from Ann Goellner:
Recently I returned from the annual meeting of the International Association of Beauforts in Beaufort (Jura) France (May 18-20, 2013). Your readers may recall that this French-based organization unites towns of the same name around the world, whether of French or English heritage, in a spirit of cultural exchange. Polly Hagle and I were not the only English-speakers as this year we were joined by a couple from Beaufort, Australia.
At the Association’s business meeting, we requested a grant in support of the Good Samaritan School in Beaufort, Haiti which offers basic education to 250 youngsters aged 5 to 12 in this farming village one hundred miles north of Port au Prince. Earlier I sent the editor a copy of a “thank you” letter from the Foundation supporting this school, and I thought it might interest your readers to know that the International Association of Beauforts voted to grant the Good Samaritan Foundation more than 500 euros to complete their building project.
Both France and the United States have a history of involvement in Haiti which makes this school a particularly appealing “sister cities” project. Your readers who are interested can see a website for the Good Samaritan School in Beaufort, Haiti. It could be seen as a “miracle” that a poor rice-farming village in Haiti would have a school, but it is a result of the commitment of Haitians from this village that the school has been established. And we in other Beauforts are very pleased to continue their support.
