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WHO WE HELP

At Purple Cake Day we know we can't do everything. That is why in 2020 we are concentrating on supporting the wonderful Children of Haiti Project - a transformative education project in Haiti.

OUR PROJECT

HAITI - Children of Haiti Project (COHP)

COHP two girls COHP students COHP boy face COHP logo 2013

Just weeks after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti the Children of Haiti Project was set up. The goal: to take children living in severe poverty in a tent camp with very limited or no previous access to schooling, and provide them with good quality education through to Year 8 level – an opportunity that would be given to an average child in New Zealand.   

The aim was to be a game-changer for these kids – raising Haiti's future leaders from some of the poorest kids in the neighbourhood. 

The following year (2011) the Kenbe La Foundation & Purple Cake Day came on board to help this dream come through. This has been achieved with outstanding results – beyond expectations.  

So in September 2018, the COHP School took the bold step to see these young people through to the previously unimaginable goal of a secondary school graduation! And Purple Cake Day aims to continue as a part of that.

And bear in mind, these students' home lives are incredibly challenging – most still live in small concrete or metal shacks, without toilets, electricity or running water, often 10 people to a room, and the average level of education for the parents is about two years.

AN 'OASIS'

The students come to this school for more than just reading and writing. They also receive hot meals, regular health check-ups and an education programme that is progressive, creative and respectful of their needs and rights. This project has become an oasis for these young people. 

Download 1 page about COHPVideo - Our partner project COHP : Meet Mikerlange

Purple Cake Day from 2012 to 2018

Purple Cake Day has raised NZD $396,738 for the following projects:

HAITI - Children of Haiti Project and Henri Christophe School

COHP kids in class girl writing
COHP                                                                                             Henri Christophe

Purple Cake Day funds have supported the costs of providing Children of Haiti Project school students with an education, two meals daily and medical care since 2012.

Henri Christophe School rebuilt their entire school destroyed in the earthquake, and Purple Cake Day funds supported the building of new 3-classroom facility.

NEPAL - First Steps Himalaya (FSH)

Debaki- Parachute The teacher Classroom after renovation

FSH bring pre-school and primary classrooms to life in rural Nepal. Classes that were once dirty and bare are now clean, dry, warm, furnished and equipped with stimulating education materials. Children who were once left unattended now learn in safe, nurturing, child-friendly environments. FSH train and support teachers in modern methods, rather than traditional rote learning, ensuring better educational outcomes for the children. 

Purple Cake Day funds supported the transformation of 18 classes in 23 communities. Teachers are trained and motivated resulting in huge improvements in the behaviour and learning by the children. Parents are recognising the value of education which creates positive and long term economic growth and social development within these rural families and communitiesVideo - Our Partner Project FSH : Meet Shristhi

NEPAL - In Time Trust

KBschool5 KBschool3 KBschool1 In Time Trust Logo

Purple Cake Day funds supported the In Time Trust to create a library at the Kailesh Bodhi School in Jumla, North West Nepal, giving 297 children and their teachers their first real access to books. 

NEPAL - Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust

From the class Kids In Classroom The playground Himalayan Trust Logo

The Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust partnership with Purple Cake Day provided scholarships for secondary aged students in the Solokhumbu region who would not normally able to attend college, due to the cost and distance of the schools from their homes.

KENYA - Hilde Back Education Fund (HBEF)

Classroom HBEF 2013 Girl HBEF 2013

HBEF provides 4-year secondary school scholarships and vital materials like school uniforms, books and stationary to bright children from poor families. It also funds leadership training and psycho-social support development for teachers to support student success.  Purple Cake Day fundraising has so far enabled 14 scholarships to be awarded to top ranked children in need, who would otherwise never get to secondary school. 

HBEF was founded by United Nations human rights specialist Chris Mburu, who came from a poor village in Kenya. Chris’ life was drastically changed by an anonymous donation of $15 monthly that made it possible for him to go to school. After graduating with a Harvard Law degree, Chris tracked down the woman who had made it possible, starting a foundation in her name. HBEF currently supports over 500 Kenyan students.  The story of HBEF is told in the award-winning documentary film 'A Small Act'. Get more information here.

