3:30 pm- Gathering at the Statue of Toussaint L’Ouverture (62nd St and North Miami Avenue)

4:51 pm- Moment of silence 

5:00 pm- Processional march to the Little Haiti Cultural Complex (260 NE 59th Terrace)

5:30 pm- Program at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex

In response to the rash of fatal shootings and other violence in our community, youth and young adults in Miami-Dade County are invited to a series of community forums on How to Stop the Shootings.

Young people are encouraged to come out and share their special insights about what can and should be done to make our communities safer.

A forum will be held this coming Thursday, March 10, at the West Perrine Park, 10301 SW 170 Terrace at 6:30 p.m.

The Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board (CRB) along with County Commissioner Dennis Moss and local community-based organizations are convening the event.

Future forums will be held later this month at Edison Community Resource Center and at the Miami Gardens Community Resource Center.

When they participate, our youth and young adults will be empowered to share their ideas, create partnerships and identify resources that are needed to stop the shootings. The CRB will be pleased to have you join us for this important opportunity.

Please spread the word about this event, especially to young people that you know. Free refreshments will be served.

Six years after the devastating January, 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the community of Leveque has emerged as one of the most successful resettlement communities in the country and a beacon of transformation.  

The once barren land where Leveque now sits was granted to Mission of Hope, Haiti (MOH) by the Interim Haiti Relief Commission after the earthquake as a place to rebuild homes for those who lost everything. Over the last six years, MOH built more than 600 block homes in Leveque through its Blue to Block program, enabling families to move out of the blue temporary tarp huts that were erected following the quake and live in a truly thriving community with a church, school, clean water, and sustainable farming. Over 150 hearing-impaired families have been integrated into the community as well.  

"These people not only have a new home, they have a new life. They have hope again," says Brad Johnson, President of MOH. "And it could not have happened without the collaborative effort of many partners, including New Story, International Deaf Emergency, Water Missions Intl and many others."

The cost of each home built through MOH is $6,000 and includes 3 rooms, a small plot of land for farming, a detached bathroom, and fruit trees.  The overall objective of Blue to Block is to build a community, not just a housing project. This has been accomplished by establishing a school, a church, clean water solutions, and agricultural training in Leveque. 

"Our mission is not just to change a village, but to change a nation. We want to empower Haitians to transform Haiti," says Johnson.

Mission of Hope currently works with over 420 indigenous organizations in Haiti and is committed to seeing the nation transformed through sustainable growth. To reach that goal, MOH trains and supports over 3,000 local farmers in sustainable farming techniques, feeds over 90,000 children a day, and hopes to have 100% of the food used in its food distribution program to be grown by Haitian farmers by 2020.  MOH also educates over 6,500 students and is currently building a technical school that will provide further education and job training.

MIAMI - Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) will travel to Haiti today at the invitation of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman-emeritus Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27). The purpose of the trip is to examine the findings of a Governmental Accountability Office report, commissioned through the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which reviews the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) assistance efforts in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. The delegation, which also includes Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), will also assess the security situation in Haiti and receive an update on the status of local elections.

“It has been four years since the worst natural disaster in recent memory occurred in Haiti—the Haiti Earthquake of 2010. Despite heavy investment in Haiti, many projected goals have not been met.

I am committed to restoring Haiti for the good of its people, who are more than our neighbors: they are the loved ones of my constituents, my staff, and my friends and family. It is time to renew our efforts to rebuild Haiti by insisting on accountability and transparency,” said Congresswoman Wilson.

Throughout her life, Congresswoman Wilson has been a champion of Haitian causes. In 1982, she stood up for the fair treatment of Haitian women refugees who were incarcerated at the Krome Detention Center.

Congresswoman Wilson’s tireless activism led to a change in policy and improved living conditions for women at the Krome Detention Center.

Congresswoman Wilson has traveled to Haiti numerous times, including soon after the devastating 2010 earthquake. She fought to extend and expand temporary protective status (TPS) for Haitians, led the effort to get the State Department to add Haiti to the list of now-58 countries eligible for the H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant visa program, and introduced a resolution to combat gender-based violence.

Victoria Duval

Yesterday, a Miami-born young lady of Haitian ancestry was probably the most talked about sports story on local television news stations. At seventeen years-old, Victoria Duval defeated 11th seed and former champion Samantha Stosur, in three sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the U.S. Open. 

