MoneyGram awards grant for Haiti education program
PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI – The MoneyGram Foundation announced a grant awarded to well-known education advocate LitWorld at a recent event in Port-au-Prince.
The grant funds provided by the MoneyGram Foundation allow LitWorld to expand its key library program inPort-au-Prince, which provides the local community with urgently needed literacy education and access to quality books in Haitian Creole and French.
The MoneyGram Foundation joined LitWorld in welcoming more than 450 members of the local community, including 150 children, to celebrate the grant at the annual World Read Aloud Day event on February 24, 2016.
“The MoneyGram Foundation is honored to invest in LitWorld’s highly impactful literacy programs in Haiti. The foundation and LitWorld share a mission of transforming the lives of children through essential education tools,” said Pamela H. Patsley, executive chairman, MoneyGram International. “MoneyGram believes there is nothing more vital to success in life than access to basic education, including the ability to read and write.”
The grant, worth more than $45,000 USD, awarded to LitWorld benefits nearly 500 children in Port-au-Princeand primarily funds the expansion of LitWorld’s year-round LitClubs, LitCamps and library programs in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area.
Haitian woman faces drug smuggling charges after JFK nab
QUEENS,NY – A Haitian and American who travelled from two different Caribbean countries with cocaine in their luggage have been nabbed by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and now face federal narcotics smuggling charges.
CBP officers intercepted passenger Elisabethmone Lewis, a United States citizen who arrived from St. Lucia, and Anne Cadet, a Haitian citizen arriving from Haiti, at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport earlier this month.
In a release issued yesterday, the CBP said Lewis presented herself for examination on arrival on March 5 and officers noticed that the bottom of her suitcase was unusually thick.
Cadet was intercepted the following day after officers made a similar observation about her suitcase.
The luggage was searched in each case and cocaine was discovered.
Lewis was attempting to smuggle approximately three pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of US$59,000, while Cadet had five pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of US$77,000.
“These seizures demonstrate our officers vigilance and daily commitment at JFK, in keeping prohibited and dangerous narcotics off the streets and out of our communities,” said Robert E. Perez, Director, Field Operations in New York for CBP.
Haitian American Josue Pierre announces candidacy for Brooklyn district leader position
BROOKLYN, NY (KINGS COUNTY POLITICS NEWS SERVICE) – In a move that will help consolidate Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte’s growing political power in Flatbush and Ditmas Park as well as reflecting the changed demographics of the area – from predominately Jewish to predominately Caribbean – Josue Pierre announced his candidacy for the male district leader of the 42nd Assembly District last night.
The announcement came at Bichotte’s Shirley Chisholm Democratic club meeting with Bichotte and club president Blondell Lighty in attendance. Both Bichotte and Pierre are proud Haitian-Americans and represent the growing Haitian-American political power in the borough.