The First 20 Years

Several studies are pointing the way to achieving self-sufficiency in developing communities by attending to family behaviors and nutrition during early childhood. In most marginalized communities, even those in industrialized nations, parenting practices generally parallel economic level.  Kids in at-risk communities are far more likely to be neglected or treated with disdain or violence, whereas children in wealthier climes are generally treated with regard, included in family events on a near equal basis, and empowered to become their own agents beginning at an early age. Some of the differences between the two groups are due to educational backgrounds (e.g. illiterate…

Read more

Hummingbirds Share Passion for Haiti’s Kids and Native American Communities

Long-time ASR contributor The Hummingbirds held their annual pre-Mother’s Day luncheon at the home of co-founder Jennifer Johnson. Mothers, daughters, aunts, and sisters were out in full force to enjoy mimosas and the delicious pasta bar provided by film kraft services company Mario’s Catering. This year’s event is the second to support Dig Deep, a non-profit  “working to ensure that every American has clean, running water forever”. Last year’s Hummingbirds’ brunch raised funds for a Navajo community in New Mexico.  This year’s brunch is focusing on water access for a Lakota Sioux community on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, of particular…

Read more

Aid Still Required Nutritional Partner OneEgg Receives Major Tyson Foods Grant

Great news from OneEgg CEO Chris Ordway!  The ASR partner has received  $341,490 from Arkansas poultry giant Tyson Foods and its subsidiary Cobb-Vantress to establish an egg-producing farm west of Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.  In addition to supplying much needed nutrition for local children, the farm will create jobs in the community and become self-sustaining over time. OneEgg began its work in Rwanda and has expanded to 8 countries, its mission to provide animal protein to undernourished children.  53% of all deaths of children under 5 are due to malnutrition. One egg provides 13 different essential vitamins and minerals needed for…

Read more

Farewell, Fred Voodoo

Been reading Amy Wilentz’s ‘Farewell, Fred Voodoo’ on life in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake.  If you’d like to immerse yourself in Haitian communities and their legendary resilience, this is the avenue – and the agony and the ecstasy. There’s an openness to new ideas in our communities there that consistently inspires.  We’ve introduced a full plate of programs to some of Haiti’s most neglected communities – schooling, adult literacy, adult vocational training, orphan reunification, computer labs and training, English classes, dance, chorale, yoga, meditation – many of which were utterly foreign to our participants at the onset.  Nevertheless these programs have been met with…

Read more

Haiti Update

For decades Haiti has ranked among the poorest countries in the world. Now, according to the 2017 United Nations’ World Happiness Report, it’s also one of the unhappiest, joining the bottom ten most chronically depressed nations (Syria, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Togo, Guinea, Liberia, Yemen and Tanzania). Fortunately, our participants haven’t gotten the memo. Our programs are brimming with energy and hope for the future. Last September 2016 we began installing computer labs and reading libraries at two of our locations while also commencing with instruction in computers, English and French. It’s our experience that high school…

Read more

ASR Opens First Academy in Haiti

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”                                                                                                     –  Margaret Mead Today we proudly inaugurated the first Aid Still Required Academy in Deuxieme Plaine, Haiti, for 119 children, 30 of whom are orphans.  The original inspiration came from the local community itself, a few hundred farm families earning…

Read more

Paul McCartney Supports ASR Haiti

This past Thursday I accompanied our two “Win the Ultimate Concert Experience with Paul McCartney” winners to Candlestick Park.  I doubt there could have been two people more moved by the experience:  Zenda cried during the entire first half an hour of soundcheck(!) and Leslie, who had been to 12 Paul concerts before last week, broke down uncontrollably after we met with Macca – despite being in the company of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Jerry Brown and other dignitaries. Paul took exquisite care with us, welcoming us very warmly and giving us ample time with…

Read more

A Note from ASR Supporter Jill Higgins

While Hunter and Andrea were in Haiti for the last two weeks, Jill Higgins and her daughter Ivy took time to fly in for 6 days to visit and get a look at several of the Aid Still Required programs around the country.  Below is Jill’s reflection on her time there.

Read more

Indiegogo Here We Go : Haiti and the Jatropha Tree Program

Fund a Jatropha Seed Oil Press for Haiti, Change the Lives of Thousands For the past three years, 1,000 farmers have been growing hundreds of thousands of Jatropha trees in southern Haiti.  Why?  Because the seeds from these trees produce oil so rich it serves as a straight replacement for diesel fuel.  Yes, that means you can run your car, truck or farm machinery on it.  Right now, Haiti has to import all of it’s petroleum.  The jatropha program can reverse this trend.

