Helping Hands Noramise

Winter is an internal time here on the island. Not as many people are out and about, and it’s a reminder of how many residents are inside their homes working on all kinds of projects – quilts, plays, poetry, culinary recipes, college scholarship applications, advanced degrees, nonprofits, you name it. It won’t be long before the sunshine-y days outweigh the dark ones, and we’ll get to see some of the fruits of each other’s work.

In the meantime, I want to shine a light on Rosedanie Cadet’s work in developing and running her nonprofit for Haiti called Helping Hands Noramise.

What is Helping Hands Noramise and what are your biggest goals with it?

Helping Hands Noramise is a nonprofit that focuses on agriculture and nutrition education for youths. Our main work is done with youths in Haiti and connecting them with their peers in the country and abroad. We also work with students here on Orcas through FEAST (Food Education and Sustainability for Teens). The biggest goal is to teach the importance of food systems and good nutrition in the hope that these youths will connect with each other via a common basic need – food. That through these connections, they will be able to make better decisions regarding their stewardship of the planet and their well-being.

How did it come about?

The seed of the idea was planted following my return home to Haiti after a 37-year absence. Shortly after this trip, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake that resulted in thousands of deaths from the initial event, followed by a cholera epidemic. Members of the Orcas community made donations for earthquake relief through the restaurant The Kitchen, where I was working at the time. Being the only Haitian on the island, I was repeatedly asked by those donors, “Where would the funds be donated?” I called a number of NGOs working in Haiti to donate the funds and volunteer. I received the same answer from them all: “We’re happy to accept your donation, but do not need you as a volunteer.” As this was my country, my people, and the funds were donated by my community, I decided to start my own nonprofit in order to return home to help my country and provide accountability for how the funds were being used.

Do you lead projects there or do you have other helpers/leaders in Haiti?

Initially I traveled to Haiti regularly to lead projects. It has always been our intention to find local Haitians we could support to eventually lead projects there. Currently, Helping Hands Noramise supports two school garden projects in Haiti. These gardens are maintained by local agronomists, and instruction of students is done by a school garden teacher alongside the agronomist. We seek and provide funds for additional training for this team. We are always looking for others doing similar work that we can collaborate with and support.

What brought you to Orcas Island?

To read the rest of the article in my column on theOrcasonian.com, click here.

To read more about Helping Hands Noramise, click here.

Thank you Rosedanie!