In rural Haiti, we work collaboratively and with humility to preserve the dignity of our neighbors. The newsletter describes various dimensions of our learning. Most notably, this past year was the collaborative implementation of solar powered pumps to bring water closer to a mountain community. The biggest roadblock to the successful realization and deployment of humanitarian technologies is: Not involving at every level the local experts and end-users; not studying and appreciating the locally-available technologies and skills, and not knowing the terrain - the map is not the territory. Our small team was fortunate to have enthusiastic learners, Haitians and visitors, willing to take risks and test out ideas. For our organization, "If Pigs Could Fly -Helping Hillside Haiti," the principal goal is the shared learning. Not to discount the material benefits to the community, it is the learning that will endure. Long after the PVC has crumbled, the solar panels need repair, and the steel gives way, it will be this shared learning, the experience, the participation in construction, that will endure. The newsletter summarizes our various efforts to learn and share in Haiti.

1. Why is this girl happy?
• She eats at school, peanut butter on “biskit.”
• Her new school is finished. Materials were donated by Digicel.
• Madam Randy came in July with new children’s games and songs.
• A new road goes to Mon Bouton, financed by Samaritan’s Purse.
• a motorcycle can now take her to the doctor if she is sick.
• She no longer hauls water: The solar pump does it.
• Her friend, Kloteed has become an expert tailor. Perhaps she can, too!
If Pigs Could Fly —Haiti
Mon Bouton in November 2014
www.ifpigscouldflyhaiti.org
If Pigs Could Fly—Haiti has a NEW ADDRESS:
318 Tioga Court, Palo Alto, CA 94306

2. IPCF NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 2014
We have good news on many fronts! This has taken 13 years of effort
by Dr. Randy Mont-Reynaud and the In-country Director, Elisée “Toma” Abraham.
Enjoy the story in pictures!
• Food: It’s ongoing crisis; rural children are stunted in growth (you can see this within families, in fact, as first-born older children are sturdier and taller than the “runts of the litter.” Since the earthquake, and hurricanes, crops are lost and food ever more scarce. We dream of building a greenhouse near the new water access point… Our on-going work project (Pwojet Mamba) provides biskwit bread or kasava bread and mamba (peanut butter) to children in two local schools; this project supports paid work for the community. Cost for Mamba project workers, fuel and supplies: $200.00/month.
• Water: Your contribution to the Water Fund will support our “Water Master” and team to maintain the solar equipment installed this past year. Cost: $50.00 per month.
• Medical Supplies: We do not (yet) have a storehouse for basic First Aid items, nor do we have a small refrigerator to keep veterinary vaccines. We have a small closet (needs repair) that can store over- the-counter and emergency items. Please mark your donation “veterinary” or “medical supplies.”
• Musical Instruments: Music is an important part of the Haitian culture and education. Pastor Dieudonne would appreciate help for in-county purchase of instruments, chalkboards and sheet music.
Construction Materials: There is an ongoing need for tools and materials. A donation here can support the purchase of roofing tin and tools available in-country.
• Sewing training: We have a young woman who will be completing her last year at a government certificated sewing school. She plans to train others in the mountain community. Your donation can support her training and supplies for the coming year. Cost:$15.00 per month.
• Shoes: We support a “buy-local” system to provide tennis shoes (mandatory for school). Too often, a family can afford only one pair! Their other children cannot attend school. Small donations can help families meet the need for all children to have “closed” shoes in order to attend school.
We are often asked for a list of specific needs to continue the collaborative work we do with the community in Mon Bouton/La Tournelle, Haiti.
With your help, financially- and in other important ways such as working with us in the USA or a stint in Haiti - we are able to collaborate with families, churches and schools in this remote rural region.
Below is a list of current project needs; please make a note in the comment section of our Donate Now page, on our website http://www.ifpigscouldflyhaiti.org
and also on our blog, http://www.Haitinextdoor.com
Current Needs
Trees: With the new road now running up to the base of Mon Bouton and the school, our families are charged with planting trees to hold the soil. We hope to help plant bamboo - for construction and a cash crop for Chinese-owned textile factories down mountain. Fruit trees - mango, orange, plantain and breadfruit - will provide cash crops and food for the region. Please support this effort to preserve the environment and local economy? Cost: $25.00/month will kick start this.
• Housing Repair and Rebuilding: Rural homes and schools, subject to hurricanes and vagaries of weather, need repair and replacement of tin roofing. Elderly folks, such as our beloved Gran Dodo and Maman Nelis, have homes in need of repair and protection from rodents (e.g., they need a cat, and support for food for the cat!). Towels, household supplies, blankets and bokits and kivets for water and washing are always needed. You can support all, or part of family housing/shelter needs. Sponsor a child or a family by donating to the Shelter Fund. Photographs and names provided on request to sponsors. Cost: $25.00/ month.
• Solar Panels: Solar panels are the best way to provide power for our remote rural families. We need one solar panel for Toma’s work space/communication and to provide power for visitors (like you!). Please mark your support for solar panels and storage batteries.

