Mommy Sue's Children

This is real. This is dire. Our Maxo has been sick and unable to get to the hospital due to lack of fuel, and now hospitals are shutting down for the same reason. School has been closed since last Wednesday. We can't get food to the school for the food program when the community needs it most. It is terrible news out of Haiti and we are keeping our Haitian family, friends, and community in our hearts.

First Day of School at the Community School of Bellevue! We are happy to be welcoming many students who were displaced by the recent earthquake.

Our hearts go out to those in Haiti who are affected by today's earthquake. Maxo reports that while it was scary in the community with houses shaking, he believes everyone is fine. However he also reports that there are community members who have lost parents or children in Les Cayes and Jeremie.

The President of Haiti has been assassinated. Violence in Haiti has been rampant and is likely to increase. School was closed for the semester, but is due to open for summer school on Monday. Maxo is watching the situation carefully. You can read more about it on any major news outlet, but CNN has a nice concise summary. As we learn more about the impact on the school and community we will post. Right now we know Maxo and his family are safe. https://www.cnn.com//haiti-president-assassinat/index.html

This article helps to explain why, when you see us post pictures of the kids in school, they aren't wearing masks. "In Haiti, they are acting like COVID-19 doesn’t exist.[...] The reason for the laissez-faire attitude, which still may be rooted in skepticism and stigma, also comes from the fact that Haitians are still only presenting mild symptoms when they get infected. Why is part of the medical and scientific mystery."

Haiti is still in crisis. The violence in the streets and rampant kidnapping has forced the continued closure of Schools. The opposition believes the current president's term ended on Feb. 7 of this year, not next year. Here's our understanding of how they can make that claim: There is no dispute on the 5 year term. The dispute is on when it started. Article 134-2 of the Haitian Constitution states: ... The president elected enters into his functions on 7 February following the date of his election. In the case where the ballot cannot take place before 7 February, the president elected enters into his functions immediately after the validation of the ballot and his mandate is considered to have commenced on 7 February of the year of the election The 2015 Elections were cancelled and then rerun a year later because of allegations of fraud. The opposition is claiming that this section of the constitution applies and hence Moise's term began Feb 2016. Moise (and the US) say this doesn't apply and his term began Feb 2017. Under his term, inflation has skyrocketed, violence has increased, kidnappings have soared, the dollar has been devalued, and corruption in government has been exposed. It appears that the majority of Haitians are on the side of the opposition.

Maxo reports they are safe, but it is a very hard time for Haiti and he fears a lot of violence. Although schools are closed, we continue to support the teachers, however it will be dangerous to go get the money we send to pay them.

We are disheartened to report that once again schools are closed in Haiti. The political violence is ever increasing. Kidnappings have skyrocketed. Much of it stems from a question about the end of the current president's term. Everyone agrees that Moise has a five year term. What is not agreed upon is when that term started - in 2016 when he was elected or 2017 when he took office. The date of his leaving is Feb 7, either this year or next year. There are violent prote...sts that are anticipated to get much worse as the 7th draws nearer. Of course what is driving those that want him out is the ever rising inflation, the devaluing of the dollar so that people who depend on money from the US are now getting half of what they were before, and lots of allegations of major corruption in the government as they find those in power with a lot of money. But there have been no elections, so the opposition has assembled their own slate of people to take office. Children should be able to go to school to learn and then return home without the risk of being harmed. Schools will remained closed until this is again possible. See more

We're getting there!!!!!! Goal amended to reflect more offline donations! - THANKS - if we make our goal, there's an extra $1000 waiting to send these kids to school. You can help by chipping in and sharing. Every donation, no matter how large or small, matters and is very much appreciated!

NEWS: We have a donor who will kick in an additional $1000 if we reach our goal !!! You can help by sharing (and donating of course!) A heartfelt THANK YOU to all who have donated so far! Note that we have changed the goal to reflect the offline giving associated with this fundraiser. Check out our newsletter for an update: .. https://mailchi.mp//haiti-in-crisis-shop-to-help-plus-givi