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Here's the video...enjoy :) 
It's taken me weeks to process this. And many drafts. My husband thinks I am a little nuttier than he thought before and my heart is so full of love from people who I didn't know 30 days ago. I've been posting about the Art Creation Foundation for Children for a while now. It all started in January of 2011 at an event in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I met and interviewed Judy Hoffman, the founder of ACFFC. She told me about the foundation and how several pieces of the art displayed at the event were pieces as art therapy that the kids did to heal after the trauma. I bought a few pieces of art at the fundraiser that the kids made from papier mâché (future blog about why this is important!). This past March, I had the pleasure of visiting ACFFC in Jacmel. Most of the kids were on Easter break, but we were able to stop by a site where there were some creating a mosaic wall near a gas station {blog and video about it}. It was awesome, but I didn't know exactly why I loved this place and the idea of ACFFC until this November 2. Ten kids from ACFFC - they are 16-22, but I am calling them kids - got visas to visit the US to work on a mosaic project with Toussaint L'Ouverture high school in Delray Beach {press release with details}. On November 2, we attended a meet and greet gathering with all of them. This was the beginning of a journey that took my heart on a ride and I will treasure forever. Food, dancing, DJ Endy and most of all, an experience of so much love from "strangers" and now friends. It was more than a photography assignment...My experience working with a Haitian photographer.10/20/2013  He was dressed in a red button down shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. He had his camera bag full of equipment and his PRESS pass around his neck. He pulled out a notebook to show me how he keeps track of the details of the photos he takes. The front of it has the CNN logo and he told me his friend from the US sent it to him. Inside it reads: Ki moun? Kisa? Kile? Ki kote? Kijan? Poukisa? I am writing about Fedno Lubin, a 20 year old young man who lives in Jacmel, Haiti. Ten years ago, he moved from the mountainside to live with his aunt in the city to go to school. Fedno’s aunt knew about the Art Creation Foundation for Children (ACFFC) and signed him up. Over the years, he learned many forms of art, but his passion is photography, who he learned from Jen Pantaleon…his teacher and guide. He mentioned Jen’s name a lot throughout the 2 days we spent together for Gout et Saveurs Lakay, Haiti's Food & Spirits Festival to celebrate the country's Gastronomy. His appreciation for the art of photography is great. He inspires me.
 Art Creation Foundation for Children (ACFFC) is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to the education and personal growth of youth in need in Jacmel, Haiti. ACFFC youth began working on mosaic installations after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, to memorialize lives lost and to celebrate hope for the future. Their first installation was called Tree of Life. Since then, through our “Mosaïque Jacmel” project, mosaic mural installations and benches have been created throughout Jacmel, aesthetically enhancing the face of the city. Recently, ten ACFFC youth have been invited to visit South Florida by Major Joseph Bernadel, ACFFC Board Member and Chief Operating Officer of Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice (TLHS), a charter school located in Delray Beach Florida. They will be arriving on November 2, 2013. TLHS has a student body of predominantly Haitian-American new immigrant high school students. Together with TLHS students, ACFFC Team Mosaïque Jacmel youth will be creating a public art mosaic installation in Boynton Beach, Florida to honor the people of Florida who have generously come to the aid of the people of Haiti, after numerous natural disasters. The ACFFC youth, special Emissaries of the Haitian People, are here to say thank you. The events will take place November 2 – 19 2013, the month typically associated with Thanksgiving in the U.S. This public art project is to be registered with the State of Florida as part of Viva Florida 500, a statewide initiative led by the Florida Department of State, to highlight the 500 years of Florida history, people, places and events in present-day Florida and to celebrate diversity of culture. The ACFFC youth will also be bringing with them a mosaic mural memorializing the many Haitian lives lost at sea, and the perils of these journeys. This mural will be presented to Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc. (FANM) / Haitian Women of Miami. FANM will share the exhibition with the Haitian community. It is an organization founded in 1991 to work for the "social and political empowerment" of Haitian women and their families. In