The largest project to be undertaken is the rebuilding of the public school, Ecole Nationale Jacob Martin Henriquez. The nine-building school complex will provide a new educational home and free daily meal to more than 400 local children in grades K through 7.

Operation USA has partnered with Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the philanthropic organization of Honeywell Corporation, to reconstruct this primary school that will serve students who couldn’t otherwise afford to go to school. This project was built in cooperation with the City of Jacmel, with the support of its exceptional Mayor (now Senator), Edwin Zenny—a nationally known anti-corruption figure and committed activist for Jacmel’s future.

The school—designed pro bono by global planning firm Gensler, with structural engineering services provided by seismic experts Miyamoto International—was built using contemporary, sustainable building methods and was designed to withstand any potential future earthquakes. The school’s construction process was used to train local builders in modern earthquake-resistant construction and environmentally-conscious techniques that can save Haiti both money and natural resources in the years to come. Operation USA will establish a scholarship fund to help cover the cost of books, uniforms and other student expenses.

UPDATE: MARCH 2011
Construction nears completion! Inauguration ceremonies were held on March 11, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with both Operation USA and Honeywell’s CEOs in attendance.

UPDATE: OCTOBER 10, 2011
The first day of school is here! The brand new campus proudly welcomes its first students today.

Press Releases
Gensler Donates Design for Haiti School
Operation USA and Honeywell Break Ground on New School in Jacmel, Haiti

Operation USA began working with the Port-au-Prince based NGO L’Athletique d’Haiti following the hurricanes that hit the Caribbean in the fall of 2008. The series of storms paired with a 50% rise in food costs exacerbated the already dire circumstance, leaving many impoverished Haitians without access to basic food and nutrition. Malnutrition was at crisis level for those most vulnerable, especially children.

L’Athletique d’Haiti (LADH) is an after-school sports program that serves children from ages 6 to 17 in Cité Soleil and Bel Air, the poorest slums in Port-au-Prince. In a country where soccer is a national obsession, the lack of sports programs deprives young people of the opportunity to acquire self esteem, discipline and dedication—the skills developed through playing sports. The program additionally offers a nutritious daily meal and transportation to its participants.

To address the increased demand created by the hurricanes, Operation USA contributed to the funding of a new cafeteria for the facility. Additionally, OpUSA provided LADH with a grant to support their food program which serves children from some of the most destitute areas of Port-au-Prince and surrounding provinces.

In the wake of the January 2010 earthquake, the needs grew…

PROJECT UPDATE:

The facilities at L’Athletique d’Haiti sustained some damage in the earthquake–however, a large number of the children and families the program supported suffered tremendously. Many of those who survived lost their homes.

The two soccer fields at LADH housed as many as 500 families, sheltered in self-made or donated tents. They were provided food and water, alongside medical care. Under the guidance of LADH’s inspiring founder Boby Duval, massive food distributions were undertaken for those living on site.

Operation USA is currently working with LADH to address both current and long-term needs. LADH has expanded its sports offerings beyond soccer—and now boxing, basketball and track are also offered. Engaging the kids in a safe environment, LADH continues to strive to keep the youth away from drugs and gangs in Cite Soleil. LADH continues to provide one meal a day to each child—and is in the process of adding an on-site organic garden, hen houses and compost program to be more sustainable and provide better support this effort.

From Boby Duval, LADH:

“A group of young women organized by L’Athletique D’Haiti beat overwhelming odds to win the Women’s Plate in Paris.  First, the team almost did not make it to the tournament for which they had been training for for a year.  They were delayed by four days in their arrival to the 2011 Homeless World Cup in Paris because their airline, Air Caribe, prevented the entire team from leaving on their scheduled flight, claiming that four of the girls did not look like their passport photos.  Then, Air Caribe refused to rebook the team for four days, by which time the tournament and opening ceremonies had already started.

