Charlene Désir  (T.E.N. Global)

Please note: Your donations are tax deductible. We hope you are able to signup for monthly donations of even $5 to support the curriculum, construction of the youth center and the on-going summer camps in Haiti. However, if you are only able to make a one-time donation you can do so here: <a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&amp;hosted_button_id=CNFYB6MWNPRE8">PayPal</a>. ... Hello friends, 
I want thank you all for the many ways you’ve supported and encouraged the work that enables me to fulfill the call of my heart. Over two decades of academic research and community-based work beyond academia has shown cultural, psychological, and emotional support for Haitian youth to be absolutely transformative. My students have gone on to accomplish great feats because my work was tailored to acknowledge their humanity along with the unique cultural and spiritual perspective of the Haitian people. I remain adamantly passionate about this work. 
The Lakou Zanfan Youth Camp is a socio-cultural and academic program, which serves an indigenous spiritual cooperative in Haiti. The summer camp typically takes place in July and is intended to supplement literacy skill development, coping skills for psycho-social responses to poverty and trauma, while promoting Haitian indigenous culture and epistemology. 
Patreon will serve as a fundraising base to allow me to give more to my students and truly help them to shine their light. For the past couple of years, like many teachers and mentors, I have funded this camp myself with small donations here and there. Alongside grant funding which is never a sure thing. Now, I am hoping to make a concerted effort to recruit the help of fellow Haitians, Caribbean people, Diasporans, and US-Americans to facilitate a new vision for giving the camp new life. It is taxing to find help, find the funds, and the energy to do this work while raising a teenage boy, focusing on my career as a professor and public speaker alongside facing the ups and downs of life. I have never complained, because I am so in love with this work. But what they don’t tell you is that your passions and all that you love in this world still take from you. In moments like these I turn to loved ones, friends, and family. I turn to you now as my community, as friends who hope to see a proliferation of true jeni (genius) out of Haiti that will come with solutions, dedication, and an abiding love for their people. 
History shows that wars are fought on the battleground of the lives of our children. They are vulnerable, misunderstood, alone and face dire circumstances. My work seeks to mitigate issues like trafficking, premature adoptions and gender-based violence. <ul>
<li>20% of youth are illiterate</li><li>Less than 1% of youth in Haiti attend university</li><li>58% of the population is less than 24 years old</li>
<li>33% of rural and 53% of urban youth attend school (source: youthpolicy.org) <a href="https://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/haiti/">https://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/ha...</a></li>
</ul> 
In all of the chaos of this world, we forget the children first. In <a href="https://iei.nd.edu/initiatives/gc-dwc/news/developing-an-sel-framework" target="_blank">my work</a>, I have made them a priority because I know the lifelong impact of good mentorship, culturally relevant curricula, and the power of having someone who is truly sensitive to their experiences. This is my stake in the fight and the war being waged against the first free Black republic in the West. This historical and social context matters. Gravely. 
 I am asking for your help to spread the word, donate supplies, donate your time, and money to this cause for the future of Haiti. 
 
Sincerely, 
Dr. Charlene Désir  Founder and CEO The Empowerment Network Global, INC (<a href="mailto:info@tenglobal.org">Contact</a> | <a href="https://charlenedesir.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://tenglobal.org/">T.E.N. Global</a>)

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