Pi Gwo Byen (GGH) hosted a three day solar panel making workshop, there was great response in th community. There was some scepticism, but now they know it is not so complicated! Thanks to Alland from OTE a local technical training center.
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GGH Presentation & Party Feb. 5th
It has been an incredible year full of trials, growth and amazing rewards, and we have a number of major achievements and updates to share with you.
GGH Director, Kelly Kobza, is in Palo Alto, and to bring everyone up to speed and celebrate all the great work going on, Greater Good Haiti will be hosting a presentation and party, along with a silent auction on Tuesday, February 5th at 7 pm at World Centric in Palo Alto. The address is 2121 Staunton Court, just off of El Camino Real behind JJ&F Market. It would be wonderful if you could join us!
Some of this year’s highlights:
- Pilot class set to graduate
- Partner School with Costaña and 49er Academy
- School community growth
- 501c3 process finalized
We would like to remind you that any donation you made in 2012 (or 2011) is tax-deductible! And of course any donations made from now on are as well. Signing up to give a recurring monthly donation is especially helpful in planning GGH’s annual budget. Please donate here.
To stay informed about what’s happening with Greater Good Haiti, visit, LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to our Facebook page to receive regular updates in your news feed.
We hope to see you on Tuesday February 5th, 7 PM, at 2121 Staunton Court, Palo Alto, CA.
Again, thank you for your support!
End of Semester Final Exams, and Swim to Celebrate
At Pi Gwo Byen a.k.a. Greater Good Haiti we took the last of our semester exams toady and to celebrate we swam in the sea!
Meet Roseberlin
Meet Roseberlin, a student at Pi Gwo Byen (Greater Good Haiti) Roseberlin is 10. When asked what she would like people to know about her she said, “I want them to know that I know how to read and that I do well in school.”
VIDEO: Haiti Update
Greater Good Haiti (GGH) uses a grass roots model, focusing on directly improving the lives of Haitians by including them as an integral part of the organization and not simply recipients of foreign aid.
In Spring 2012, reporter Maggie Biedelman visited the GGH headquarters to learn more about the GGH model, how the organization’s work is being implemented, and to meet the Haitian people that are making a big difference in their community.
Here is Biedelman’s report showcasing what she found in Haiti and the many people that make up Greater Good Haiti.
Last School Day
On Friday June 29, we celebrated the end of the school year, sharing report cards, refreshments and some play acting. Ah what a great year it has been! Thanks to all of the amazing people who have donated to Greater Good so that we could run our program!
Our Kitchen Needs Help
Rice with Vegetable Sauce "diri ak sos ligim"
An integral function at the Pi Gwo Byen (Greater Good) School and Community Center is the serving of the mid-day meal.
We usually feed about 20 people, students, staff and volunteers, on ten dollars per day. Some of the people we feed are so impoverished that this is their only meal each day. Many friends of Greater Good Haiti have been donating to the effort of ensuring that our community receive these meals and we are so very appreciative of these donations, please keep them coming as food is an every day event which is crucial to simply being human with dignity.
We would like to ask if there are any of you who would be so kind as to help us bring our kitchen up to a higher standard. We have been using the kitchen you see in the photos for more than one year now and on the shoestring funds we receive, well quite frankly we have had to make do. The kitchen is a true shame. There are no cabinets to store food or dishes, the evening array of unwanted guests, cockroaches, rats and mice mandate that dishes be washed again prior to use each day.
Carol, cooking a meal of rice with vegetable sauce.
As you can see the conditions for Carol, our cook, are actually deplorable as are the sanitary conditions. I believe that with less than three hundred dollars we can transform the kitchen into a clean, well organized, functional place to prepare our food.
Can you help? We accept one time donations as well as monthly donations or, one can send a check directly to our office.
Please see the various donation options here.
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Report Card Day
Students, families, teacher Rosmanie Estama and Greater Good Haiti director, Kelly Kobza celebrating successes on spring report card day.
Today family, students and staff gathered to pass out report cards, share progress, discuss problems and celebrate success.
Many families are concerned about the onset of adolescent behaviors which prompted a great discussion about how we all need to be partners not only in academics but in social and behavioral issues too.
School starts again on the 10th. Mesi Anmpil to all who help this school community continue for the greater good! PI GWO BYEN.
Watch the Video: Local Hero Award
Greater Good Haiti Director, Kelly Kobza was honored by the Midpeninsula Media Center for her work with children in Haiti. The Media Center selected six “Local Heroes” from the community, and showcased their accomplishments in a series of interviews, which aired on cable TV during the month of March. (more…)
Tent City in Haiti
I have been living and working in Haiti, on The island of La Gonave, in the town of Anse A Galtes for some 20 months. When I need to go to Port au Prince for a variety of reasons: to fly out, make purchases, do some banking or meet with people, I must stay over night, sometimes two nights.
Having lived in the company of Haitians, (most Americans live in compounds with other Americans) I have come to know a few Haitians whom I can call on as friends. One such couple of friends is Twenty (Wismy is his given name) and his girl friend Ketlie. Twenty and Ketlie graciously open their doors to me and offer me a bed to sleep on when I am in Port au Prince. They are young by our standards at 24 but by Haitian standards they are four years beyond the median age. Neither of them are gainfully employed since the earthquake of January 12,2010. Money is earned through odd jobs, running errands; Ketlie is a trained beautician and occasionally has a client.
They, like over a million others were displaced in January 12th 2010 when the 7.1 earthquake destroyed so much of Port au Prince. Twenty and Ketlie have been living in a tent city since the earthquake. Their tent city, Trazeli is home to more than 3,000 people living in some 500 tents on about an acre of land in the Tabarre District of Port au Prince, near the airport. I have had opportunity to stay with them there on numerous occasions and have brought other visitors to stay as well. It is a humbling experience that I will never forget. (more…)
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Recent Posts
Solar Panel Training: Pi Gwo Byen (GGH) hosted a three day solar panel making workshop, there was great response in th community. There was some scepticism, but now they know it is not so complicated! Thanks to Alland from...- GGH Presentation & Party Feb. 5th: It has been an incredible year full of trials, growth and amazing rewards, and we have a number of major achievements and updates to share with you. GGH Director, Kelly Kobza, is in Palo Alto, and ...
End of Semester Final Exams, and Swim to Celebrate: At Pi Gwo Byen a.k.a. Greater Good Haiti we took the last of our semester exams toady and to celebrate we swam in the sea!
Meet Roseberlin: Meet Roseberlin, a student at Pi Gwo Byen (Greater Good Haiti) Roseberlin is 10. When asked what she would like people to know about her she said, "I want them to know that I know how to read and that...
VIDEO: Haiti Update: Greater Good Haiti (GGH) uses a grass roots model, focusing on directly improving the lives of Haitians by including them as an integral part of the organization and not simply recipients of foreign a...