The girls stepped off the plane on Monday and immediately played their first match against Uragay.  After beating Uraguay in their first match, the goalkeeper broke her arm and had to be replaced by one of her team mates.  All this was disheartening, but through it all, the girls maintained an indominable spirit and tremendous optimism.  In the end, the Haiti team beat France 10:2 to win the Homeless World Plate, one of the top prizes. 

Tonight the entire team is back safely in Haiti and it was a very moving experience for me to greet them at the airport in Port au Prince. I am so proud of Haiti and her strong young women, who, despite being homeless and at risk, travelled all the way to Paris to proudly represent Haiti. They were winners the minute they were finally able to board the flight to Paris, but winning the Homeless Cup Silver Plate against tough competition such as France was a humbling joyful experience for all of us.”

Please visit the links below for more information and entire video of the winning match:

Homelessworldcup.org

http://www.homelessworldcup.org/paris-2011/fixtures-and-results/28.08.2011/haiti-conquer-hosts-to-claim-womens-plate

Congratulations to these brave young women!
Team Haiti 2011 Homeless World Cup Women’s Squad

Wideline Conin
Santia Roselene Hypolite
Marjorie Pierre
Amanda Pierre-Louis
Jemina Pierre
Nuela Antenor
Modelene Etienne
Jesula Leone

Boeing, RwandAir and Operation USA partner to deliver 1,500 school books

SEATTLE, Aug. 25, 2011– Boeing today delivered a Next-Generation 737 with the new Boeing Sky Interior to RwandAir, making it the first African carrier to own and operate Boeing’s innovative interior. The delivery also is the first direct-purchase 737 in RwandAir’s fleet. “This new interior will set RwandAir apart from our competition by bringing a new, unmatched flying experience to our valued customers,” said John Mirenge, CEO of RwandAir.

The Boeing Sky Interior introduces new cove lighting and curving architecture that create a distinctive entry way. Passengers will enjoy a more open cabin and a soft blue sky overhead simulated by light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. The new interior also brings new, modern, sculpted sidewalls and window reveals to draw passengers’ eyes to the view outside the window.

“Today is a proud day for RwandAir as well as the country of Rwanda,” said Dr. Alex Nzahabwanimana, Minister of Transport for Rwanda. “Being the first airline on the African continent with the Boeing Sky Interior certainly puts Rwanda at the forefront of the aviation industry in Africa today and beyond.”

As part of Boeing’s Humanitarian Delivery Flights program, Boeing partnered with RwandAir and Operation USA on this delivery flight to deliver 1,500 science and other educational books to the Rotary Club of Kigali. The science books will be accepted by Rwanda’s Ministry of Education and distributed to high schools and universities throughout the country. The remaining books will be distributed to the Kigali Public Library – Rwanda’s first public library.

Operation USA is an international relief agency that helps communities around the globe overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty. Since 1979, the organization has been providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid by working with grass-roots partners to provide material and financial assistance necessary in the face of a disaster as well as to combat the effects of systemic poverty.

Operating from Kigali as its hub, RwandAir’s fleet includes two Boeing 737-500s, two CRJ200s and a Dash8-200. “With this new airplane, RwandAir will provide our passengers with unmatched reliability and the most unique flying experience in the sky today,” said Mirenge. “We are confident our customers will look back on their flight with enthusiasm and excitement for their next flight.”

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Contact:
Adam Morgan
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
+1 281-386-4396
adam.k.morgan@boeing.com

Michael Otieno
RwandAir
+250 788 308 761
michael.otieno@rwandair.com

Alison Deknatel
Operation USA
+1 323-413-2353
adeknatel@opusa.org

OPERATION USA AND HONEYWELL INAUGURATE THE LARGEST SCHOOL IN SOUTHEAST REGION OF HAITI

Nine-Building, 40,000 sq. ft. Complex, Serving More Than 400 Local Children, Rises Just Seven Months After Groundbreaking Following Devastating January 2010 Earthquake

JACMEL, HAITI (March 11, 2011) — Honeywell (NYSE: HON) Chairman and CEO Dave Cote and Honeywell Hometown Solutions President Tom Buckmaster and Operation USA CEO Richard Walden joined students, parents, teachers, school administrators and community leaders for ribbon-cutting ceremonies to open Ecole Nationale Jacob Martin Henriquez, a new, state-of-the-art public school in the hard hit city of Jacmel in southern Haiti. The nine-building school complex will provide a new educational home and free meals to more than 400 local children in grades K through 7.

