Charity Projects

Below is a list of the projects that are being implemented by For A Rising Sun, a Haitian charity geared towards helping the children of Site Solèy.

Food Projects - The Sports Program - The Arts Program - The Education Program

Food Projects
One of the organization’s charity projects that have been implemented in Site Solèy has been the sponsorship and creation of four popular canteens that distribute warm meals throughout the 34 neighborhoods of Site Solèy from the following strategic points:

1- FOUJI - serving: Jamo, Merger, Sibert, Soudale, Duvivier, Lèbou, Nan Fontaine, Bois Neuf, Anba Boulva
2- BOSTON - serving: Bon Repos, Ti Mache, Bò Teleko, Lilavois, Kafou Sen Mak, Lizon
3- MAREN - serving: Shada, Santo, Ti Guèrye, Butte Boyer, Truitier, Robert, Latan
4- VILLAGE LA RENAISSANCE - serving: Jean-Jacques Accao, Claire Heureuse, Catherine Flon

While some of these neighborhoods are not considered as part of Site Solèy, the people of these neighboring areas travel up to five miles to take advantage of these meals due to their financial situations.

The patrons of the canteens are required to give a symbolic contribution of five gourdes which is the equivalent of about fourteen American cents (at the exchange rate of 37.50 gourdes to $1.00). The meal as a whole costs roughly $1.00. The monetary contribution serves to preserve the dignity and self- esteem of the beneficiaries of the program, for it is For A Rising Sun’s philanthropic philosophy that effective humanitarian aid should come with regard for the recipient’s self-worth and self-respect. In fact, these points of food distribution are known by the population as “Restaurants Populaires de la Cite Solèy” (Popular Restaurants of Site Solèy).

While thriving, the maintenance of these canteens, which serve more than 1,000 meals a day, has been a challenge from the start. Due to the high cost of provisions in the Haitian market, the canteens often do not have basic resources. Yet, the organization’s involvement with the city residents has provided an ideal opportunity for a unique analysis of the needs of the population.

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The Sports Program
Objectives
Considered to be the most unifying element in the world, sports can be utilized to achieve a number of objectives. Sports can help overcome many social barriers. On the field, an athlete is judged not by his or her race, color, religion, and social standing, financial situation but rather by his/her physical abilities, performance and dedication to the game. Therefore, another charity project that For A Rising Sun plans on implementing is a sports program for the children.

Strategies
For A Rising Sun will use sports as a MOTIVATOR to encourage the youth enrolled in the program to do well academically, since school performance and/or attendance to the after-school tutoring program will be a determining factor for participation in the games.

For A Rising Sun will use sports as booster of SELF-ESTEEM. Because these children have lived in subhuman conditions, each child’s sense of self worth has suffered tremendously. Sports activities, in an accepting and nurturing environment, will uplift the spirit of the youth.

For A Rising Sun will use sports as a TEACHING TOOL to instill useful, long lasting values that can be put into practice in various life situations and develop the child’s character.

a) RESPECT for the sport; for the coaches, teammates and other players; for the rules and regulations.
b) DISCIPLINE teaches the athlete to be on time, to exhibit good behavior and play fair, to remain focused on the task, and to develop team spirit. For A Rising Sun has determined that personal discipline is an important value to implant in the children and adolescents of Site Solèy, for it will be much needed to overcome the many obstacles they will encounter throughout their lives.
c) THRUST & DEPENDABILITY are values that one learns when practicing any team sport. On the field, an athlete has to rely on his/her teammates to bring an initiated action to success. The children will be taught to understand that the same group effort is expected from the residents of a community and a nation to reach common goals beneficial for all members. Making the right move on the field or the appropriate action for the community is an obligation for everyone, and ensures success for all.
d) Sharing, caring, and courtesy are also important life values athletes learn when playing a team sport. They will be actively emphasized and enforced in all sports and other activities of the project.

The Different Sports

1) Basketball
2) Martial Arts
3) Soccer
4) Tennis
5) Track and Field
6) Volleyball

Martial Arts is the only sport that will be taught to every participant in the program. Children seven years old and up will be required to practice Martial Arts for they will gain tremendous benefits from this sport including balance, focus, and self-control.

The teams will be as follow:

Boys and girls	7 to 10 years old
Boys	11 to 13 years old
Girls	11 to 13 years old
Boys	14 to 17 years old
Girls	14 to 17 years old

The number of teams for each age group will be determined according to the number of children who show an interest in participating in a particular sport.

For basketball, soccer, volleyball and other team sports, there will be separate boys and girls teams since these sports involved a great deal of physical contact, and boys and girls have different strength levels. For these disciplines, the teams will be as follow.

Boys	11 to 13 years old
Girls	11 to 13 years old
Boys	14 to 17 years old
Girls	14 to 17 years old

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The Arts Program
Objectives
The arts help children build both basic and advanced thinking skills, and also instructs them in diverse modes of thinking and learning. The knowledge and skills that they develop in learning to respond to, perform, and create works of arts constitute a fundamental form of literacy children must have if they are to communicate successfully in modern society.

Strategies
A quality arts education can help children develop a diverse range of mental and physical abilities and can promote achievement across disciplines. The main objective of the Arts education program is for the participants to acquire the following skills that they will be able to replicate in other areas of learning:

COGNITION: The arts expand knowledge and contribute to intellectual comprehension. Studies have shown that the arts teach children how to think critically, solve problems, analyze and synthesize information, as well as evaluate and make decisions.

CULTURE: The arts will help the children to not only better understand their own culture but the culture of other people. The arts are international and transcend the limits of language. Therefore, they can help bridge the gaps in a diverse and complicated society.

