After
major floods that devastated Gonaives, followed by mudslides that
destroyed the humble towns of Mapou and Fond Verrettes, Haiti in 2004,
in the hopes of simply helping those in need after natural disasters, a
college student and her single working mother founded Artists Village,
Inc.
A simple dream between a mother and daughter became a vision. The vision became a mission. Their mission is to make that dream become a reality.
Artists
Village, Inc. is a NYC based 501 (c) (3) tax exempt not-for-profit
organization that seeks to build self-sufficient communities equipped
with, such as but not limited to: hurricane proof homes, portable
water, medical clinic, vocational school, cultural center, and
playground thereby enhancing the quality of life of those in need. In addition to equipping the village with all the necessary amenities of a modern day community, Artists Village has very strong interest in promoting economic and agricultural development for underdeveloped communities.
ULTIMATE MISSION
In
addition to providing emergency relief, our goal is to develop the
first of a series of self-sufficient communities equipped with all the
bare necessities of a modern day community one village at a time.
On a national level, Artists Village
seeks to develop various underdeveloped, impoverished rural communities
throughout the country. Creating employment and improving the quality
of life in the rural areas, will surely help in the decentralization of
the nation’s overly populated capital, Port-au-Prince;
thereby reducing violence and giving the people (victims of natural
disasters and homeless) a reason to return and live in their native
rural hometown.
Hopefully, such a concept (“Artists Village”) will flourish throughout other underdeveloped countries around the world.
Ravaging Hurricanes in Haiti
For years Haiti has been the target to some of the Caribbean’s most deadly hurricanes. In 1954 the wrath of Hurricane Hazel followed by Hurricane Flora
in the early 1963 nearly eliminated parts of the country killing over
8,000 people, especially Artists Village’s first developmental town of
Anse-a-Veau. Unfortunately, after nearly five decades, the visual signs of devastations continue to serve as a constant reminder for the people of the forgotten towns.
The floods of May, 2004 and Hurricane Jeanne which shortly followed in September claimed about 3,000 lives in Haiti
leaving 300,000 homeless. The unfortunate circumstance of
deforestation served as a catalyst to the devastating effects of the
tropical storms in Haiti.
The prevalent lack of trees (used to protect the homes in order to
serve as barriers against treacherous wind and rain) led many victims
to be swept away by flood waters and mud slides.
The 2007
Hurricane season started early in the year and ended late, leading to
an increasing number of death and destruction. Entire family links were
broken. Children were left scavenging for loved ones through piles of
debris. Haiti’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Mr. Paul Antoine
Bien-Aimée reported that as of September 17 2008, the series of four
hurricanes, (Hurricane Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike) have left
over 170,000 homeless families, 1,000,000 homeless individuals, 40,000
homes destroyed and death toll of over 1,000 people.
Artists Village Youth Committee in the USA
Students ranging from Elementary School Age up to Graduate Students in several major cities such as, Boston, New York City, Chicago, Port St. Lucie etc... have
all committed to helping the people of Haiti. In addition to collecting
school supplies, sneakers, gymnasium equipment (soccer balls,
basketballs, jump ropes etc...) students are coming up with ingenious
ways of helping one another.
In
an effort to help the earthquake victims of the 7.0 earthquake that
struck Haiti on Tuesday, January 12th 2010, students from the
International High School at Prospect Heights in Brooklyn will be
hosting a fund raising event with guitar performances, poetry reading
and drumming performances by students. A portion of their proceeds will
go towards Artists Village's home building project for displaced
victims of the earthquake.
If you are in the NYC area, you are encouraged to attend their fund raising event and support their efforts on: 
Friday, January 22, 2010 @ 6pm
Location: The International High School at Prospect Heights (campus cafeteria)
883 Classon Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Minimum Donation of $10
We are looking forward to seeing you there!
