opportunity to dream and to think for themselves and be creative in their own ways. That is exactly what HLD has been doing over the past eight years on the Island of La Gonave. To accomplish this we relied on the support of friends in the United States where HLD is bases, and abroadin France, Canada, and Austria. Hundreds of children who would otherwise be left without formal education are now commencing and looking forward to concluding a full school year with all the textbooks they need in the classroom to succeed academically.

We have a comprehensive plan that has already shown great promise. The premises of our plan are engagement, trust, commitment and responsibility. We engage the local people and community leaders, show them trust and commitment while challenge them to take responsibility and they have responded in kind.

You can rest assured your financial contribution and volunteer efforts are going to a community and a people extremely grateful for your support. The cooperation among the various groups in Haiti is a clear indication that Haitians want to help one another in spite of their limited resources.

Currently we are fund-raising to build the capacity of Haiti Lumiere de Demain to be an active member in the communities where we work. We have done most of our work solely on the back of volunteers in Haiti. This past April when I traveled to Haiti with my friends, Kate Dischino, Gloria Schpero and Environmental education Director, Andy Craycraft, we prepared HLD’s office but do not we have enough funds to staff it. In October I went back with Cathy Cann and her family and Dr. Gerry Brooker. We distributed books to 204 children and scholarships for 27, however this was well below our goal. There are still 1,800 children relying on HLD for textbooks and materials to get a basic education. We badly need trained and professional staff, as well as funds to carry out the mission of HLD.

As our scholarship recipients begin to develop ideas and projects, such as a garbage collection at the national school in Anse-a-Galets to improve their communities, we need to be there with them and to support their ideas. Thanks the generosity of Elaine and Steve McElhennon, Mike and Andrea Towey, Heather Macloud, Kiwanis Club of Fairfield and Reenie Brown who open their check books or home homes on a significant way to help us provide full scholarships to 20 students who just finished their first year of secondary school. Well-trained staff, an office space and funds are key to our continued success. We need your help today.

We have some exciting events coming up in the next few months for which we will need your financial support and time. Thank You in advance.

I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season! Louis Elneus, Founder and President .

Louis Elneus
Founder and President