Foundation hosting event to raise support for Haiti

MIDDLETON, Wis. (WMTV) - The country of Haiti has had a do not travel, level four advisory from the U.S. State Department for most of the last three years. And, at the end of July, the U.S. government ordered non-emergency government employees to leave the country immediately.

It has prevented a local group, which has long supported children in the small mountain village of Fond Blanc, from visiting. But it does not mean their support has stopped.

Tia Bunz, the executive director of the Fond Blanc foundation, said the situation in the city is grim.

“It is really bad,” Bunz said. “80% of the city of Port-au-Prince is controlled by gangs now.”

The Fond Blanc Foundation school is in a secluded mountain away from the city. People have been moving up to that mountain and the village of Fond Blanc, because it is safe from gangs.

The people there are trying to create a sustainable ecosystem with their gardens and farms, and the foundation wants to build a medical clinic so they don’t have to go to the city.

Bunz said community support is key.

“We really put a lot of pressure on raising money here to be able to help our partners up in Haiti, and so right now I think it’s just financial,” Bunz said.

And the foundation is hosting their 9th annual Rally on the Runway fundraiser in Middleton this Friday.

The purpose of the event is to raise funds for the foundation’s work in Fond Blanc, Haiti.

The event will be in the Capital Flight Hangar at the Morey Airport in Middleton from 7 to 11 p.m.

To find more information about the event, or to donate to the foundation, visit fondblanc.org.

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