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Fatem: A Non-profit on the Go
By Ernand Menard:
April 14th was a day where the town of Mirebalais Haiti took
center-stage with
the fund raising dinner-gala organized by FATEM. Fondation pour
L’Avancement
Technologique et Economique de Mirebalais, opened their first
annual fund
raising dinner with an outstanding attendance by all conscious
that change is
definitely needed in Mirebalais, and in Haiti.
The guests of honor included Father Rospignac Ambroise, Dr. Jean
Bernard
Charles who’s also the chair of the foundation, with well known
performers
Didi Jeremie, Leon Dimanche and newcomer Manio Colas, and coming
direct from
Haiti, the Secretary of State of the Haitian Ministry of
Agriculture, agronome
Joanas Gue who came to be part of the program.
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The event had all the makings of a star-studded event, with all
the
trimmings and started contrary to Haitian belief, on-time. It
was said that
the event would start on time, and it did just that, starting
promptly at 7PM.
The people of Mirebalais represented in big numbers with the
ladies decked out
in their evening gowns and the gentlemen in their suits, blazers
and tuxedos. The MC of the day, Smith Vil, did his best to keep up with the
festivities and
follow through on the time allotted for all acts and speakers,
he even threw
in some funny jokes. The crowd in attendance was well-mixed with
the young and
old sitting together and taking in the event in style whether
they were direct
or indirect descendants of Mirebalais. The moment that did it
for me, was a
speech by the chair of the foundation, Dr. Charles who said that
we should all
take part in the much needed change for our country to go
forward. His message
was that even one person or one group can make a lasting effect,
much like the
ripple made by a small rock in a lake. He finished by saying
that if only
Haitians had been following the motto listed on our flag,
“L’union fait la
force” the country and our people would be far off. I must also
say that the
entertainment was first-class, with great performances by Didi
Jeremie, Manio
Colas and Leon Dimanche singing their best and only best. The
event even had a
salsa dancers, an auction to win a dance with Dr. Jean Bernard
Charles which
was won by a young lady, the foudation pulled an easy $200 for
one dance while
Leon Dimanche singing the song. Jacky Poteau, president of the
foundation,
proudly showcased some of the achievements completed by the
foundation, such
as the total replacement of all public light bulbs in the center
of
Mirebalais. He also showed the plans for a state-of-the-art
computer center
for the young children and young adults of Mirebalais teaching
them modern
applications, like Windows, Microsoft Word and so on; the group
also plans to
revamp the public square and garden of Mirebalais.
It’s easy to ask, what makes this foundation different
from the many
out there claiming to want to help Haiti? From just attending
the event of
FATEM, I can answer the diverse make up of the members and the
board of
directors. By that I mean, they showed clarity in their work and
showed by the
numbers what they’ve done, will do and what they need in terms
of money in
order to complete tasks. I had the chance to sit and ask a few
questions to
the people in attendance and got their general thought of the
event. Of all I
talked to, they all said that the event was great and that they
didn’t expect
so many to come out. How they think that the foundation is
needed to much
larger things, but they’ll take it as is now, helping Mirebalais.
Some of them
want to know more in order to help the foundation complete its
tasks. In short
the people were very receptive simply because they know the
people of the
foundation and know them as trustworthy. I only wish that more
organizations
could be as opened with their day-to-day activities and be as
honest and as
caring for them. The organization seems to have stringent
guidelines governing
them all including the board of directors.
I will make FATEM’s next event and will pledge time and money
to their cause, as I really see them going for what’s needed, change in a town.
I only wish
that they can take on Haiti when the Mirebalais project is done.
Ernand Menard can be contacted at jaymena@zanmi.com
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