December 2011

Go ND! On September 28^th & 29^th, a team of THP staff, Board members and ND grad Volunteer Alumni traveled to Notre Dame in an effort to raise THP’s visibility and increase the number of Volunteer applicants and the academic disciplines they represent. In addition to recruiting Volunteers at ND’s annual Post-Grad Service Fair, the group met with a variety of community members, from professors in engineering & business, to leaders of the Center for Social Concerns and France Study Abroad Program, culminating in an engaging discussion with President Jenkins who expressed great personal interest in the Project. THP is excited about the growing relationship with ND.

By Jon Kennedy (Director of the OEA)

LCS '96 graduate Salomon Asmath (left) returned from his position at the United Nations to lead a team of trained tailors and designers to branch off a new business based from LCS' Rag-A-Muffin program.

The graduates of LCS are an eclectic group, with skills and professions that spread across Haiti. Among the 346 alumni, Salomon Asmath (LCS ‘96) is one of the most experienced. He has worked for many private companies and through them, Salomon received substantial training in industrial production.  As noted in our June 2009 newsletter, his experiences include an employer-funded training program in El Salvador as a production engineer. Despite his success and positive experiences in the private sector, Salomon began working for the United Nations Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, in 2008. The MINUSTAH position did not require any of the production engineering skills that Salomon had obtained in his trainings, but the job did provide stability and a steady income. 

By Tim Scordato

It might seem somewhat strange that “charity” is not a word one hears around The Haitian Project.  It is not that we don’t recognize the need for help, but instead that we think of that help as an investment, not just in the individual, but in the society as a whole.  That word, investment, has become a driving force for growth and entrepreneurship in the lives of THP supporters Ross and Claire Arnold of Atlanta, GA. 

By Rachel Carter

LCS student Marianna Moynihan with THP Volunteer Andrew Roznowski

Marianna first came to LCS in August of 2000, as a two-month-old child.  Now in her second year at LCS, 11-year-old Marianna Moynihan, youngest daughter of Deacon Patrick and Christina Moynihan, has a full schedule with the energy to match.  Her activities include Theatre Club, Lekol Encouragement (after-school tutoring for neighbors), and LCS’ early education initiative.  "We are very proud of Marianna,” says Deacon Patrick.  “She only complains about one thing--she wants to live in the dorm. I appreciate her sense of solidarity, but that would take the space of another student. She knows that’s the limit to her involvement."