BRATTLEBORO — On Saturday, April 7, at 5 p.m., the Windham World Affairs Council joins the Haiti Orphanage Sponsorship Trust to present “An Introduction to Haiti Today” at Centre Congregational Church, Memorial Hall, 193 Main St.
The Council has proudly offered programming to the community pairing film and food with great speakers and cultural events. In 2016, with the support of a grant from the Vermont Humanities Council, they offered delicious Cuban food and a variety of films and cultural activities. In the 2017-18 season, they introduced Iran's innovative cinema and cuisine.
This time they plan to take attendees on a virtual visit to Haiti with the orphanage trust, a small, grassroots nonprofit based in Vermont that has partnered with Foyer Evangelique Orphanage since 2010 to ensure food, education, medical attention, and other essentials for the children at the orphanage.
The jointly-sponsored event will include meeting the local members of the Trust, hearing a talk by Rose Albert titled “Haiti Before and After the Earthquake,” enjoying a Haitian Dinner (by donation), and viewing a Haitian film.
According to a news release, Albert, the featured speaker, is a “motivated and dynamic” young woman who was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She is honored to spend an evening with the Brattleboro community talking about the beautiful Haiti that she knew before the earthquake, the challenges brought on by the earthquake, and her hopes for the future of Haiti.
Five years after moving away from home, Albert returned to Haiti in 2010. She now visits the island nation annually and remains deeply connected to her homeland.
Albert came to the U.S. knowing two words in English: “yes” and “no.” But she graduated from high school with an English proficiency equipped to make it through college and graduate school.
For most of her time in the U.S., she lived in Rhode Island, where she built a strong community for herself. Passionate about the arts, Albert found opportunities to share her love of dancing; she has performed Haitian dance for many years in institutions, nursing homes, and other organizations. She also has spent time choreographing and teaching Haitian dances to children.
The film is Serenade for Haiti (2017) by Owsley Brown. Filmed over a seven year period in Haiti, the feature-length documentary captures a rare look at a country scored with poverty and a history of political violence and finds a story of transcendence and humanity as the children and faculty of the Sainte Trinité Music School turn to music to unlock the power of their own lives.
Members of the Trust will prepare a Haitian dinner, which they will offer for a suggested donation of $10. They ask for RSVP's from those who plan to join them for for dinner at [email protected].
For more information about the event, visit www.windhamworldaffairscouncil.org.