Send a Valentine to Haiti

You can send a Valentine... or a Spring Festival/New Year's gift... to Haiti. Through Community Coalition for Haiti, your gift can make a long-term difference for a rural Haitian community.

You can even choose a name for the animal you donate, for example: Hugs the Bunny, Kisses the Goat, or Valentine the Pig. The Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH) is part of the Haitian National Coalition for the Environment. For over 20 years, CCH members have supported community development in Haiti. One of the ways they do this is by teaching organic gardening, reforestation, and animal husbandry. When a community is able to grow its own food, it is on the way to self-determination and self-sufficiency. The people of Bahon started their community gardens with the support of CCH. Community members chose the sites for their family and community gardens, planned and dug a two-mile irrigation trench, planted heirloom seeds, and tended the rows of new plants. Soon the people of this rural village were eating vegetables for the first time in their lives -- vegetables like okra, tomatoes, eggplant and more. They discovered they could produce three to four crops a year, rather than only one. Once the villagers began selling their produce, they started their own micro credit organization. In an area where the typical interest charged on agricultural loans is 30 to 40 percent, the Bahon group makes affordable loans at the 5 percent rate. CCH is also helping reintroduce the Creole pig to rural communities in Haiti. These pigs were the financial mainstay of farming families until the entire pig population was eradicated in the wake of a swine flu epidemic in the late 1970s. When a village team receives a pregnant pig through CCH's Creole pig project, they receive the dignity of self-sufficiency by raising and selling pigs, saving for the future with their new "piggy" banks. It also protects their forests since they have a new income source instead of making charcoal. CCH also helps Haitians develop their goat herds and rabbit families. For decades, goats and rabbits have been the major source of protein in Haiti. Like the Creole pigs, a pregnant goat or rabbit will provide the dignity of self-reliance, double a family's income, and provide extra food for years to come! Many people in Haiti are migrating from the cities back to rural communities. While this eases the stress on the cities that have been impacted by the earthquake, it places significant burdens on rural areas that are not prepared to meet this need. There are reports of thousands of people living in tent villages. The gift of seeds, a rabbit, a sheep or a pig can be a long-term Valentine to help restore the dignity and self-determination of the people of Haiti. If you'd like to send a Valentine to Haiti, go to the Community Coalition for Haiti Web site at:

. On the Web site, choose "Send A Valentine to Haiti." When you are routed to the secure server, choose "on behalf of" and then type in the name of the person you would like to honor. Donations of any amount are most welcome, and 100 percent of all donations are tax-deductible.