Francois returns to roots, strives to make a difference

Contributed photo
MAKING A DIFFERENCE — Donald Francois, left, formerly of Houlton sits with his sponsored mother Cindy Callnan during a recent visit. Francois has returned to his native Haitian village to pass along the knowledge he gained while a resident of Houlton.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Where there is no vision, the people perish.
    Not taking for granted all that he was given, former Houlton resident Donald Francois, who was sponsored to come to the United States by Cindy and Paul Callnan, returned to his Haitian village with a purpose to “make a difference.”
    “They know that I was lucky enough and blessed enough to come here [United States] and get an education,” he said. “So, by me coming back to the village now, I am their biggest hope. I will do my best  — pray and know God will provide a way.”
    Watching Francois’ video presentation of diseased and dying children, who lack good sanitation and education,  he simply said, “I was one of the children you saw there. I lived my whole life this way in the village. That’s why it’s a blessing for me to go back now and just bring changes in the village.”
     Francois lived in Houlton for five years, attended the University of Maine Presque Isle, Gordon College and finished his schooling in New Jersey.
    “God has a plan,” he said. “Now, I thank God every day for the blessing for the support and education I received here. I feel like Houlton is what I have become today since your environment is part of what you become.”
    Francois, who splits his time between Florida and Haiti, started a feeding program in 2007 in his home village of Terrier Rouge.
    “We are now feeding 250 children every Saturday,” he said.
    The feeding program consists of beans, rice and pasta, and after the children eat, they listen to a Bible story.
    “American kids may go to school or bed hungry, but in Haiti they actually die from starvation.”
    Francois noted that the United States in general compared to Haiti is blessed.
     “A lot of things we have, even if we take them for granted, in Haiti, they are a luxury,” he said. “It’s a luxury to have electricity in my village. It’s a luxury to have good running water in my village. If you eat one good meal a week, that is a luxury.
    But, Francois’ efforts didn’t stop with just feeding the children.
    “The problem among the children we were feeding, some were getting sick. They were getting a skin disease. So, we took them to the clinic,” he said.
    Two or three months later, the same child would be sick again and go to the clinic. About the third time around, doctors said the disease is a sanitation issue. They encouraged Francois to go see the environment that these children and adults live in.
    “We could keep taking them back to clinic or we could fix the problem for its origin,” Francois explained. “We go see how they live, it was unbearable.”
    Care 1 Bit was born from necessity and Francois’ vision and heart to feed and house those in need.
    “If you are born in a poor environment, you don’t know any better,” Francois explained. “People who will see the difference are people like me, who had the opportunity to come here and see how people are living. Then, when I go back there, I say, I have to come back and do something.  For them [the way they live] is normal. We are trying to find a way now to empower the people — after we try to save their lives and their childrens’ lives — with a new home and sanitation, eventually creating less dependency and aid.”
    The new housing project was developed because of the sanitation issue. Not only are children getting skin infections, but also others are dying from the recent cholera outbreak.
    “They go to a river or stream, they shower there and go to the bathroom there and that is the same water they drink,” added Francois. “Half of the people will die of starvation and disease.”
    A house costs approximately $7,000 to build and in multiple sets of houses, the cost is less expensive because material can be bought in bulk.
    Right now, Francois noted there are 450 families hoping they are among the next ones for a new home. To qualify for a new home, a person must own his own land and they must have children.
    But, every house built fosters hope.
    Fifteen local workers are hired to build the homes, so Francois has been able to employ 47 people from the village to work. The native Haitian home is made of sticks and mud, which isn’t insulating the people from the rain which flows inside the home.
    When a person receives a new home, the old one is torn down and start from scratch, placing the foundation above the ground and running iron rebar through the cement frame to make them earthquake proof and iron sheets on the roofs. Each home has two bedrooms, living room, dining room and one sanitation room with a toilet and shower stall.
    Once the family moves into their new home, Francois said, “We do have people who follow up with them to make sure they keep it clean.”
    In third world countries, big organizations have a multi-million dollar program called micro-credits and the “catch” is to get a loan you have to give some type of collateral.
    “They give a loan out to poor families,” said Francois. “The problem with that in a country like Haiti is you give the loan to the people and tell them to pay back an amount each month. Eighty percent of the people cannot read or write and 95 percent have no knowledge of business whatsoever. How do you expect these people to come back and make that work?”
    Most of all the aid from the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake was concentrated in Port-au-Prince. Care 1 Bit is one of the first groups who started rebuilding Haiti on the outskirts of the capital.
    Right now, funds for Care 1Bit are received by people’s good hearts, prayers and donations. Francois said that 100 percent of the money goes directly to the Haitian people.
    Francois hopes people will respond to the need in Haiti.
    “I encourage people to come to Haiti – for you to see – one thing for me to tell you and show you pictures, another thing for you to go and actually see how the people are living,” said Francois. “Hopefully, I can keep making changes in the village where I came from. It’s life changing. It’s a blessing the difference you are making in a life.”
    Francois said he is very grateful for his Houlton experience.
    “I wanted to come back and thank the people in town,” he said. “This is part of me, as well as everyone who helped me out.”
    Francois takes the support and love of Houlton to Haiti.
    “This is what I am doing for my village,” he said.
    Anyone wishing to partner with Francois and the Care 1 Bit program, which has attained a 501 (c) 3 status non-profit organization in 2009. can visit their website at www.careonebit.org or call the Callnans at 532-7036.