Festival Kap
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2012 champion Adolphe Gespére |
On April 8th, 2012, the community of Zoranje was proud to hold its second annual Kite Festival. In 2011, ProDev initiated and sponsored the first annual kite festival and decided this year to hand over management of the festival to the Zoranje community and community center staff. Like the festival in 2011, 2012 was also a resounding success.
With a crowd of over 200 enthusiastic spectators, 27 contestants from the community engaged in a heated battle for the top three prizes, which ProDev provided: a refrigerator, stove, and stereo boom box. The panel of four judges selected the three winners based on several criteria: kite design, originality, use of local materials, and height of flight.
First place went to Adolphe Gespére (in photo above) who took home a refrigerator, second to Toussaint Evens (stove), and third to Danger Junéo (radio). The first to register for the competition, Adolphe was ecstatic to be crowned the winner and take home a refrigerator: “I am very happy to win because I worked very hard to become the champion.”
During the prize-giving ceremony at the newly built Community Center, Mr. Henock Paul, President of the Zoranje Association ARVRZ and judge on the panel, added to the crowd of onlookers: “Adolphe was the first to sign up, and with hard work and dedication, he earned first prize. We need to follow his example and know that with the same commitment and work ethic we can succeed as well.”
With this message in mind, the community looks forward to next year’s third annual festival in 2013.
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| Judges interview participants about their kites |
Fotokonbit
Fotokonbit, a partner of ProDev, is a non-profit organization made up of a group of photographers, educators, and artists. Fotokonbit’s mission is to empower Haitians to represent themselves and tell their own stories through photography, and to inspire hope through creative expression. Fotokonbit also provides a platform for Haitians to engage in the rebuilding of Haiti by serving as authors of an important cultural document and archive. Fotokonbit workshop participants are using cameras to imagine a new Haiti by representing themselves, their lives, interests, and values. The result is radically different from the portrayal of Haiti by the media.
The Fotokonbit class started November 21st, 2011, and takes place once a week for two hours. Each class begins with 45 minutes of in-class instruction followed by field-based photography in the participants’ own community.
You can follow Fotokonbit on its website: www.fotokonbit.org
Dental clinic
From March 19 to 21st, 2012, over 80 people from the Zoranje community visited the three-day mobile dental clinic held at the Zoranje Community Center. Depending on their needs, community members received cleaning, extraction, fillings (restoration), or partial dentures for a small fee.
The community was very happy with the dental work. “They did a great job”, said Dudley, who after undergoing extraction and restoration for four cavities, is feeling much better and eating pain-free.
The clinic was organized by ProDev and the dental work was carried out by a team of 12 American dentists, dental students and assistants in collaboration with local translators. This is the second year the team has provided this service in Zoranje and it plans to continue the clinic in the future.
