By: Wadner Pierre - www.haitianalysis.com

The What If? Foundation is a unique Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) currently working in Haiti. It is led by Mrs Margaret Trost and the Reverend Gerard Jean-Juste, the pastor of Sainte Claire's parish of Ti plas kazo. Jean-Juste a theologian and critic of the 2004 ouster of Haiti's democratically elected government has dedicated his life to the poor. His parish is located in the north of the Delmas commune, near Delmas 33. For more than five years many people have supported the foundations work at the parish, aiding the educational and nutritional needs of the local community. Numerous young Haitians have benefited from the Foundation's programs.

During the festival of Saint Joseph on March 19, 2000 Mrs. Tost and the Reverend Jean-Juste launched the WhatIf? Foundation. The first goal was to provide food for local poor children and the most vulnerable. At the begining the program had the capacity to provide only 300 to 400 dishes on Sunday's with the assistance of the Depstre family. Mrs. Depstre explained she was helped by Manmidet, her daughter, and the Ketty Depestre. Not long after the program expanded to Friday's with the help of La Sainte Famille of Saint Claire. Ms Gabriel Dorissant, head of Saint Claire, provided generous support for the expansion of the program.

Today the program has reached its zenith and offers a dish of food to the most needy, five days a week. More than one thousand people, among them mainly children from the organization's educational program, pass through daily. More then 100 young people have passed the school's education program and six have already finished their secondary studies. The program provides an educational alternative to the expensive private schools that are most common in Haiti. The public sector in Haiti has been traditionally underfunded, although previous elected governments have invested in education. Following the 2004 coup thousands of workers were fired from civil sector jobs and some teachers at public funded schools were persecuted. Today the program in Sainte Claire is run by the poor for the poor, a stark contrast to many other programs where highly paid staff drive around in luxury 4x4s.

The Foundation has also run a summer camp, established three years ago, which had more than 500 young people and children attend over the summer of 2006. In its first term it was directed by Manmidet and for the second term it was directed by the parish's youth and its chief principle Jean Mari Noel of the group MEJ. Under the direct advisement of Mrs Trost and Father Jean-Juste the camp has been a success. One youth involved in the summer camp explained, "I benefited greatly from the program and a great man, the Reverend Gerard Jean-Just, a defender of the rights of the Haitians and the Pastor of the parish Sainte Claire Tiplas kazo." He is the defender of the young people the children explain. "To all Our friends that have contributed to the success and the continuity of all the programs of What If? Foundation, a thousand mercies."

Visit the What If? Foundation website at WhatIf? Foundation