Cassandre Souvenance Is Delivering A Rose Of Hope To Haiti, Her Homeland
There are human beings whose destiny is to support others facing a various set of challenges. And the choice of the battles they wage is often the result of life experiences or observations that have awakened their humanity, their empathy, to the point that they feel an urgent need to make things happen. This is the case of Cassandre Souvenance, a native of Haiti, now living in the United States of America, who, out of tremendous generosity, founded the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called Rose of Hope, Haiti. A name that the Founder chose in memory of one of her aunts, Roselaine, who stoically took on the eldest daughter’s role and ensured that her seven brothers and sisters received proper education after her parents’ separation, Cassandre Souvenance’ s grandparents.
Cassandre Souvenance has always shown great compassion since her early childhood. Thus, she wished she could help children in domestic service as they grew up. This dream would come to her mind in 2017 after she visited Haiti on her vacation. This visit would become a trigger. The country was a basket case packed with numerous types of problems, she said. It was proof that local NGOs were just collecting millions to build huts without structures, but they called them “schools.” From there, she realized that the responsibility for (re)building Haiti rested solely within the Haitians.
The process of setting up the NGO began in November 2019.Currently, it focuses mainly on education and health. However, as most sectors are at least active in Haiti, he also works on other issues such as reproductive health and sexual education for people living outside the country’s capital. The organization aims to support the development of remote and disadvantaged regions of Haiti. This will contribute to a remarkable reduction in rural emigration.
The city of Petit-Goâve is at the top of the list. In the hope that all goes according to plan, this city will be the first to benefit from a school built by Rose of Hope, Haiti. As the land is already acquired, the first stone should be laid in November 2020. While waiting for the construction to be completed, school materials will be distributed to that community’s children. Some of them will obtain funding for their studies.
Cassandre Souvenance has undoubtedly had to dispose of her funds to propel her initiative, but she is not alone in this fight. The NGO is led by four other people who do not haggle over their efforts to help others. Rose of Hope, Haiti has no real partners other than Gestes d’espoir and Shag-Image, which has recently helped organize a one-day summer street soccer tournament commonly known as “Chanpyona Tikan“.
The Founder is hoping to quadruple the number of beneficiaries of the program within a few years. The entire team works to ensure that children living in each of the country’s ten departments benefit from Chanpyona Tikan and from the distribution of school materials, among other things. In 2025, she is expecting to start building a second school.
However, it is evident that goodwill and scattered donations from generous people alone cannot make such an ambitious, albeit a dream come true. Anyone who wants to join the cause is welcome to contact Rose of Hope, Haiti, via email: roseofhopehaiti@gmail.com or social media networks. All contributions of any kind will be appreciated. For we must all come together to bring our grain of salt to the much-needed change in Haiti.