Read more

Thank you for 2013 and looking ahead to 2014

What a year 2013 has been! Aid Still Required has seen incredible growth and achieved major accomplishments: In Haiti, we began our support and guidance of OADENN, a children’s mentoring and support program in the northern city of Cap Haitien.  The program is working with over 100 kids weekly and provides everything from educational counseling, medical care, and team building, to safe places for play, yoga and meditation.  Heading into 2014, we aim to establish a physical center for expanded programming, to increase enrollment, and to support more kids going to school and receiving medical care.

Read more

Celebrities Bringing Attention to Haiti

As you may know, we have partnered with dozens of celebrities to bring attention to areas around the world that have been forgotten after a major disaster. Recently, we have asked many of these celebs to move above and beyond supporting ASR awareness campaigns. By working with Omaze, an online charity raffle site, our celebrity supporters can offer their fans a chance at winning the experience of a lifetime all while raising crucial funds for Aid Still Required programs. In the last few months, Seth Green, Sting, Adam Levine, and Bonnie Raitt have done just that. To add to that,…

Read more

Dollies Making a Difference in Haiti

Before we left for Haiti, the ladies over at Dollies Making a Difference decided to continue their support of the children in Haiti by making dozens of dollies for the children with whom we work. Dollies Making a Difference (http://dolliesmakingadifference.com/)  began their work after the earthquake in Haiti over three years ago sending more than 600 dollies to children who had likely lost everything. Since then, the women based in west Los Angeles, have continued to bring joy to kids all over the world where disaster has brought pain. From Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Burkina Faso, to Israel, North Korea,…

Read more

Haiti Update, 6/7: Port-au-Prince and Heading Home

The last several days have been a whirl-wind as we left Les Cayes for Port-au-Prince.  While we initially had planned a return to Wharf Jeremie to deliver 300 solar lights, problems at customs have delayed their delivery. As a result, we had to return to Wharf Jeremie with the news that our trainers would deliver the lights as soon as they arrived. Generally speaking, people seemed to understand that importing items to Haiti is oftentimes a problem. I think we were more upset about the situation than the program participants. The children who were in session when we arrived were…

Read more

Haiti Update: 6/2 Leogane and CODEP

CODEP currently employs 600 people that support 3,000.  These 600 are divided into roughly 30 sub-groups that work on different sections of the mountains. This year, CODEP is going to be doubling its membership. These groups also manage tilapia ponds. These are fish are used both for consumption and for selling at the market.

Read more

Haiti Update: 5/31, Cap Haitian and Pandiassou

A lot has happened since our last post, so I will give a quick summary here. From Port-au-Prince, we headed up highway 1 on the west side of the country. About 6 hours later we arrived in the northern city of Cap Haitian, the second largest city in Haiti behind Port-au-Prince. It is a beautiful place, right on the water with much cooler temperatures and a slower place. This is the home of our wonderful trainer, Lovely, and she rode with us back to Cap Haitian. We visited with two Art of Living trainers that are based in Cap and…

Read more

Haiti Update 5/24: Wharf Jeremie

I had hoped to be able to update sooner, but we had very spotty internet in Port-au-Prince after the first day.  Over the next several days in the capital we spent most of our time in Wharf Jeremie with our incredible team of trainers, Samson, Estavela, Lovely, Faby, Daniel, and Jeff. Upon our arrival to Wharf Jeremie, the team took through the narrow pathways of the settlement with mega phones to announce the start of the program the next morning. Many women who had already completed the program over the previous year and a half came out of their homes…

Read more

Haiti Update 5/21: We Have Arrived!

A lot to catch up on and I will do a bigger summary tonight but we have had some incredible meetings so far and will be getting together with our trauma relief team today to go over strategy for the upcoming course. If possible we will visit Wharf Jeremie today to make plans for the sessions starting in the morning. So far we have had good luck in terms of getting together with knowledgeable players in the nonprofit world and getting an update on progress in the country. Yesterday we had the chance to go and visit both the Patience…

Read more

MTS Healthcare Supports Aid Still Required

Last year, MTS Healthcare was introduced to us when we were looking for a laptop to utilize at our trauma relief program in Wharf Jeremie outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. When MTS learned of the impact a new computer could make for our project coordinators, they were eager to help. After sending the computer to Haiti, Andrea wrote to MTS: “I think of you often as the new computer that MTS’ donation provided has made such a difference to the young people working there and to our ability to communicate a bit faster (when there is electricity and the Internet is…

Read more

“A Part of The World” – short documentary examining how volunteerism both helps and hurts in Haiti

