Category Archives: Philanthropy

Sister Dona

Haiti has approximately 30,000 abandoned and homeless children. Sister Dona spends 75% of her time on the streets of the Haitian Diaspora raising funds to feed, house and obtain medical care for over 400 of them in Kenskoff, Port-de-Paix and Jacmel. She collects donations in a little box with a picture of Jean Jacques Dessalines on it hoping to instill national pride. She sends what she collects to Haiti daily.

100 homeless students were cared for at her Kenskoff school campus which is equipped with girls and boys dormitories, commercial grade cooking facilities, a cafeteria, and classrooms for primary and secondary school students.

Sister Dona was arrested for openly defying government officials in 2012. The Haitian government ignored pleas and inquiries from many sectors of the Haitian community, the Catholic hierarchy including the pope, and international human rights organizations. She spent over three years in jail during which time the school became incapable of operating. The Haitian government provided no concession for the children and they returned to the street.

The school was still under reconstruction from the 2010 earthquake when it was severely damaged by hurricane Matthew. It’s in dire need of repairs and a new septic system needs to be installed, but priority is given to a medical facility due to the recent pandemics such as the cholera outbreak and all other funds have been allocated for food.

Please donate through You Caring by clicking here and help us repair Sister Dona’s school for homeless children. 

Soeurs Redemptrices de Nazareth is a 501c3 charitable educational institution registered in the United States. All donations are tax deductible. Thank you so much for your support.

Below are gifts we issue as tokens of appreciation. We sincerely thank you for your support.

Donate $15.00 & receive: Dezire OR Baron by Jazz Pyebwa — This item is not sold anywhere and is available

Donate $25.00 & receive: Baron AND Dezire by Jazz Pyebwa — These items are not sold anywhere and are available only through download

Donate $50.00 & receive: donation we will send you the album “Legba Suite” by Jazz Pyebwa — This item is sold in our store (available for download as a gift option upon confirmation of your choice via email)

Donate $55.00 & receive my book: Anse-à-Vodou: A Summer with My Father in Haiti

Teach Your Children Well

The Louisiana purchase which accounts for land in 15 US States would not have happened if the French had not been broken down by the war in San Dominique (Now Haiti and the Dominican Republic). That’s right. There’s a good chance that over a third of the country would be Canada or at least French Territory if not for Haitian ancestors. Haiti – the first, arguably the only Independent Black Republic -arguably depending on your definition of Independent Black Republic. No other colony of enslaved Africans won the country that enslaved them, but there are other islands in the Caribbean that used to be territories of other countries.
The question of the day since I’ve been focused on education lately is how many American children learn about the Louisiana purchase in this way? I’ll wager not many. I’d wager nearly none.

Slavery was abolished in San Dominique on 4\4\1972. The campaign to end slavery started in earnest on 8/14/1791 when the signal for revolt was given by Dutty Boukman solidified in a Vodou ceremony in Bois Caïman.

Haiti officially became a country on January 1, 1804, as it declared itself independent from France. The Haitian flag was raised on May 18, 1803. The colors of the Haitian flag and much if not all of the symbolism represents Vodou esprit, but that’s another story.

#SickOfTheMakeAmericaGreatAgainConversationAmericaIsGreatLargelyBecauseItMargianilizedItsNeighborsToMakeItSo

Bwa Kayman Vodou Ceremony, Brooklyn, NY, 16 August 2014 - Vodou ceremony in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY, commemorating the Bwa Kayman ceremony. Bois Caiman (French, Alligator Woods, Bwa Kayiman in Haitian Creole), was the site of a historic meeting on the night of August 13-14, 1791, which culminated in a traditional religious ceremony led by Houngan Boukman Dutty and the sacrifice of a black pig by Mambo Marinette, possessed by the lwa Erzulie Dantor. (Marinette has now become a lwa in the Petro portion of the Vodou liturgy!) This ceremony provided the final impetus for the uprising of Africans which led to the only successful slave revolt in the Western Hemisphere, and to the Western Hemisphere's first independent black republic. Photo ©Tony Savino
Teach Your Children Well

References (including some of the books listed on each page from my personal library)

Image: http://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d’actualit%C3%A9/bwa-kayman-vodou-ceremony-brooklyn-ny-16-august-2014-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/536143112

http://www.historyhappenshere.org/node/7655

The “Black Republic:” The Meaning of Haitian Independence before the Occupation

On The Fourth of July, Thank the Most Important Founding Father: Haiti’s Jean-Jacques Dessalines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase

http://kreyolicious.com/10-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-haitian-flag/4708/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gens_de_couleur

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Revolution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Dessalines