Planting Seeds for a Brighter Future at SAKALA

News for a Better World from the SAKALA Community Center in Cité Soleil, Haiti

Every time I see photos of normal daily activities at SAKALA, it gives me hope that no matter how dark things might seem, they always find the light.

So let me share some of that hope with SAKALA’s latest photos showing its annual celebration of Haiti’s Agriculture and Labor Day on May 1.

This year, parents of SAKALA’s beneficiaries teamed up with their children to plant seeds for the future in the community garden.

In the photo below, they are in SAKALA’s tree nursery planting moringa tree seeds in recycled water sachets. These little plastic bags would otherwise be littering the streets, but here they are filled with soil and seeds ready to grow.

Moringa is a miracle tree which grows quickly under the toughest conditions and yields super nutritious leaves and seeds. The seeds planted last week will likely look like this very soon. (A photo I took back in 2019 when I was still lucky enough to stay at SAKALA.)

The celebration was a chance for parents and children to work together.

And, if I’m not mistaken, that is Merisena Cadeau on the left wielding a pickaxe. I am used to seeing Merisena wielding chess pieces, as she is SAKALA’s resident chess champion, who has traveled the world competing in tournaments, representing Haiti. I am convinced there is nothing she can’t do.

The Agriculture and Labor Day celebration was not limited to SAKALA’s center in Cité Soleil. Here is a photo of a celebration in northern Haiti where SAKALA’s Job Power program is teaming up with local schools associated with the Sonje Ayiti (Remember Haiti) organization. (The participants are holding signs in Haitian Creole showing what they are growing, including citronella, oregano, and basil).

SAKALA’s Job Power program was officially started in 2022, a creation of Daniel Tillias, SAKALA’s co-founder, who was named a CNN Hero in 2019 (Merisena Cadeau also makes an appearance in this CNN video). In Job Power, youths are trained in agricultural work where they can have good jobs and grow nutritious food for the country. All while planting the seeds for Haiti’s brighter future.

In more good news from May, I was so happy to see that a shipment of games from the U.S. made it to SAKALA.

The instability engulfing the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti, where SAKALA is located, isolates them not only from the rest of the world, but often from just across town. So when good things get through, it is something to celebrate. Maybe just by settling down to solve a puzzle together.

We thank you for helping make this beauty and hope possible.

Wishing you much peace, happiness, and health.