Those of us who do not follow tennis closely, never heard of this young lady until. What an incredible personality and great athlete. This young lady’s sweetness and humility are such a breath of fresh air. 

In her young years, Duval has witnessed violence, tragedy and triumph. She and her family were held at gunpoint by armed robbers in Port-au-Prince. Her father was buried and near death until his rescue from rubble in the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Miraculously, he recovered with limited disability. 

She plays her next opponent, 48th-ranked Daniela Hantuchova, on Thursday. Duval has been compared to tennis great Venus Williams. Go, Victoria! Represent the 305 and the 509! 

-vb

Three years ago today at 4:53 p.m., the most awful devastation to the island of Haiti occurred. It is estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 people lost their lives. Others survived. Some missing limbs or even eyesight. Some separated from family. Forever.

The recovery of Haiti has been slow and not without controversy. The people still suffer but they remain strong. God Bless Haiti and her children wherever they are.

Never forget.

Photo: The Solefull Lounge

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jean Monestime and more than twenty other elected officials from across South Florida will come together Friday, January 11, 2013 at 12:00 noon, at North Miami City Hall, to urge the U.S. to remember its commitment to Haiti, as the third anniversary of the devastating earthquake approaches. Saturday, January 12, 2013, will mark three years since the massive earthquake leveled Haiti, killing more than three hundred thousand people, injuring another three hundred thousand and leaving one million people homeless.

“The people of Haiti are hurting. Still, hundreds of thousands of people live in tent cities, and progress has been slow in rebuilding homes, roads, schools, hospitals and businesses. As the most powerful democracy in the world, the U.S. has a duty and moral obligation to provide leadership and continued support to the people of Haiti. I also urge the international community to continue its support, to help rebuild the struggling Island Nation,” says Congresswoman Wilson.

Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left more than one million homeless, Congresswoman Wilson, who represents one of the largest Haitian-American populations in the country, put in a request to the White House for an extension and re-designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals living in the United States. She also hand-delivered a letter to President Obama, signed by 50 members of Congress, with this dual request.

WHO:    Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and Miami Dade County Commissioner Jean Monestime

WHAT:   South Florida Elected Officials Urge U.S. To Remember Its Commitment to Haiti

WHEN:    Friday, January 11, 2013, 12:00 noon

WHERE:  North Miami City Hall, second floor, 776 NE 125 Street, North Miami, FL 33161

PARTICIPANTS: 

Senator Oscar Braynon II, State Rep. Daphne Campbell, State Rep. Barbara Watson, State Rep. Shevrin Jones, State Rep. Cynthia Stafford, State Rep. Sharon Pritchett, North Miami Vice-Mayor Marie Erlande Steril, North Miami Councilman Jean Marcellus, North Miami Councilman Scott Galvin, North Miami Beach Mayor George Vallejo, North Miami Beach  Councilman Frantz Pierre, North Miami Beach Councilman Philippe Derose, Miami Dade  School Board Member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, City of Miramar Vice Mayor Troy Samuels, El Portal Mayor Daisy Black, El Portal Councilman Adam Old,  Miami Dade Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, Opa-Locka Mayor Myra Taylor, Opa-Locka Vice Mayor Joseph L. Kelley, Opa-Locka Commissioner Timothy Holmes, Pembroke Park Mayor Ashira Mohammed, West Park Commissioner Thomas Dorsett and West Park Commissioner Rita Mack.

Washington, DC – U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) announced today that she and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) will be hosting a panel discussion on the progress in Haiti in the two years following the earthquake that devastated the island nation on Friday, January 13, 2012 at 4:00 pm at the Miami Edison Middle School.

Joining them will be U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Ken Merten, U.S. State Department Haiti Special Coordinator Tom Adams, and USAID’s Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Ambassador Liliana Ayalde.

In addition to these distinguished speakers, the event will include Pastor Eddy Gervais of the Faith Community Center, the Miami Edison Senior High School Band, participants in Congresswoman Wilson’s “5000 Role Models of Excellence” project, singers Farah Juste (Haitian national anthem) and Rochelle Lightfoot (U.S. national anthem), and a photo and story exhibit titled “Ayiti Leve Kanpe” (“Haiti Will Rise”).

What:              Panel Discussion on Progress in Haiti

Date:               Friday, January 13, 2012

Time:               4:00 pm

Location:         Miami Edison Middle School Auditorium

                     6101 NW 2^nd Ave., Miami, FL  33127-1211