Together We Plant for Change!

The 18th of May – Flag Day – is a day of pride and reflection for Haitians as the anniversary of the date when the first Haitian Flag was created after independence. All over the country celebrations happened: there were parades with marching bands and drill teams, gymnastics, music and presentations. Each school participated in activities to honor the day.

SOIL invited students from the middle school College Bell Angelot to come learn about our activities and plant 135 trees (one for each student) on our grounds. We worked together to plant Moringa, Papaya, Sweet Orange and Avocado trees.

As we planted the trees, we taught the students about the importance of compost. Our staff worked with the students in groups to answer questions and they also attended a presentation on our ecological sanitation work, composting toilets and protecting our health with good sanitation habits.

North Haiti’s Deputy Regional Director, Emmanuel Antoine, saw the collaboration between SOIL and the school as a way to show the importance of compost, planting, sanitation and “the whole system of ecology.”

The students appreciated doing a civil act that not only pays tribute to their ancestors of the past, but also invests in the country’s future. As one student put it, “It’s nice to take part in the parade activities, but we wanted to do something more active with a good end result.” Professor Bell of the school agreed, “If we do not plant trees, then our country will disappear.”

The students were really into learning about our work and getting their hands dirty planting. We all had a blast, and the students left with tree seedlings to plant at their own homes. SOIL is proud to be planting the seeds of change with young people, and Flag Day was a ceremonious event to show our community that.

Check out the slideshow below and SOIL’s Instagram account to see other great photos from the day.

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