[News] Save Sopudep School in Haiti

Thu Aug 7 10:36:22 EDT 2008

SAVE SOPUDEP SCHOOL in HAITI!!
Please circulate this far and wide!!

Urgent Action Requested

SOPUDEP is a private non-profit school in Haiti that has served the 
poorest and most vulnerable children of the community of Petion-Ville 
since 2001.  The children who attend SOPUDEP school would never have 
a chance at an education save for this wonderful project. Most of 
them also receive their only hot meal every school day through the 
school's Hot Lunch Program. Given the latest rise in food prices and 
the hardship this has caused Haitian families, the Hot Lunch Program 
is an indispensable component SOPUDEP's work in the community.

For several months now, a variety of characters have appeared at the 
school to demand they vacate the premises. Some falsely stated they 
were descendants of the original owner but mostly it was an attempt 
to pressure the school by disrupting its normal operation. On Monday 
July 28, 2008, the Mayor of Petion-Ville, Lydie Clark Parent, 
delivered an eight (8) day eviction notice to SOPUDEP to vacate their 
school premises. This action is NOT legal as SOPUDEP has a 12-year 
lease on the property that expires in 2012. The school's rights under 
this contract were ultimately respected by the Mayor's office and the 
government of Latortue in 2004-2006 and has subsequently been 
recognized as valid by the Ministry of Education and the Preval administration.

On Tuesday, August 5, 2008, the SOPUDEP school will begin the 
procedure to file an injunction against Mayor Lydie Clark Parent and 
ask the court to uphold their binding 12-year lease at their current 
location. In an effort to show Mayor Parent and the Haitian court the 
importance of the SOPUDEP school, they ask that all people of 
goodwill and solidarity please write a letter expressing their 
support for the school and its more that 450 students. These letters 
will be critical to showing the wide-spread support SOPUDEP school 
has throughout the world in the coming days and weeks. Please take 
five minutes of your time as soon as possible and help save this 
wonderful resource for Haiti's poorest children in Petion-Ville, 
Haiti by writing a letter on their behalf today!

Background

Lionel Wooley was an assassin for the regimes of Papa Doc and Baby 
Doc Duvalier. In exchange for killing opponents of these repressive 
regimes in Haiti, he was allowed to steal the property of his victims 
and claim them as his own. In late 2000, Lionel Wooley died in exile 
in Miami and the government expropriated the properties he had 
stolen. Most were returned to the surviving members of the original 
victim's families but a few had no known descendents. Among these few 
properties was a dilapidated mansion, burned and pillaged by an angry 
local community after the departure of Baby Doc. It is situated in 
the hills of Petion-Ville behind the Montana Hotel .

The property passed through Mayor Sulley Guriere of Petion-Ville, to 
SOPUDEP whose membership actively participates in the National 
Literacy Project. Although the literacy campaign is designed for 
adults 30-60, SOPUDEP was deeply affected by the number of school age 
children who attended classes as well. They were mostly children of 
the poor whose parents could not afford to send them to school and 
could not find a place for them in the over crowded classrooms of the 
already overwhelmed public schools system. For this reason SOPUDEP 
made a decision to turn the property into a school for the most 
vulnerable and poor children of Petion-Ville. The SOPUDEP team hired 
a lawyer and began the legal process for acquiring a long term lease 
of the property in 2000 as well as restructuring their organization 
to meet the requirements of the Haitian government to operate the 
school. SOPUDEP was given a 12-year lease on the property that 
expires in 2012 and was provided accreditation by the Ministry of 
Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education to conduct a school at 
the facility.

Their initial enrollment totaled 160 but has now grown to over 480 as 
of the 2007/08 school year. It stands as a beautiful example of 
transforming a gruesome legacy of the past into a symbol of hope for 
the future.

Since its founding, the school also added a government funded hot 
lunch program to supplement the diet of their students and staff. For 
many it was their only meal of the day. When President Aristide was 
ousted in 2004, funding for the program ceased. That same year the 
school suffered threats of attack from militia groups and unelected 
officials. Thankfully, no harm was inflicted on them. SOPUDEP 
struggles each month to pay its staff and continue the hot lunch 
program that was reinstated in March of 2008. SOPUDEP is a wonderful 
example of a community initiative founded more on courage and love 
than money. They try not turn down any poor child of the community 
for lack of funds.

For further information about SOPUDEP school please visit:

-School's website:
<http://sopudep.org/>SOPUDEP.org

-Kevin Sites expose of the school for Hotzones on Yahoo:
<http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs4095>http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs4095

Urgent Action Requested

We must act quickly if this precious resource is to be saved and the 
rights of SOPUDEP's school protected. Please forward this alert far and wide.

Please write a letter to:

1.  Demand that this illegal attempt to seize SOPUDEP's school 
property by the Mayor's office in Petion-Ville stop immediately.

2. Demand that the legal rights of this important institution be 
respected according to the 12-year lease negotiated with the Haitian 
national government in 2000.

3. Demand that all acts of intimidation and coercion by the Mayor's 
office in Petion-Ville to seize the SOPUDEP school halt immediately.

Instructions for Letter Campaign

For organizations: Please write a letter on your official letterhead, 
scan it and email it as an attachment (.pdf is usually the easiest).

For individuals: Please write an email or include attachment (.pdf, .doc)

Email your letters to the school's director, Rea Dol. She will make 
copies and hand deliver them. Email your letters to:

Madame Rea Dol, Director SOPUDEP School

<mailto:savesopudepschool2008 at yahoo.com>savesopudepschool2008 at yahoo.com

Sample Letter

Honorable Lydie Clark Parent
Mayor of Petion-Ville

Dear Madame Parent,

It has come to my attention that on July 28, 2008 your office issued 
a 8 day eviction notice to the SOPUDEP school located in morne 
Lazarre. As a supporter of this important institution I demand that 
their rights be respected and the school be allowed to continue 
without further intervention.

The SOPUDEP school has a 12-year lease on its current location that 
has been respected by previous administrations at the local and 
national level in Haiti. They have worked closely with the Ministry 
of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education to insure that 
SOPUDEP school conforms to all the codes necessary for operating the school.

In closing, we are aware of statements you have made in the past 
concerning the importance of helping the poor in Haiti and the 
community. We ask that you recognize the value of the service 
provided by the SOPUDEP school to Petion-Ville's poorest and most 
vulnerable school age children. Please respect the legal rights of 
the SOPUDEP school and honor the 12-year lease negotiated with the 
government in 2000.

Sincerely,
____________________________________

SOPUDEP Legal Defense Fund

SOPUDEP school has contacted an attorney in Haiti who is familiar 
with the case and is willing to represent them.  He has requested a 
retainer fee of $530.00 US that the school is currently unable to 
pay. There may be other legal expenses as the case makes its way 
through the daunting Haitian legal system. Please consider making a 
donation to the SOPUDEP Legal Defense Fund. Please go to 
<http://sopudep.org/>SOPUDEP.org for details about sending your 
contributions. All contributions should earmarked "SOPUDEP Legal 
Defense Fund." You may also make donations towards the school's 
General Fund, the Hot Lunch Program, and the Textbook Fund and join 
the SOPUDEP school team in continuing to serve their community.

For further information please contact:

Haiti via email (French or Kreyol only):

Madame Rea Dol, Director SOPUDEP School
<mailto:savesopudepschool2008 at yahoo.com>savesopudepschool2008 at yahoo.com

In the U.S.:
Kevin Pina
<mailto:kp at teledyol.net>kp at teledyol.net
510.991.7622

Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
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