The Phinney Neighborhood Community Chorus is holding a special Father’s Day fundraising concert for a school it sponsors in Haiti. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Sunday at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, 7500 Greenwood Ave. N.
Several members of the chorus traveled to Haiti in April to meet the students of Lekol Pa Nou, which means “our school” in Creole.
Six of the students at Lekol Pa Nou in Haiti. Photos courtesy of Tim Sanders.
The chorus, whose motto is to “sing locally and act globally,” raised more than $1,000 in its first fundraising effort in 2004, and a record $11,500 at last year’s concert.
Haiti is recognized as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and Pichon is particularly isolated. The tropical storm crisis of 2004, the 2010 earthquake, and the dangers of civil unrest, have made contact between the US and the school most difficult. The community is proud that in the five years that students have taken the national exam for graduating sixth graders, 100% of the Lekol Pa Nou graduates passed the exam, meaning they are then qualified to pursue their secondary education.
Students and teachers during a song-and-dance circle in April.
Lekol Pa Nou has more than 400 students in preschool through sixth grade.
