I am a Haitian native and American citizen. I am a teacher in Escambia county and currently pursuing a bachelors degree in Social Work. As some may know, Haiti has suffered the bitter end of many natural disasters in recent years. Hurricane Mathew in 2016, not only destroyed houses and infrastructures, it took away many sources of livelihood as well as opportunities for children to receive an education. Friends from different nationalities and religious backgrounds collaborated with me to create a Hurricane relief for Haiti and a charity organization—Diligent Act of Love for Haiti (dalove.org). We have since been hosting numerous events in an effort to fund schooling for the less fortunate children in Haiti whose families to this day are still trying to pick up the pieces scattered by these disasters. Fundraising events include Caribbean Dinners, concert each year, drawings, flea market sale and gofundme to name a few. Every Christmas, since 2016, we have managed to provide hot lunches and toys. Last year we fed a record of 100 children and each of them received a toy. The sad truth is that for the majority of the children, it was their first time receiving a toy or having a nice meal for Christmas.
We believe that Education is the key to positively change the trajectory of lives, so we have concentrated our support on tuition. In Haiti, yearly tuition is mandatory for children to attend school $35-$100/per child yearly depending on the location of schools. With limited funds, we sent 15 children to school in January 2017 (these children could not continue school because their parents lost everything after hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti.) To date, we have been blessed by generous donors and supporters to pay tuition for 30 children for the school year 2018-2019. For some, it was their first time ever attending school.
This Saturday, May 18, 2019, which happens to be Haiti’s Flag Day, at Epps Christian Center at 6 PM, we are having our 3rd annual benefit concert to raise tuition for the next school year. Please help us spread the word so we can have more people support our work in Haiti. In this 21st century, the numbers of children who are unable to attend school are unimaginable, so please, help us continue to make a difference in these children’s life. My phone number is 850-390-8098 and I am available after 3:30Thank you and best regards!

Marie Jessie A Elusma

Chairwoman