Ongoing projects
CEAL – Centre d’éveil et apprentissage de Léogane
Where and when:
Léogane (Haiti) since 2011 – ongoing
Description:
The community center carries out many activities: literacy for adults, promotion of rights for children and people with disabilities, awareness-raising and health promotion meetings, but above all it is the reference point for deaf people in the province. CEAL is now also a school for children with special needs and deaf people. More information: here
Goals to achieve:
Maintenance and strengthening of the school and CEAL activities: continuous training of school staff, training in sign language of families and the community, maintenance of regular courses and activation of specific courses (e.g. in agroecology, art education and to crafts, physiotherapy, etc.)
Budget needed: $ 20,000 a year for the basic activities maintenance.
Where and when: Milan and Venice from 2020 – ongoing
Description: In the sea code QX1 indicates permission to anchor in this port. Starting from this first welcome gesture, the site and the QX1 APP want to collect and share information dedicated to migrant women and men, girls and boys in a special way, giving a voice (therefore using voice recordings) to migrants, but also giving a space to those who organize social spaces and occasions for inclusion and solidarity in the city. Created by the Collectif Transbordeur, QX1 in Marseille has been in operation for years. Now it is in Italy for the first time, thanks to the Milan-Venice Welcome Map project
Project funded by 8perMille of the Waldensian Church.
Goals to achieve: 2 web sites and 2 Apps : www.qx1-venezia.org / www.qx1-milano.org
Budget needed: 12.970 euro
Completed projects
Where and when: Milan, 2020
Project description: “chatting with the expert for the well-being of girls and boys”.
Goals achieved: Provided psycho-educational support to 50 parents and teachers so that they could support to their daughters and sons during the period of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Budget: The project was financed by the Community Foundation of Milan to the coop. EDI Onlus. The Ponte association made its contribution free of charge
What happens now: At the end of the project’s period, the project was suspended due to lack of funds.
Where and when: Italy / Haiti 2020
Description: Translation into Haitian Creole of the Galactic Guide to Coronavirus for curious boys and girls, which explain to boys and girls the situation of the Covid 19 pandemic. Considered “unable to understand”, children in Haiti often do not have an adult who explains in an accessible way what is happening. So the children become fearful without a clear understanding. As a consequence, the children are often forced to stay at home away from school (a place that they love, and often the only place where the children find companions and teachers who communicate effectively with them).
The Galactic Guide to Coronavirus produced by MUBA – Children’s Museum Milan together with Città Dei Bambini Genoa, Explora – the Children’s Museums of Rome and Verona is an excellent tool that makes the situation understandable to children (and often also to adults, who do not have access to accurate information and are often exposed to fake news).
Objectives achieved: The volunteers of the PONTE association together with the director of theCEAL translated the Guide into Haitian Creole, and distributed the Guide via smartphone.
Budget collected: The Ponte association contributed at no charge
What happens now: In Haiti the coronavirus has not significantly affected the population, therefore life has returned to “normal” from this point of view. The extremely poor population that daily has to seek sustenance for their families, was initially exposed to a moment of great fear, but now has returned its focus on problems of daily issues.
Where and when: Léogane, Haiti
Description: Installation of solar panels in the community clinic “Center Hospitaliere d’Urgence”. Prior to this community clinic, in Léogane the population had only access to private hospitals, at which all visits and all medicines needed to be paid for. But, as most people live below the poverty line, earning less than a dollar a day, if a person got sick, he/she just waited for the ailment to pass. But the “Center Hospitaliere d’Urgence” was then established by Dr. Toni Bistine, who studied in Cuba, and had the principled perspective that health care is a right for everyone. You can’t say no. People should find treatment (always) and medicines (when available). People referred to the clinic as Kay Dokter Toni (Doctor Toni’s House) because he and his staff are always present, and his mobile number is written on a sign on the entrance wall.
Goals achieved: Solar panels installed on the roof of the community clinic
Budget raised: about $ 5,000
What happens now: Today, the community clinic “Center Hospitaliere d’Urgence”directed by Dr. Toni Bistine, is open every day 24 / 24h, and served with renewable electricity
Where and when: Léogane, 2017/18
Description: Reconstruction of the CEAL structure after the hurricane (involving some deaf children as manpower), implementation of school courses for children with special needs, training activities for teachers in sign language and special pedagogy and raising awareness of parents and the community on diversity, handicap, rights.