addition, the ACFFC team will be auditing academic classes at TLHS, visiting the Palm Beach Photographic Centre in West Palm Beach, the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, Clay-Glass-Stone Cooperative Gallery in Lake Worth and other social activities are being planned. Selected ACFFC team members will travel to Washington DC to visit the Haitian Embassy and Capitol Hill. PUBLIC EVENTS: Meet and Greet at TapTap Restaurant Date: Sunday November 3 Time: 4 pm - 7 pm 819 5th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 672-2898 Reception at Clay Glass Metal Stone Gallery Date: Friday November 8 Time: 6 pm - 9 pm 15 South J Street, Lake Worth, FL 561-588-8344 Reception sponsored by Fanm Ayitian de Miyami Location in Miami, TBD Date: Saturday November 9 Time: Evening, TBD (305) 756-8050 Reception at the home of ACFFC Board Member Dr. Connie Duke Location: Jupiter, FL Date: Saturday November 16 Time: 7 pm - 9 pm To RSVP and for directions: Dr. Connie Duke, Academic Dean, ITT Technical Institute 561-233-4932-office 561-628-5705-cell cduke@itt-tech.edu Reception at Institute of Mosaic Art in Berkeley, Ca. thanks to IMA and ACFFC Board Members Erin Rogers and Laurel True, Director of ACFFC Mosaique Jacmel program Date: Friday November 22 Time: Evening, TBD 805 Allston WayBerkeley, CA 510-898-1174 This is an extraordinary opportunity for ACFFC as an organization, for our youth, and for the community. The project is sponsored by Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice, and the Office of Public Diplomacy, Embassy of the United States, Port au Prince Haiti. The Office of Congresswoman Lois Frankel has been instrumental in achieving this goal. The Offices of the Ministries of Culture and Tourism in Jacmel, Haiti and the Mayor of Jacmel, Haiti have lent their support as have the Palm Beach County Cultural Council and the Palm Beach Photographic Centre. For additional information: Contact for Art Creation Foundation For Children www.acffc.org Judy Hoffman jh.acffc@gmail.com 561-247-3870 Contact for Toussaint L’Ouverture High School www.toussaintlouverture.org Major Joseph Bernadel jbernadeltlhs@aol.com 561-414-5465 
Tell Lisa you found out about her trip from The Real Haiti!
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2KBES MEDIA is the missing link in the Haitian Entertaiment Industry (HEI). Mission Our mission is to offer a comprehensive online guide for music, movies (TV shows), all the latest news and developments in the Haitian Entertainment Industry (HEI). Description 2KBES, the newest media company in the Haitian community and hub of the Haitian Entertainment Industry (HEI). A place where you’ll find the latest development in the Haitian Entertainment Industry (HEI), such as celebrity interviews, video premieres, movies, TV shows, performances, and venue entertainment. Our vision is to enrich the lives of our audience and to have a positive impact on our community. By achieving this vision, we strive to become the #1 promoter of the Haitian culture. We strive to improve the knowledge of the Haitian culture through quality business practices, involvement in societies and meetings… We seek to make our community a better place by maintaining the highest ethical standard in conducting our business and by being active in the community We pledge to place our customers’ interest above all else Some people ask me why I have The Real Haiti. Some tell me to open my eyes, that I am being taken advantage of by offering too much info/resources. Some ask me how will I ever make money. Going to Haiti is always an experience to learn, appreciate and envy for me. I learn that what I used to think is untrue. I appreciate things that I have/grew up with. I envy the simple life, the culture and the family bonds that Haitians have. All of these experiences have changed me as a person....for the better. I don't do this to get ahead, to impress anyone or to get rich. I experience things unbelievable to my previous judgements of a country misrepresented. I do it to educate others. I do it so that my children one day will have an archive of info different to the ones they will see on TV. Here are some of my favorite moments in Haiti... Jouk Li Jou Kan Foto 2013 - the 3rd annual Youth Photo Camp for Zanmi Lakay - is taking place July 26 - August 6, 2013 and there is an Indiegogo Campaign that will make it happen. The fundraising will help with unprecedented teaching and exhibition event. The opening night reception that includes local dancers, performances by the ACFFC kids, and other local Kanaval troupes, for the monthlong exhibition is Saturday August 3, 2013, at the Fosaj Art Center in Jacmel. PLEASE consider donating to this amazing foundation: http://igg.me/at/ZanmiLakay-JoukLiJou-PhotoCamp/x/697072 If you'd rather help with items on their wish list, visit their blog where you'll also find more information!
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