Marie-Yolaine Eusebe is the Founder+FireStarter of Community2Community (C2C). Marie-Yolaine left her corporate position at American Express shortly after the Jan 12, 2010 earthquake to create C2C and help in the rebuilding efforts in Petit Goâve, her father’s hometown and give others an opportunity to part of something greater than themselves.
"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can."
~George Bernard Shaw
How did nine months go by so quickly? On October 9, 2011, the Community2Community US team took our fifth site visit to our project in Petit Goâve. It was an interesting mix of folks. Our team consisted of Brad Toms, who’d never been to Haiti, Matt Henderson who had been to Port-au-Prince but not to Petit Goâve, Elona Dotson who was returning for the first time since we’d created C2C in August of 2010 and myself who’d been on every trip.
Upon landing we received a debriefing from the C2C-Haiti team that the work on the ground in Petit Goâve was going well despite the conditions. On the first day, I was anxious to get up the mountain to Site #1, but torrential downpours prevented us. We re-worked our itinerary and went to Site #2 instead to see the work they had started on the latrines. The community had just finished setting up the trenches to build 15 latrines. This is a huge accomplishment for an area that did not have any access to sanitation facilities, which made the people at risk for cholera and other diseases. Seeing the work they had already started and speaking with the community representatives was inspiring. We learned that while they’d started on the 15 latrines, they needed approximately 60 more in order for the entire village to be fully impacted. What was most impressive was hearing that they’d made the decision of who would get the initial 15 by choosing the ‘most vulnerable in the community' as well as positioning one latrine near the church as a public community location.
After the two days the rain abated so we hit the ground running determined to get up the mountain. I’d seen the pictures and video that Myles Throop, our water engineer, had sent but nothing could have prepared me to see the water flowing freely from the spring box they built, pumping out 5 gallons of water per minute. When I put my hand under the pump and felt the water it was an awesome experience. Now the people don't have to walk four hours to get water. In that moment I felt a peace in knowing why C2C was created.
For the next three days we shot footage of the work, interviewed the people on their hopes for the water, road, school and reforestation initiatives. We plan to share the footage with the world so people can see that there is real, impactful progress being made in Haïti by Haitians and those with a heart for Haïti. (see latest pics)
Working with the community, C2C had accomplished much since we launch the water system initiative in April. What a difference a year makes! Since leaving my career at a major credit card company to start Community2Community in 2010, I felt that we had achieved the impossible. But we didn't do it alone. As we say in Haïti, "Men anpil, chay pa lou." (Many hands make the load lighter). With the little more than $40,000 we raised on January 12th, 2011 at our “Hope and A Future" Benefit Concert for Haïti, we embarked on a journey to make a lasting impact in Haïti, starting in Petit Goâve. It had been almost a year and I found myself asking, “What had we achieved?”
While working on our inProgress Report I realized that although C2C did not have the millions of dollars the larger charities collected, we managed in February/March to attract highly skilled architects and engineers to volunteer to review the drawings presented by the community and to work with them to create new project plans and drawings. In April, we partnered with a firm in Haïti to complete a construction survey of the road and initiated a community wide medical assessment survey with 66 families documented to date. In June, we responded to a cholera outbreak with an intervention which saved over 600 lives; mostly women and children. In August we built a spring box with the community during Hurricane Emily and are presently building a water tank to store water from the spring. In September, we secured donations of medical supplies, clothing and a motorcycle. All this in 8 months!
With the work started, our goal is now to complete it. We are launching our 1000@$1000 Campaign in November. 1000@$1000 is C2C’s fundraising campaign to raise $1,000,000 by partnering with 1,000 individuals, businesses, schools and organizations, investing $1,000 each to support the completion of the C2C Haïti Restoration and Transformation Pilot Project in Petit Goâve and further plans to replicate this pilot project throughout Haïti. My personal goal is to launch our campaign with $20,000. I have personally pledged $1,000, so technically I only need 19 more pledges. What is $1,000? It’s me and nineteen of my friends/co-workers/family contributing $50 which would be $1000.
The great African-American inventor George Washington Carver said, "When you do common things in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." Our 1000@$1000 campaign is a community of ordinary people doing a common thing in an uncommon way. With the $1,000,0000 we are raising, I believe that we will not only build infrastructure and plant trees, we will help restore dignity to the people of Haiti. We will achieve this by building self-sufficient people from the inside out by providing hope and a future.
View the Water System video at C2C's YouTube Channel
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