Video - Our Partner Project HBEFVideo - Meet David who wants to be a doctor

Emergency Fund - Vanuatu
Vanuatu mother Unicef Unicef 2 In Aid of Unicef New Zealand




The 2015 Purple Cake Day Emergency Fund helped children in Vanuatu affected by Super Cyclone Pam which hit on 13th March 2015, and is said to be the worst natural disaster to ever strike the country.

The small Pacific island nation has a total population of 264,000 and more than half of these (171,000) were impacted, of which 82,000 are children. Homes, schools and livelihoods were destroyed.  In partnership with UNICEF NZ,  Purple Cake Day Emergency Funds provided clean water, food, shelter and school-in-a-box kits for children in Vanuatu.
The first ever Purple Cake Day in 2011

$15,000 for the Children of Haiti Project (COHP)
COHP kids  

The 84 children of the COHP School, in Port-au-Prince Haiti, were grateful for the $15,000 raised by the first ever Purple Cake Day in 2011. Funds went towards a daily hot meal, medical care and school uniforms. Living in a tent camp nearby, erected after the Haiti earthquake in 2010, these children come to school for more than just reading and writing. COHP provides them with an education programme that is progressive, creative and respectful of the children’s needs and rights.

$15,000 for the Christchurch Earthquake Emergency Response

Journey of Hope
   When a magnitude 7 earthquake hit Christchurch, NZ a week before the first ever Purple Cake Day in 2011, thousands of children in Canterbury lost homes and schools and suffered severe long term disruption to their lives. Purple Cake Day asked its supporters to double their efforts to help children affected by earthquakes in both Haiti and NZ . Funds raised were donated to Save the Children NZ’s Journey of Hope Programme.
Other Projects since 2010

Purple Cake Day is an initiative of the Kenbe La Foundation Charitable Trust, which was established in 2010 in response to the devastating Haiti earthquake. Learn here about the first groups of children we helped.

Henri Christophe School

Construction School group Thumbsup HC Kids Hp logo

Access to the Henri Christophe school is on dirt road about a ¼ mile from the road leading to the town of Leogane - close to the epi-centre of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.  This school, with 120 children and 7 teachers, was destroyed but within 3 months the community had a temporary school up and running.  With the support of Haiti Partners and the Kenbe La Foundation Charitable Trust, 3 new classrooms have been constructed to increase student capacity. Three 20 foot shipping containers filled with a donated goods, including a pre-fabricated school building, school furniture, education materials, sports equipment and medical supplies, were sent from New Zealand to Haiti to support this school and others in the community.

Source of Hope School

Under Canvas Tent classroom New School Room middle-boy-smile
The Foundation’s original project was the destroyed ‘Source of Hope School’ in the rural community of Tom Gato, Leogane. More than 100 children in this village were affected when the 2010 Haiti earthquake collapsed their school building.

We provided and facilitated direct support with educational resources, clothes, toys, food, seeds for crops, sleeping mats, tarpaulins, 300+ Shelterbox tents for school and community use, plus teacher and administrator salaries for three months.   Partnering with Tearfund UK, we donated a further USD $5,000 to support the reconstruction efforts being led by the local community. In May 2011 the rebuilt ‘Source of Hope school was inaugurated, opening its doors to the children.
How we help
Teachers and students At Purple Cake Day we invest in improving the lives of children with limited or no access to quality education. By partnering with established projects we ensure effective and direct benefit to children in need.

Funds are used to buy school stationary, books, classroom furniture, computers and other educational resources. We provide for uniforms, scholarships for children from poor families, literacy programmes, teacher training, and the renovation and building of clean, safe child-friendly classrooms. Money raised also pays for meals for children who would otherwise go hungry at school, and health programmes.

The impact is notable and the benefits are wide reaching within their families and communities. The children we help, often the poorest of the poor, receive learning opportunities otherwise not available to them. This gives them education and hope.

About Purple Cake Day

Purple Cake Day is a charity event that supports children worldwide to receive the education they need to break the poverty cycle and create a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities. NZ Registered Charitable Trust No. CC44756		  
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