6151: Karshan on Quakers and Quaker-related programs in Haitii (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

I am not aware of any Quaker meetings in Haiti in any location. AFSC 
(American Friends Service Committee) does work in Haiti in the countryside 
but is not necessarily staffed by Quakers.  Eleanor Snare, who used to be the 
director of the Haitian-American Institute and is a birthright Quaker, was 
never able to point me to a  meeting.  I have been an attender for twenty 
years and would welcome knowing of a meeting or when desired I would be 
willing to host one.

There is a Quaker directory which lists Quaker families internationally who 
are willing to host Quakers traveling.  I haven't looked at that list in 15 
years but it did have a listing in the Dominican Republic, but not in Haiti 
at that time.

My program Alternative Chance, or Chans Altenativ, which helps criminal 
deportees in Haiti, also does AVP workshops, the Alternative to Violence 
Project, which was founded by Quakers in New York together with prisoners at 
Greenhaven Correctional Facility in New York 25 years ago.  I am one of the 
co-authors of the AVP basic workshop.  The criminal deportees in my program 
are thus familiar with AVP having taken the Basic, Advanced and Training for 
Trainers workshops.  Some have gone on to become facilitators. Every year at 
least two Quakers come to Haiti from the US or Canada to facilitate the 
workshops with us.  Recently a Quaker came here to do peer counseling 
training with my program based on AVP principles (which are based on Quaker 
principles).  I attended the First International AVP conference two years ago 
in Texas representing our AVP chapter in Haiti.  In September 2000, the 
second international conference of AVP was held in England.  I didn't attend 
but a Quaker women who had recently been here working with our program spoke 
on our behalf.  
Michelle Karshan
mkarshan@aol.com
altchance@aol.com
http://www.altchance.homepage.com