COMMUNICATION: Arts are a special form of literacy. It uses sights, sounds, and movement to convey meaning beyond the power of words. Arts education develops the ability to interpret and understand complex symbols in the same manner as language and mathematics.

CREATIVITY: The arts teach skills associated with imagination, invention and innovation.
The arts education program will provide the youth of Site Solèy with opportunities in:

1- Arts and crafts
2- Dance
3- Music
4- Painting
5- Sculpture
6- Theater

For A Rising Sun will emphasize theater arts for its therapeutic features. The children of Site Solèy have experienced many life threatening situations that violence has become part of their everyday lives. The psychological ramifications of these experiences may lead the children to reproduce what they have witnessed or to accept violent acts perpetrated toward them as a natural occurrence. Theatre will provide a safe environment, where the youth will be able to express their feelings, vent their frustrations, and learn to use words instead of weapons as a form for communication. The children will be actively involved in the writing and production of plays that reflects the harsh reality of their present life as well as their hopes and dreams for a better future. They will be the actors, the choreographers, the dancers, and the stage managers.

Additionally, the children of Site Solèy will be able to allow other people to share their theatre experience. Children and adults from more affluent areas of the country will get a chance to see life in the “bidonvilles” or shanty towns, they will have the opportunity to see the residents of Site Solèy through new eyes, to witness the horrors of their daily life, and to feel their pain and suffering. This will hopefully enable them to understand that they are just regular men, women and children, who just happen to be the victims of social economic factors imposed on them by the reality of life in a third world country. Finally, POU SOLÈY LEVE hopes that by raising an awareness of the situation, theater will also forge a desire to work together for long-lasting change.

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The Education Program
The most pressing problem facing the Haitian educational system is the disproportionate number of schools for the number of school aged youth. According to research in 1997, there were only 9,528 available schools for the entire country of Haiti. Site Solèy epitomizes the inadequacy of the country’s educational services. Only six out of ten school buildings are open. These buildings are overcrowded and ill equipped to address the needs of approximately 300,000 citizens. These schools do not have basic necessities such as running water, electricity, a schoolyard or sport fields. These difficult conditions are not conducive to learning nor can they help the students who are already facing other social and financial hardships.

Objectives
For A Rising Sun strongly believes that the breaking of the cycle of poverty in Site Solèy can only happen through meaningful changes in the education and life of the upcoming generations. By offering support to the educational services provided at Site Solèy, For A Rising Sun wants to provide other opportunities to the disadvantaged students and empower them to pursue a better future.

Strategies
For A Rising Sun’s interventions in the support and improvement of the educational services at Site Solèy will comprise of:

1- An After-School Program
2- A Library
3- A Computer Lab

An After-School Program
Objectives
Studies have proven that low–income children who lack supervision begin to fall behind in their school work, receive poor grades, and finally drop out of school. Because the parents or caregivers are themselves uneducated or too busy making ends meet, these children are often left alone or raised in the streets, and thus are at a much greater risk of being the victims of crime or being involved in drugs, violence and other illegal activities.

The After-School program aims to offer the youth a safe and orderly learning environment where they can focus on improving their academic performance. The Program will provide the extra instructional help they will not find at home or school.

Strategies
The After-School will provide positive enhancement of critical skills in:

1. Reading tutoring (in French and Creole)
2. Math tutoring
3. Preventive services

Reading Tutoring:
To succeed in school, be prepared for more advanced courses, and participate in the high-skill workplace of the 21st century, all students need good reading skills. By offering extended learning opportunities and more individualized attention, the After-school program will help raise reading levels. During the extended learning time, students will also be encouraged to use the services of the After-School center library.

Mathematics Tutoring:
In today’s competitive knowledge-based economy, the need for employees with mathematics background greatly increases. After-school learning time can enable students, especially in the elementary grades (Ecole Fondamentale) to reinforce key mathematical concepts, build conceptual understanding and thus, prepare them for more advanced learning in the upper grades. Through various enrichment activities that include hands-on projects, creative problem solving activities such as puzzles and games, and the use of the computer lab, they can develop a greater interest in the subject and maximize their performance.

Preventive Services:
Objectives
Provided on an on-going basis, these services will involve the parents’ participation along with other mentors from the community. Preventive services will aimed at teaching the youth how to cope with social influences that may lead them to make wrong choices.

Strategies
Preventive service activities will include violence and drug prevention seminars, conflict mediation, group and individual counseling, character and citizenship education as well as hygiene and sexual education programs. Other activities associated with the development of protective factors in youth such as active participation in community effort projects, and daily involvement in art, music, sports, dance and drama are already established in other areas of this project proposal.

The Library
Objectives
For A Rising Sun’s Library will make available quality books for a wide age range that will reflect the interest of the young and the community at large. The library will offer to the children access to books and other school materials that their parents can not afford.

Strategies
In a safe, quiet, and well-lighted place, they will have the opportunity to consult books, conduct researches for school projects, or simply do their homework. Among other activities, the library will hold periodic essay or speech contests. Youngsters will also be encouraged to write their own stories and produce them in book or dramatic form.

The Computer Lab
Objectives
It is of the utmost importance to provide computer access to children as technology becomes more prevalent in today’s workplace. Computer literacy for all is one of the sure ways to narrow the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots.”

Strategies
Through the computer lab, the youth will be able to use word processing and graphic illustrations to design and produce their own documents. Furthermore they will be able to make use of the wealth of knowledge and information that the Internet offers.

Modern computers along with educational software and access to the Internet will provide the children with tremendous opportunities to reinforce reading, math, writing skills as well as the possibility to complete homework and school assignments that focus on doing research, gathering information and writing reports. They will also be able to communicate with the rest of the world and widen their horizons.

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