By Marianne Green
Copyright 2001 THe Vineyard Gazette

"J'ai faim." She remembered the little boy saying this. Vineyard resident Jeanne Gaudet was reminiscing about being in Haiti 20 years ago in a hospital there, rolling up her sleeves, ready to go to work. Flies everywhere and no water. No sheets on the beds, just pallets for the people to lie on. A little boy came up to her with his arms around his stomach. "J'ai faim." She had nothing for him. She felt her pockets. Nothing. Not even a piece of candy. She did not know what to do. She looked at him and said, "I have nothing for you to eat, but I will pray to God that your hunger will go away." He answered, "Merci Merci." Unbelievable, she thought, he thanks me for praying that his hunger will go away.

Haiti's hunger hasn't gone away.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has been plagued by political violence most of its history. Three decades of dictatorship ended when Jean Baptiste Aristide was elected in 1990. Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic, Haiti - with an area of 17,205 miles of mostly rough and mountainous terrain - has only 20 per cent arable land, with much of the remaining forested land (approximately five per cent) being cleared fro agriculture and used as fuel. Inadequate supplies of potable water and soil erosion put sever e stress on basic survival for its 6.8 million population, 80 per cent of whom live in abject poverty. Soil erosion has negatively impacted aquatic life in the surrounding waters, an there are no fish outward to two miles. Only those with boats have the ability to go beyond this fishless zone to take from the sea. The poor cannot even benefit from the fish that would otherwise grow in their own waters.

Three years ago, the Aqua Harvest Project at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School provided inspiration for the Haiti Fish Farm Project. The project has brought together funds and technical expertise to build fish basins and a school in a poor village outside Port au Prince. Five basins already have been constructed under the direction of Dr. Val Abe, an engineer from the Ivory Coast and Auburn University, Ala., who has built fish farms worldwide and has stocked them with tilapia, fast-growing fish that provide protein-rich food for the poor and give them something for the market. More fish ponds are in the works, and there is an ongoing need for funding the project.

The latest fundraising project for the benefit of the Haiti Fish Farm and schools is a gigantic yard sale to be held Saturday, June 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., outdoors at the bingo hall on Circuit avenue extension in Oak Bluffs, across from Viera Par. (Rain date is Saturday, July 7.) This is the yard sale originally scheduled for this past Memorial Day weekend and postponed due to rain. All proceeds will go to the Daughters of Mary Queen Immaculate, the "Blue Nuns" - notable for their vibrant blue dresses and their dedication and hard work in their schools and for the fish farm. Donations are gladly being accepted at the old bingo hall on Saturday, June 23, by arrangement. There is also some pickup available.

Margaret Penicaud of the Haiti Fish Farm Project estimates that the buying power of an American dollar is multiplied three to five times in the Haitian economy - through ingenuity of the "Blue Nuns." Individuals and businesses on Martha's Vineyard have given generously and continue to give. You can help the multiplication of dollars into fishes by donating items for the yard sale: call Stacey at 508-693-6221, Meg at 508-62-8915 or Marianne at 508-693-5925.

Back to Latest News