The school was built using contemporary, sustainable building methods and is designed to withstand any potential future earthquakes. Honeywell used the school’s construction to train local builders in modern earthquake-resistant construction and environmentally-conscious techniques that can save Haiti both money and natural resources in the years to come. Honeywell has established a scholarship fund in partnership with Operation USA to help cover the cost of books, uniforms and other student expenses.

“Working together with Operation USA, Mayor Edwin Zenny, and the City of Jacmel, we have delivered on our commitment to rebuild creating a terrific community asset and environment for learning just 7 months after we broke ground,” said Cote. “This is one of the largest post quake rebuilding projects completed in Haiti so far. Haiti’s children have been profoundly affected and we are gratified to be able to help Haiti continue their education and to play a meaningful role in improving the learning environment.”

Jacmel, a seaside town with a population of 80,000 and located 45km from the epicenter of the earthquake, saw an estimated 80% of its buildings either damaged or destroyed, with the most severe devastation in the poorer neighborhoods. Before its destruction, Ecole Nationale JM Henriquez – one of the few free schools available to the city’s children – served 400 students between the ages of 7 and 17. The new school complex, which sits on one and a half acres overlooking the bay of Jacmel, will offer its K-7 students a new, free educational home featuring a computer lab, library, cafeteria, administration building, six classroom buildings, a sustainable community garden and an athletic field.

Immediately following the earthquake, Honeywell committed $1 million in aid to Haiti, including a 100 percent match of employee donations, to fund rebuilding projects. Honeywell also made business jets available to Operation USA for airlift support to deliver medical supplies and transport medical staff.

In an effort to promote good health and nutrition while also incentivizing school enrollment and thereby enhancing literacy rates, a feeding program will be implemented for all students attending the school. At the core of the program is a community garden on the school grounds. The garden will be cultivated and maintained by the students, their families, and school staff. All produce grown in the gardens will be used in the daily meal provided to the children. These “learning gardens” will integrate practices of resource management, basic horticulture, water harvesting, composting, and small animal husbandry.

The government of Haiti estimates that approximately 230,000 people were killed and over 300,000 injured in the massive January 2010 earthquake, including 38,000 students, more than 1,300 teachers and other education personnel. Over 4,000 schools and the Ministry of Education’s headquarters were destroyed, and all available data on education was lost. An estimated three million students are believed to have suffered an interruption to, or complete cessation of, their educations. Only 50% of the children living in resettlement camps and relocation sites attend school.

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FACTS:
• Nine Buildings
• 40,375 Square Feet
• 15 Classrooms
• 10 Bathrooms
• 5 Showers
• 20 Computers
• 600 Students Capacity
• Average building is 4,486 sq ft (largest 5,821 sq ft)
• Total Construction Workers Employed: 500+
• Number of masons trained in US standards and protocols: 200
• Number of engineers trained in US standards and protocols: 35
• Foundations:
• Built of reinforced concrete
• Cell Masonry:
• Used 2-cell masonry blocks, which are less susceptible to breakage, accept the vertical steel elements and additional concrete, and have higher compressive strength.
• Wall Reinforcement:
• Horizontal and vertical steel in the masonry to take the lateral (horizontal) and gravity (vertical) loadings on the wall.
• Placement of horizontal and vertical reinforcement in the masonry walls.
• Provides for a redundant system where the walls act as hundreds of columns and also are reinforced to take the lateral loading from earthquakes and wind.
• Long Span Roof:
• Steel used throughout roof and tied to walls
• Roof has drop beams at 3M on center and a 5″ slab that spans between them. This roof structure will span the 10.5M distance and allow for overhangs on both ends.
• Creates a “cage” for the entire building and distributes weight more evenly to the walls.
• The slope of the roof allows for drainage and also for ventilation and natural light into the classroom