“A Part of the World” premiered online today.  Executive produced by Keir Moreano, nephew of Aid Still Required supporter Mark Olmsted,  the film offers an intimate perspective of volunteering in Haiti by  medical worker Dr. Lisa Denny.  In just 13 minutes, the documentary team manages to provide key insight into the complexities involved in international aid relief.  Please click here to view: A Part of The World

Read more

Rosemarie McCaffery Antiques Hosts Benefit for Aid Still Required

Thank you to all those who made it out to Rosemarie McCaffery Antiques last week to support ASR’s existing projects in Haiti, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, in Chad with the Darfuri refugees living there, and in New Orleans. It was a beautiful event thanks to Robert Ross who gave a moving talk on why ASR’s work is so important (maybe we will be able to post a copy of his talk on the ASR blog!), to Cathie Ross, Irene Mink and Rosemarie McCaffery for their tireless work in preparing the beautiful setting and to all the volunteers who made the evening so enjoyable. In…

Read more

Haiti Social Media Campaign Follow Up

First, we wanted to thank EVERYONE who was involved in our Haiti Social Media Campaign on January 12th to mark the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. There was an incredible outpouring of energy that worked to refocus the public’s attention on the work that still needs to be done there. As a result of so many’s concern and effort, we got great feedback and an incredible amount of attention on the projects that Aid Still Required is spearheading. We gathered a team of volunteers at the Coffee Connection in the Venice/Mar Vista area of Los Angeles for a…

Read more

Aid Still Required Collaborator Alison Thompson Featured in Guideposts Magazine

In January’s Guidepost inspirational magazine, ASR collaborator and friend Alison Thompson shares the story of how she found her new vocation of passionate volunteer and shines the light on five areas around the world that she feels need our help the most. Hunter and Andrea met Alison in 2007 as they got more deeply involved in the work that became AId Still Required. Utlizing her nurse’s training as a first responder in the months following 9/11 changed Alison’s life and when the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami hit, her two week trip to offer aid turned into a 14 month Sri…

Read more

2nd Anniversary Mega Social Media Campaign: Maroon 5, LA Kings, you and SNOBALL

Please join us in cyberspace today from your comfy armchair at home, laptop in hand…or maybe during your lunch hour or tonight after the kids are in bed and you’re enjoying Jon Stewart.  Watch our new Maroon 5 PSA and the LA Kings PSA- Haiti is Not Forgotten. and…….. make a SNOBALL for Haiti!  Read on….. Aid Still Required has galvanized 43 celebrities with 155 million FaceBook and Twitter followers to FB post, Tweet, make challenges to raise awareness and funds starting today, January 12th, the 2nd anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake. Hundreds of thousands are still living in…

Read more

Return from Haiti: Trauma Relief and Healing in Wharf Jeremie, Cite Soleil

From our ASR Newletter…. We returned from 12 days in Haiti last month and it has taken these past weeks to distill our experience there. Our focus in Haiti was to implement a stress-reduction program for the women of Cite Soleil, Port au Prince’s notorius slum and to vet child services and reforestation projects.  While we were there, Haiti got under our skin. Wharf Jeremie- Our project neighborhood Haiti feels overwhelming. It has something to break everybody’s heart: utter poverty, alarming rates of unemployment, illiteracy, rape, orphaned and abandoned children; and a once-lush countryside which has been almost entirely deforested.…

Read more

Haiti Aid Still Required Launches; #HealingHaiti Campaign on First Anniversary

On the first anniversary of the Haiti 2010 Earthquake, Aid Still Required is launching our Haiti initiative with #HealingHaiti, a Twitter campaign involving top musicians, athletes, and celebrities in Twitter outreach to their followers, numbering in the millions. Campaign participants  include Paul Pierce, Blake Griffith, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Greg Oden, Pau Gasol, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Maroon 5, Tom Morello, Erykah Badu, Mia Farrow, Lauren Conrad, Maria Bello, Ed Begley, Jr, Stephen Collins, Madeleine Stowe, Paul Haggis, Spike Lee, Hans Zimmer One year later estimates place rubble removal between 2 to 5 %.  A…

Read more

Update: Haiti!

Today, more than 6 months after the earthquake in Haiti, there are 2 million people still displaced. That really isn’t all that surprising when we think about places like Darfur where millions have been displaced for more than 7 years. But, there are huge differences between these situations that have to be taken into account. Namely, the collective sum (as of July) of 1.3 billion dollars that has been donated to the Haitian people. The story we’re now hearing is that the money people have given is not reaching the people of Haiti the way that we expect it to when we donate.

Read more