3. The Peanut Butter Project
170 Children a day receive their best (sometimes only) meal a day at school. The peanut butter project, started 11 years ago, uses local peanuts, and the folks who process it are paid, bringing some income to the community. (Last year,) an enterprising man started a bakery for the bread to serve with it.
The New School
After the 2010 Earthquake, Digicel, the largest phone company in Haiti, pledged to help rebuild schools. Our director, Randy Mont-Reynaud, informed it of this isolated mountain town. Lo and behold, they consented to contribute materials for the Mon Bouton school which had suffered—in spite of the fact there was no road! Cement blocks were ported up the mountain by mule. After two years of construction by the community, the school is virtually complete.
“Madam Randy,” as she is known there, always brings learning projects with her. This was her 13th annual visit.

4. The New Road
What’s the big deal about a road?
Until now, access to Mon Bouton involved crossing two rivers, then then climbing 3,000 feet on an uneven trail. Materials for the school were ported up by mule, and by people working in teams.
Hearing of the difficulty of building the school, Samaritian’s Purse undertook to build a road. The terrain is daunting, and with heavy rains, it will be difficult to maintain. But, it has brought immediate benefits: Our In-country Director, Elisée “Toma” Abraham, now has a motorcycle, and can go quickly for medical help. Produce grown in Mon Bouton can be sold “Downstairs” in city markets.
Completing the Solar Water Pump
Supporters of this project knew in 2011 that Eric Sabelman had engineered a solar water pump for the community. It had several innovations that will be copied now that he has presented a paper to the IEEE GTHC (International Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ Global Technology and Humanity Conference). Installation was supervised by Rose Ashford last summer, but the work could not be completed during her visit, because it was evident the plan had not allowed for rockfalls. Further, community leader Toma saw a way to exploit gravity to move the water. The men shown are moving the solar collector to a safer downhill spot. Toma and his daughter, Zanda, bring cement to make the reservoir and faucet.

5. Kloteed
Kloteed found she enjoyed sewing when If Pigs Could Fly-Haiti obtained four treadle sewing machines from US AID. A volunteer came from Miami to teach the women the basics. Klotide uses one to do her “homework” in a school Downstairs to earn a certificate. She has almost completed it.
People of Mon Bouton
Gran Dodo
Gran Dodo is a powerfully respected woman in the community. She is 77 and still vigorous, but appreciates the steps the men are carving in the trail to her house. Perhaps a new latrine to replace the one here is next!
In short, the community is doing well, thanks to you, the contributors, and other organizations.
It is still a desperately poor community, but its hopes are kindled. Let’s not disappoint them! You may donate with the information on the next page!

6. If Pigs Could Fly—Haiti has a NEW ADDRESS:
318 Tioga Court, Palo Alto, CA 94306
HOW TO DONATE:
Donate Now button on the website http://www.ifpigscouldflyhaiti.org
Donate Now button on the blog
http://www.Haitinextdoor.com
Checks made out to If Pigs Could Fly—Haiti
can be mailed to us at: 318 Tioga Court, Palo Alto, CA 94306
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Your donation is tax-deductible.