7th Annual Beach Day Recap

It’s hard to believe that we just wrapped up our 7th Annual Beach Day. Each year, we rent a couple of school busses and take all of our families 45 minutes north to the beach for a day of relaxation and celebration. This year, about 200 family members, local leaders, guests, and team members came together for this day. Carmitha led a handful of our moms in making a beautiful lunch of rice and beans, fried chicken, plantains, potato salad, pikliz, and macaroni for us. Marc Noel and Louisnel handed out drinks and other essential items. First Mile leaders Equel and Eglaide made sure our kids made it to the beach safe and sound. Two lifeguards watched over our kids and parents as they played in the water. Beach balls and kites were flying in the air while kids learned to swim using floaties, all thanks to our guests. Our team orchestrated a beautiful day for everyone, fully supported by our local leadership and friends.

Towards the end of the day, we celebrated our family members’ accomplishments. First Mile Coalition leaders Equel and Claudy spoke about how grateful they are for the First Mile program and recognize the hard work of our kids and our team. Marc Noel spoke on behalf of our families in Menelas while welcoming our First Mile Coalition families to their first beach day. All 114 of our students and our skill training cohort of parents were applauded for their efforts in fulfilling their commitments and making tremendous progress forward.

We’d love to welcome more guests to this experience in 2019. Interested in joining us for Beach Day next year? Send us a note at www.dowork.org/visit-haiti/. Until then, enjoy our gallery of photos from the our 2018 Annual Beach Day.

Photos by Jean-Claude Michel