Middle school students make a difference for children in Haiti
Students and staff at Upper St. Clair’s Fort Couch Middle School recently completed a community service project that resulted in 108 hygiene kits to benefit children in Haiti through the Yahve-Jire Children’s Foundation.
The project included collecting donations of personal care items and assembling each kit, which includes a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, washcloth, vitamins as well as a hat or headband. The kits were distributed to needy children in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, by Upper St. Clair resident and Yahve-Jire Children’s Foundation board member, Dan Raeder, and the foundation’s director, Chedlin Justinvil.
“Each year, Mr. Justinvil visits Fort Couch to talk with our students. He shares stories of life in Haiti, bothstories of his personal experiences and stories of many of the children who rely on YJCF for help,” Erin Lemon, seventh grade teacher and project coordinator, said. “This connection with the YJCF offers Fort Couch students the opportunity to learn about the life of children in another country and to see the positive impact that they can have around the world.”
According to the Yahve-Jire Children's Foundation’s website, 77 percent of the Haitian population lives in poverty, only 51 percent of the population has access to safe water and access to basic health care is non-existent.
Photos:
Photo 1: 7th graders Marni Zinger, Jacelyn Wong, and Annie Xiao help to assemble the hygiene kits.
Photo 2: 7th graders with some of the hygiene kits they helped to assemble. Back row: Will Napolitano, Paul Pudimat, Jaron Maine, Connor Schmitt, Taha Zafa. Middle row: Nick Tanner, JJ Cuddy, Owen Mann, Aidan Houck. Front row: Annie Xiao, Zoë Dawso, Marni Zinger, Jacelyn Wong, Karsen Damon
