Magical Midsummer Ball will help Kentz and Soul of Haiti rebuild education facilites in Haiti
The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January shocked the rest of the world. This summer people in South Tipperary are being given a chance to play their part in the rebuilding of this desperately poor nation, spurred on by the work in Haiti of Clonmel firm Kentz.
Kentz are deeply involved in the rebuilding process that is now in full stride in Haiti. Earlier this year Noel Kelly, director of Kentz's, travelled in person to witness the damage caused to most of the country's buildings, including one primary school where over 200 children lost their lives.
He had a second task on that trip - to establish how money raised by employees of Kentz could best be invested in Haiti.
Kentz have set up the 'Kentz Haiti Relief Fund' and Noel was asked by Kentz CEO, Hugh O'Donnell, to take on the task of establishing how the Kentz Haiti Relief Fund should be best invested.
Noel explains, the aim was to invest in the sustainable redevelopment of educational facilities and to support the children of Haiti.
"I travelled to Haiti with Denis O’Brien, chairman of the Digicel Group who are well established in the Caribbean. I spent a number of weeks meeting different officials and aid organisations, I also spent time working on site on the demolition of various buildings with the Digicel Group for the Ministry of Education.
"I personally witnessed the extent of the destruction which you will have seen on news reports. As of February, an estimated three million people have been affected by the quake; the Haitian Government reports that between 217,000 and 230,000 people have been identified as dead, an estimated 300,000 injured, and an estimated 1,000,000 homeless."
One of the places visited by Noel on his visit to Haiti was St. Gerard’s Primary School. Following the earthquake, reports state that the Haitian capital, Port au Prince, has lost 90% of its educational capacity, across primary, secondary and third level institutions. The capital had approximately 6,000 schools.
"This is a colossal loss, with hugely significant implications for the future education of a generation of children and young adults," Noel points out. "St Gerard's Primary School had over one thousand pupils, with two shifts of classes per day including morning and evening sessions.
"When the earthquake struck at 5pm, it was reported that 453 pupils were in the school. Only 250 children were accounted for and it was assumed that there were approximately 200 children trapped in the building. The building had to be demolished manually to recover the bodies and give them a proper burial.
"All the bodies were recovered and mechanical equipment completed the demolition."
Kentz have decided to invest the money raised by the 'Kentz Haiti Relief Fund' to help rebuild St Gerards.
"In conjunction with Digicel Foundation, we have decided to help rebuild St. Gerard’s Primary School with the funds generated by Kentz. This will be a prototype school and should help to secure the approval from the government to build another 50 transitional schools near Port Au Prince. These schools will be hurricane and earthquake resistant and built out of used containers," Noel explains the work.
Six of these classrooms will be built in a court yard fashion, with 50 children per classroom including desks and benches. Two additional containers will be used for administration and toilet facilities.
"Our estimated expenditure to complete the necessary work is US$ 400,000. This cost would cover sending Kentz personnel, who have worked with Kentz previously on the Tsunami Relief Project in conjunction with GOAL in Sri Lanka (a similar humanitarian project to Haiti). They will recruit and train local parents to build the schools for their own children, empowering the local community to enhance education opportunities in their own areas," Noel says.
One other small donation will be made from the Kentz fund to a local orphanage that Noel discovered while in Haiti. This orphanage is run by Gena Heraty, an Irish woman from county Mayo who has spent 16 years helping orphan children with special needs. The number of orphans has now increased greatly, as a result of those who have suffered severe injuries and amputations.
"We are also reviewing opportunities with other Irish agencies such as GOAL, Haven and are part of the Soul of Haiti Foundation based in Dublin, Ireland," Noel says.
Working with Soul of Haiti Kentz are now fundraising to rebuild a university in Haiti’s capital city. Kentz supervisor Mark Ford is working on the ground with local people.
The Soul of Haiti Foundation is working with Kentz to throw a magical Midsummer Ball in Clonmel, this June, to raise funds for the rebuilding of the University of Quisqueya, in Port-au-Prince .
The ball promises to be a spectacular evening of entertainment and all for a very good cause. If donating funds to help the children of Haiti was not enough of an attraction to go along to the ball Kentz and Soul of Haiti say the guest of honour on the night will be radio and television celebrity George Hook. Members of the Munster rugby team, the Tipperary hurling team and top Irish horse trainers and jockeys have also agreed to come to Clonmel to attend the midsummer ball.
If you are interested in attending the ball, which will take place in Hotel Minella, a table of ten is priced at j1,000.
Writing in the company's newsletter, following his return from Haiti, Noel thanked all of Kentz's employees for their donations to date and encouraged everyone to help achieve the balance of the funds necessary for the project. "Please remember any amount collected, no matter how great or small is welcome.
"I will personally take full responsibility for placing the funds raised by Kentz directly into worthwhile projects and will ensure that all the monies raised will be used in the best possible way to help those suffering in Haiti. I will be returning to Haiti with Kentz personnel as soon as we have government clearance to commence the project and I will keep you updated of the progress," Noel promised.
The work Mark Ford is doing is being funded by the Kentz Haiti Relief Fund. The university will be rebuilt using proceeds from the ball and other sources.
Soul of Haiti was founded in 2007 in an effort by Irish entrepreneurs to utilise their strategic expertise to improve communities in Haiti in a practical and sustainable manner. Soul of Haiti works mainly on not-for-profit initiatives and supports the emergency response.
The Midsummer Ball takes place in Hotel Minella on Saturday, June 19. A table of ten costs E1,000. For further information or to book your table, you can contact Kelly O'Shea at Kentz on (052)6139803 or (087)7502578.
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