# # #

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 6, 2011)— As the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti approaches, Los Angeles-based International relief agency Operation USA reaffirms its dedication to recovery in Haiti, and specifically the City of Jacmel. Construction continues at the site of Operation USA’s largest project, the rebuilding of Ecole Nationale Jacob Martin Henriquez in Jacmel. This public elementary school is scheduled to be completed in February 2011 and will provide an opportunity for a free education for over 400 students, grades K-7. Operation USA has focused a good portion of its relief and recovery efforts in Jacmel—knowing it can make a significant impact in this smaller well-governed community.

The construction for this project has been funded by Honeywell Hometown Solutions, Honeywell’s Corporate Citizenship initiative and built with cooperation from the City of Jacmel. Architectural designs for the school were donated by global design and planning firm Gensler. Seismic specialists Miyamoto International provided structural engineering services, and have also been serving as on-site supervisors for the construction process, bringing high performance earthquake engineering expertise that is so clearly in short supply in Haiti. Throughout the construction process, workshops have been held for the Haitian masons and laborers working on the project in numerous facets of safe building reconstruction—providing an unprecedented opportunity to educate the local workforce in seismic safety and building methods at the highest level.

In addition to the school’s construction, a scholarship fund has been developed by Operation USA to help support expenses the students may incur during the school year, including mandatory school uniforms, books and supplies. A feeding program that will provide a hot meal every day for each student and community development programs are also being planned.

In the first days and weeks following the quake, OpUSA staged 8 relief airlifts and sent 8 sea shipment of supplies—getting essential pharmaceuticals, medical, emergency and shelter supplies, generators and light towers, as well as medical personnel to partner agencies on the ground in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel. Emergency items including food and cooking supplies were purchased for a number of orphanages, schools and hospitals. Relief efforts were greatly helped by generous support, products and services from many donors including Honeywell Hometown Solutions, United Airlines, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc., Ball Corporation, The Lincy Foundation, Cardinal Health, Cascade Designs and many others,

HOW TO HELP:

Operation USA continues to appeal for donations of funds from the public to support its long-term projects in Haiti. Corporate donations in bulk of health care and sanitation materials, including antibiotics and water purification supplies also remain a priority.

Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1.800.678.7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

Text “AID” to 50555 and donate $10 to OpUSA’s Haiti relief efforts.

About Operation USA

Operation USA is an international relief agency that helps communities at home and abroad overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid. Since 1979, the Los Angeles-based Operation USA has worked in over 99 countries, delivering over $350 million for relief and development projects. 


Operation USA responded rapidly to the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, shipping emergency aid within days of the disaster. Operation USA estimates that it has sent over $5.5 million in donated medical, energy, food and shelter supplies to Haiti to date getting essential pharmaceuticals, medical, emergency and shelter supplies, generators and light towers, as well as medical personnel to partner agencies on the ground in Port-au-Prince, as well as the equally hard-hit city of Jacmel.

Recipients/Partners include:  

L’Athletique d’Haiti, The City of Jacmel, Mission Ranch Medical Clinic (Citi Soleil), Partners in Health and St. Damien’s Pediatric Hospital/St. Luke’s Schools.



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Media Contact: 


Alison Deknatel
Director of Communications, Operation USA

310.838.3455 or adeknatel@opusa.org

Richard Walden
President & CEO, Operation USA
310.838.3455 or rwalden@opusa.org

Opening ceremonies were just held commemorating the opening of the Honeywell Baohe Primary School, the second primary school Operation USA has rebuilt in Sichuan Province in response to the 2008 earthquake that devastated much of the area—including a staggering 7,000 schools.

