Can We?
* Soccer Field
Soccer is a community builder. With very limited availability of extracurricular/educational activities, soccer is an important part of the community. Villagers take pride in their community team! FDF through the leadership and fund raising of Karen Thorsen underwrote a massive project to enhance/enlarge the community soccer field. This proved to be a very challenging undertaking; many lessons were learned with this project. The field still needs some additional work, but it is playable. The team from Fond Doux was the champion in their area league several times. Teams travel from afar to compete.
* Saturday Club and vacation Bible School
The Foundation sponsors a Saturday Club for youth and children at the Methodist Church featuring Bible stories taught by the Haitian Johnson Louis. He is both a teacher in the Methodist School and a university scholar of the Foundation. Music had been a part of this activity, but is presently suspended. A major part of each mission trip is a vacation Bible School. Many youth members of the mission teams have assisted in this program as well as adults. Crafts and music are a part of the process. We hope to resume these when travel permits.
* Hand Washing Stations
To stop the spread of disease, developing good hygiene practices is a necessity. In a village without running water this is difficult. One effort to encourage this is the development of hand washing stations. In 2024 we opened Seven handwashing stations at seven different schools in the community along with distributing soap and bleach. Changing customs and maintaining them have proven to be difficult.
* Children’s Creole Bibles
Because most books are in French while the day to day language of the people is Creole, the Fond Doux Foundation in cooperation with Swansboro United Methodist Church, Swansboro, NC and Epworth United Methodist Church, Durham, NC has provided Children’s Bibles in Creole to many families in the Fond Doux region. The children of the Sunday School of Epworth participated in this project.
* Christmas and New Year’s celebrations
Around Christmas and New Year, the Foundation assists the communities of Fond Doux, Platon and Ravine Parc celebrate the holidays with a community meal. The Fond Doux Meal is in association with the Methodist Church of Fond Doux, The Platon meal with the Ravine Parc English Club at the School for
Tomorrow and the Platon meal with the Good Samaritan School of Platon.