News and Updates On behalf of the Otello Foundation, we would like to thank you for your support. This year, the foundation raised $7,732(we matched the amount raised of $3,866) for the Vassar Haiti Project. Your generosity will directly benefit children in Haiti. With the help of your donations, we will continue to work together for direct and meaningful impact in the lives of suffering children. Thanks again for your generous support of our efforts to help children around the world. Sincerely, Alexandra and Andrew 2010/2011 - Vassar Haiti Project This is a letter from Andrew Meade, the founder of the Vassar Haiti Project to the Otello Foundation following their Annual Live Auction in April. Dear Alexandra, It was a pleasure and a privilege to include Andrew and you, and your friends from across the river. You brought such a powerful sense of grace and dignity to our program. And you helped make it very real to our many volunteers how important it is to focus on improving the lives of children around the world. I am very happy to contribute some words. The 2011 Haitian Art Auction & Sale was dedicated to the Otello Foundation, for their extremely generous contribution to the children of Chermaitre, and for their extraordinary commitment to helping children everywhere. One of the very biggest of dreams of the villagers in Chermaitre has been to improve their access to water. Heretofore, procuring water for drinking, washing, or any other purpose has entailed a half hour hike down a mountainside, coupled with an uphill return trip with a heavy bucket perched precariously atop one's head. In March 2010, engineers proposed the construction of a reservoir and gravity-driven system of PVC piping that would route water from a spring high above Chermaitre to a well near the school. This phase of the project was estimated to be about $13,000. (The second phase of the project will be to construct individual water filtration systems for use at the school and in homes.) Thanks directly to the efforts of the Otello Foundation, this proposal went from being just a good idea to reality in late 2010 and early 2011. The Haiti Project has to date supplied Chermaitre with $8,000 toward this initiative. We received stunning images just prior to the art sale in April that showed water flowing for the very first time into a well in the village. Again thanks to the Otello Foundation's commitment to support our organization in 2011, we anticipate having the funds necessary to complete all construction associated with this phase of the project. I cannot overstate the impact of children being able to have access to fresh water right outside the school, of families being able to walk to a central place in their village to be able to procure water for drinking, cooking, washing, planting, and every other use. Our on-the-ground partner, Pere Jean Lenord Quatorze, said there are no words that describe the gratitude expressed by the people in that village. Many, many thanks for making this dream come true. Best, Andrew Meade On April 9th 2011, the Vassar Haiti Project dedicated their 2011 Live Auction to the Otello Foundation. They invited us to give a speech and talked about the Otello Foundation and its purposes. We were able to meet with many members of Vassar Haiti Poject. Many came to buy, bid or simply contemplate the beautiful colorful Haitian paintings and scultures. You could feel a sence of unity and accomplishment in this organization that try to bring hope to the children and inhabitants of Chermaitre in Haiti. At the end of the speech, the Otello Foundation was very touched to receive a beautiful Haitian sculture to thank the foundation and all of you who donated.         Here is an extrait of the speech and some pictures from that day. We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Meade and all the members of the Vassar Haiti Project for dedicating the 2011 live auction to the Otello Foundation. It is truly an honor to speak here for your 10th anniversary and we are happy to contribute to the children of Haiti through your organization. The Otello Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2007. We set up the foundation in honor of our son, Otello. Our goal is to raise money for children's causes that tend to lie outside public awareness. The first year, we decided to help the children of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. Due to economic hopelessness and belief on forms of witchcraft, families have abandoned approximately 50,000 children. We host a big event with many activities for children and adults to raise money for a charity that has been establish to provide lodging and education for children and is in constant need to expand their facilities. In 2008 and 2009, we wanted to contribute to the lives of the children at Children' Specialized Hospital in New Jersey. Because of our experience with our son, Otello, who had suffered a severe brain injury, we wanted to recognize the people in pediatric neurological rehabilitation who bring energy and joy and purpose to their patients in what all too many people would consider a hopeless environment. After the devastating earthquake in Haiti we wanted to find a way to once again directly impact children. The Vassar Haiti Project exactly reflects the values of the Otello Foundation. It is primarily a volunteer effort that gives hope to children who otherwise may have been lost and it is attempting to grow into a lasting and self sustaining institution. It is important for children to know that they are not alone and that in an other city, in an other country, in an other continent, someone is trying to help them in some way. We were so impressed by the dedication and the hard work of the Vassar Haiti Project that we would like to be part of it this year again. So the 2011 donations of the Otello Foundation will go to the children of Haiti.                                 2008/2009 - Children's Specialized Hospital Click here to view how some of the proposed spaces will look. 2007 - The Street Children of Kinshasa The donations of the year 2007 allowed the School Sainte Christine to expand its facilities. Three new classrooms were built. They also were able to buy Computers, a vehicle, sewing machines and chalkboards for the school. Here is an update about the center for the children: The Ndako Ya Biso Project INTERNATIONAL / AFRICA | New York Times - November 15, 2007 In Africa, Accusation of Witchcraft Leads to Abuse By SHARON LaFRANIERE A surprising number of children in some countries are identified as witches and beaten, abused or abandoned. Back to top