The new campus will benefit over 120 children from four nearby villages, giving them access to the most modern amenities and learning tools. To create a safe and secure school for the children, a closed circuit TV system and smoke detectors were donated by Honeywell. Safe Kids China will provide safety lessons to the children at the beginning of the new semester.

The school was built to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. The same roofing materials selected by the Bird’s Nest — China National Stadium – were used, offering better insulation to help keep the school cool during summers and warm during winter, as well as energy-saving lighting, switches and solar water heaters. Collectively, these environmentally-friendly technologies will contribute to reducing the school’s electrical consumption by 9,000 kwh per year, or 5,400 yuan.

Operation USA has continued to invest in the future of the region’s children by funding afterschool programs and mental health initiatives that are designed to bring stability to their fragile lives. The Awesome Girls Mentoring Program, a long-term partner, offers afterschool programming for at-risk girls that gives them a place of safety and shelter, as well as provides a nurturing environment where they have the simple freedom to be children again.

Join Operation USA in supporting the first public library to be built in Rwanda, Africa. Donate new and used books today!

In 1994, Rwanda experienced a genocide in which approximately one million Rwandans were killed. Through the establishment of the Kigali Public Library–Rwanda’s first public library–it is the hope that the tools used for destruction will be replaced with tools of knowledge. Successful completion of this monumental effort will mark a watershed in Rwanda’s history, finally providing unfettered access to a treasure trove of knowledge that has so far been unavailable to a population of over eight million people. The library–a sanctuary for knowledge and a forum for the free exchange of ideas – will also be a monument to serve as a permanent reminder to all Rwandans and the rest of the world that the atrocities committed in 1994 will never be forgotten.

The Kigali Public Library (built by the Rwanda Rotary Club), is looking for support in building a collection of books for children and adults.

BOOKS NEEDED:

- Children’s books
- Literature/Fiction

- Non-Fiction:
– Science & Technology
– Entrepreneurship
– Commerce
– Agriculture
–Aviation
–Medicine
–Arts

- Science books are also requested for the Ministry of Education to benefit Secondary Schools (8-12) and the University of Rwanda (undergraduate and postgraduate). This also includes a request for books on Engineering and Math.

Books can be either new or used with slight wear.

BOOK DRIVE DATES & LOCATIONS

DROP OFF THROUGH OCTOBER 14, 2011*
Operation USA
7421 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036

*Please call in advance of dropping off your books so we can be sure to be here for you!

Books can also be dropped off or sent to:
Seattle
Lucid Jazz Lounge
5241 University Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98105

Books will be delivered through RwandAir. We are very excited to help the Rwandan community create enhanced educational opportunities and brighter futures.

Monetary donations to support this program are also welcomed:
www.donate.opusa.org

Learn more about the Kigali Public Library:

http://www.kigalilibrary.org/

Operation USA was a major responder to Hurricane Mitch throughout its impact area (Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador). After an initial airlift of medical and shelter supplies, Operation USA began a series of projects to restore people’s lives. Through this work, Santa Rosa was discovered—a small village of about 70 families near Nicaragua’s frontier with Honduras, originally set up in 1984 as a resettlement camp to move villagers out of a war zone. Santa Rosa had always functioned at a bare subsistence level—and Mitch nearly destroyed the village.

Our approach in Santa Rosa was to first guarantee the very survival of Santa Rosa’s residents by providing them with food, shelter, access to water and medical assistance. In the years which followed, Operation USA built a village health clinic, a common kitchen, a pre-school, an irrigation system, a micro-hydropower electrical system, a connection to the national power grid, a library, a computer training center, a recreational park and several outbuildings used by the villagers to house a series of microcredit projects.

Operation USA has made a long-term commitment to the village of Santa Rosa, which, over the years, has been transformed from a disaster site to a healthy, productive, self-sustaining community.

Operation USA used the Santa Rosa development model to assist the village of Kalladi, Sri Lanka recover and regain its livelihood after the devastation of the December 2004 tsunami. These village projects are two of Operation USA’s largest long-term development projects.