You cannot get much further away from the Fleurieu than the Caribbean island of Haiti, but a local Rotary club has brought it closer by reaching out to help the impoverished nation.

The second poorest country in the world is still recovering from a massive 2010 earthquake and last year’s devastating cyclones, but must now also deal with COVID-19. 

The Rotary Club of Encounter Bay has been working for three years to help the Haitians learn to read in their own language of Creole and in the official language, French.

Education is the key to development, but with only 15 per cent literacy, Haiti’s

11 million people struggle with written communications. 

Things we take for granted like clean running water and soap, and a social security safety net aren’t available, making social isolation impossible, according to Rotary author Peter Manuel.

He says club president Brenton Abbott’s visit to a child sponsored by his family sparked the book project.

The club responded to a call for assistance from children's book writers, to develop stories in the Creole language so teachers and children had resources to help them learn to read and write.

The Rotary club now publishes children’s books written by a team of authors from within its ranks.

This year, Rotarians have written seven books that reflect the Haitian culture, and 6000 copies will soon be made available to schools, libraries and teachers there. 

As part of this project, the Rotary Club of Encounter Bay employed a language specialist from Haiti to translate and seven unemployed Haitian artists to illustrate the books, which will also be printed in Haiti.

This year’s authors were Madeleine Jenkins, Ken Carter, Cherilyn Fleming, Kathy Carter, and Peter Manuel. 

Any funding to help with distribution of the books would be appreciated; contact Brenton Abbott at Fleurieu Crash Repairs or email Peter Manuel.