About
Casegha:
CASEGHA-USA.-
Association des Anciens Scouts et Guides d'Haïti
Historic of Casegha-Usa..
On
February 25, 1975 responding to a meeting request from
Emmanuel Lafond, former Chief Scout of Haiti and Monique
Blanchard, former Chief Girl Guide of Haiti, a group
of former scouts and former girl guides of Haiti, living
in New York, gathered at the school auditorium of the
Sacred Heart School in Cambria Heights, New York, and
founded CASEGHA:
The Club of
Former Scouts and Guides of Haiti.
 But,
on January 30, 1982, a general assembly decided to bring
a change to the name of this organization since the
translation from French into English brought some interpretations,
which did not conform to their aims, and the word “Club”
was replaced by “Association”. The organization
kept the abbreviated name of “CASEGHA-USA”
since it was already known as such by the community.
With one hundred
and fourteen present at this gathering it went very
smoothly with fraternity and joy. That same night it
was decided of the orientation and aims of this new
association.
A
temporary board of directors was named and a decision
to extend the
membership to the non-scout spouses of the members of
this association was approved. On January 24, 1976 the
first elected board of directors was in place with Mr.
Emmanuel Lafond as the first president for a two-year
period.
During the first
25 years of it’s existence CASEGHA-USA, thru its
membership and following the principles of scouting
has devoted most of its activities in “Good Turns”,
helping the needy ones both in U.S and in our homeland,
Haiti. Mentioning just a few:
- Distribution of seeds to peasant-farmers in the
rural sections of Haiti.
- Construction of 2 water-reservoirs of 3,000 gallons
capacity each at St Laurent (Morne l’Hopital)
in the hills surrounding the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
- Participating financially in the construction of
a water-reservoir of 25,000 gallons capacity in Paillant,
rural section of Miragoâne (Haiti).
- Financial aid to Institut Montfort, an institution
specializing in the education and well being of deaf
mute and blind children.
- Greatly helped in the reconstruction of Grison-Garde
(north of Haiti) church and provided the underprivileged
student of the St Therese school with medical supplies,
food for lunch and clothing. We further supplied Grison-Garde
with a large number of tools and sewing machines badly
needed by the vocational school (carpentry and sewing).
- Provided generator and solar panel for light to
orphanage “Enfant Haitien, mon frère”
in Port-au-Prince and Little sisters of the poor in
Fond Baptiste (Haiti).
- Provided shelter and meals to 15 “Haitian
Boat People” during a period of 2 ½ months.
- Our choir group “La Chorale des Gens Heureux”
entertains such places as nursing Home for the elderly,
at mother’s day and at Christmas time.
The following
years we continued such an important mission by helping
both active Associations of Scouts and Girl Guides
of  Haiti
with their needs
and their aid to the Haitian community
during the hurricanes
“Jane” and others, especially in the Gonaïves
area and the North West of Haiti.
CASEGHA-USA is
a member of the Central Branch of the International
Scout and Guide Fellowship and has participated
since 1979 up to now to all the World Conference of
the ISGF, starting with its first delegation to Bergen,
Norway.
CASEGHA-USA received in New York the visit of 3 of
the coordinators of the Central Branch: Robert Stoessel,
Ines Levine and Colette Annaert.
CASEGHA-USA put out on a regular basis its newsletter,
which is now called “Entre-Nous”. This publication
keeps our members who reside out of New York informed
of all our monthly activities and are mentioned in our
yearly calendar.
Every year CASEGHA-USA organizes bus tours in the USA,
and sometimes overseas, especially after attending a
World Conference.
We own our office and meeting place located at 218-46
Hempstead Avenue in Queens Village, N. Y. 11429 since
1980. Our phone number and Fax number are the same (718)
464-0505 and our e-mail address: info@caseghausa.org
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"Look wide, and even
when you think you are
looking wide, look wider still!" |
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Baden Powell |
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