Hello everyone! My name is Ginette, and I'm an artist who lives and works in Toronto, Canada, and I've been helping Rony Elistene raise funds for Progression Society Art School for a little over a year now.

If you are familiar with the school, which is based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, you have probably already helped us in the past - for which we owe and say a big thank you!

Last year around this time we were able to raise enough funds to help Rony Elistene secure a full year's rent (rent is not paid monthly, it's paid a year in full). Rony was able to find a space in a safer neighbourhood than before, and time has proven that to still be the case thankfully.

If you would like to help, any amount will make a very big difference.

Here are a few words from Rony as well:

Hello everyone! My name is Rony Elistene, I am an artist and art teacher. In 2022, I opened an art school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, called Progressionsocietyartschool. This art school aims to help children in the Haitian community. When a foreigner buys a painting made by a student, the money goes to the child's parents so they can provide for the child's needs. Before, we fed the children after each workshop, as food shortages were a problem for most of our students. But since the gangs chased us out of our neighborhood in March 2024, the situation has become very difficult. God put a foreign friend, Ginette Angèle Lapalme, in my path. She helped support us by creating a gofundme for my art school, thanks to the community that donated funds to help us, in June 2024 we secured $1,500(USD) to pay the rent of a house a little far from the capital for one full year. With some money to buy chairs and tables as well as art materials to be able to work, it was really wonderful.

June 2025 will make us one year in this house and we have to find $1,500(USD) to pay the owner of the house to spend another year in this space but without your support we will not be able to do it because in Haiti nothing works because of insecurity and political instability. We can only do this with your help.

Thank you again for any donations you are able to share! Every little bit adds up and helps us get to our goal.

Best,

Ginette