Goals achieved: The CEAL was rebuilt, with a horseshoe-shaped structure (made up of 3 separate parts, one of which can be “transformed” into a stage for activities) with the help of 4 deaf children. 6 classes for 71 disabled or deaf-mute children worked throughout the school year. A thousand people attended the awareness meetings, 20 teachers and educators were trained in sign language and special pedagogy.
Overall budget: € 74,068.66 / co-financed by the San Zeno Foundation of Verona.
What happens now: CEAL continues to be active and to develop activities for the community of Guerin (Léogane), for the deaf community of the plain of Léogane, and for boys and girls, boys and girls with special needs.
Where and when: Léogane, 2015
Description: CEAL – Project “The school at the center”: training of CEAL teachers on Special Pedagogy, the Individual Educational Plan and effective tools for working in the classroom. Funding of an in-depth course in Sign Language. Accompaniment of teachers by an international volunteer expert in Special Pedagogy, employed in the school for children with special needs in Dielsdorf – German-speaking Switzerland.
Goals achieved: The informal school inside the CEAL Center has been transformed into a real school (recognized by the Haitian Ministry of Education) for deaf or special needs boys and girls, adapting the spaces to Haitian legislation. 10 teachers were trained face to face and benefited from specialized tutoring.
Raised budget: € 18,350
What happens now: The CEAL continues to operate in partnership with Associazione PONTE.
Where and when: From September 2013 to 2017, Italy and Haiti
Description: “Ecology and solidarity” program
Goals achieved:
1) collection and distribution of blankets for the homeless in Mestre – Venice
2) collection of used material:
- eyewear – in collaboration with Ottica 4 Cantoni di Mestre which rearranges them before taking them to Haiti, indicating the gradation. In Haiti they are distributed in the communities of the interior, with a symbolic cost for the people who receive the glasses of about 1 dollar which are used for a collective purpose decided by the community itself)
laptops and Ipads delivered to CEAL teachers to be used during lessons or to prepare them (for this purpose, 2 Italian volunteers have created a basic training course on the use of PCs for teachers in Léogane) - backpacks and school supplies for the children of Léogane
- second-hand clothes to be distributed to some migrant families in the area of Marghera and Mestre.
- raising awareness in schools on “ecology and solidarity” with the launch of a collection of used plastic caps which are then sold to the Missaf association (Missioni Africa) in Mestre, which through this activity supports a project in a school in the Democratic Republic of Congo of the Missaf organization in Mestre (the activity takes place throughout the school year).
- used books to be allocated to the Lampedusa library in response to an appeal by the Mayor Giusi Nicolini (November 2013)
Budget collected: The Ponte association made its contribution free of charge. The trips to Haiti were self-financed by the partners.
What happens now: The situation in Haiti has changed so it is not safe for Italian volunteers to go to Léogane. The trips have been suspended, waiting for the socio-political situation to be less dangerous for foreigners. In Venice / Marghera, on the other hand, the person who mainly dealt with collecting used items fell ill and is no longer alive. The activity has stopped. However, other associations were born, including La Casa di Amadou, which carry out activities of this kind, also involving Associazione Ponte when necessary.
Where and when: Léogane, from 2011 to 2016
Description: Support for boys and girls at the Foyer d’accueil aux enfants demunis – Orphanage located in the Matthiew area, Léogane.
PHASE I: respond to the post-earthquake emergency and in particular to the needs of orphaned and abandoned boys and girls through the construction of a house for orphaned children, which could house the children of the Foyer whose building collapsed during the earthquake .
PHASE II: promoting the education and training of orphaned, abandoned or economically disadvantaged children through a distance school adoption program.
Budget collected: In the first 3 years € 106,000, then approximately € 10,000 per year.
What happens now: In 2014, support for the overall project was transformed into school support only since, following reports from the local community, we asked to adapt some standards of reception for children and to receive more information on the expenses incurred by the orphanage and the Haitian partner organization did not cooperate. In September 2016, school support was also interrupted because during a meeting with IBERS (Haitian Institute for Social Welfare) and UNICEF we were informed of the intention to close the orphanage, as it did not respect the rules and regulations and standards required. Due to the subsequent hurricane Matthew this did not happen, but since there was no effort to adapt to principles that Associazione PONTE considers fundamental, it was considered appropriate to suspend the aid.