My Children, A Thanksgiving Message From Tabou Combo Star Yves Joseph

"Some of us measure success with the amount of material things they have accumulated in life. My biggest accomplishment will be to witness all Haitian children blessed with the gift of education"
- Yves Joseph -

Today is Tuesday November 20, 2007 two days away from THANKSGIVING celebrated in the United States as the day of giving. As I remember my childhood I must have spent many of such days without a good meal on our table.

Growing up in Haiti we have never heard of a national day of sharing. However my mother lived her entire life helping those in need. ADVERTISEMENT:
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She was the teacher the counselor and the mediator. We did not have much but she was always sharing the little bit that she possessed with others. At my house everyday was Thanksgiving Day.

It is in her spirit that I want to share these pictures with you today. Being a musician with a 40 years old career in Tabou Combo I certainly have taken many pictures. But none of them have been so significant and so meaningful to me than these ones.

This program has been created in the name of my deceased mother Fernande Joseph .

Inspired by her teachings I decided to create a school for the underprivileged children of my old neighborhood in Delmas 79 .

With the help of Mrs. PAULE Philidort who is the school principal of â€Å"La Garenne â€Å"I was able to realize my dream. ADVERTISEMENT:
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We started the program last year with four children. Today we have two classes with 12 children: 4 in the second year and 8 in the first year. The tuition is 100 gdes per month which equals to $ 3.00 US.

The tuition is used as an incentive to test the willingness of the student to learn. I take charge of the teacher’s salary and the books..

The student’s age group ranges from 6 years old to 18 years old. We were able to teach a 17 years old young lady how to read in three months.

Now she is in her second year. ADVERTISEMENT:
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They are peddlers, windshield washers, restaveks, some of them sell water in the streets When they come to school at 2 pm they are proud children avid for knowledge .

When they wear their uniform it’s hard to know that they are street children .In fact they are all God’s children .Our ultimate goal is to send them to the primary certificate State exam..

I want to hire a music teacher in January. I also want to teach them basic computer skills and Basic English.

The next step is to create a medical clinic in the same building.

We are not registered as a non profit Organization .This is a personal endeavor. For those who want to help you may write to us at zafentabou@ aol.com. All we need is school materials such as pencils, notebooks, chalk, used computers, a used piano act… please do not send money.

Some of us measure success with the amount of material things they have accumulated in life. My biggest accomplishment will be to witness all Haitian children blessed with the gift of education.

We can do it.
Let’s make every day a Thanksgiving Day.
YVES JOSEPH
Musician
B.S in Education and B.A in International Studies.

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