Preparing to leave for Jacmel, Haiti

I am getting ready to leave for Jacmel, Haiti
for 6 weeks come this Sat morning at 6 AM.
In the Jan. 12th earthquake I lost two dear friends, Flo McGarrell-
director of FOSAJ, a free art school in Jacmel, and Magalie Marcelin-
one of the founders of Haiti's Women's Movement and founder of Kay Fanm (kreyol for Woman House), a domestic violence shelter and additionally a group home for girls who are survivors
of sexual assault. She was also an actress, a lawyer, and an all around bad ass.

I was already planning a trip down to Haiti to work with both Flo and Magalie at their
respective organizations and to work on a documentary about Magalie and Kay Fanm.
I was due to leave Feb. 1st. The devastation in Haiti is so huge,
the loss of Flo and Magalie is as well.

I decided to go down there anyways to help with the relief effort and will be leaving with a couple of South Florida activists, Jerry Gildea of Miami and Waffle of Lake Worth, FL. We are going to meet up with Magalie's surviving daughter, Maile Alphonse in Port au Prince, then onto Jacmel, Haiti where we will begin by volunteering with the Cine' Institute and an orphanage for children with special needs. We were able to gather up some donations to bring with us while
helping out at one of the donation warehouses in Little Haiti in Miami and other donations came in from Lake Worth, FL.

We will be using this blog to keep in touch with our friends, family and beyond.
We will try to update it as often as possible with photos and words.
When it comes up, we will reach out for support in a variety of ways.
Everything and anything helps- money, clothes, toys, medicine, you name it.
I will upload links to the organizations we will be working with in the very near future.
Lots of Love,
Ivy Jeanne