Help for Haitian Chess Family
Jan 30th, 2010 by Daaim Shabazz
The Chess Drum
http://www.thechessdrum.net
webmaster@thechessdrum.net
The world has been gripped by the horrific images stemming from the Haitian earthquake. There has been support to various non-govermental and humanitarian organizations. However, there is no way to know whether a given person will get the assistance they need. Families lost their homes, prized possessions and family records, so the burdens are heavy. The impact of these losses are incaluable. The Bonnet family is one of thousands of families experiencing this ordeal at this time.
Sabine Bonnet is a noted member of the Haitian chess community and led a major effort for youth chess with the L’Acadamie d’Echecs. The dream of teaching chess to the youth became a passion, but her dreams have been dashed for the time being. She is now facing a tremendous challenge in regaining a normal life.
Fortunately, she, her husband and children were able to escape serious injury. I spoke to her and she stated that she lost everything and things are “very difficult”. Her main concern seemed to be getting her two children (ages 7 and 5) back into school, but of course there are day-to-day needs as well.
Below is the link to a fundraiser for Sabine, her husband, Jean Rene and their children. While chess is the least of our concerns for Haiti at this moment, we hope that this will be a small example of the chess community supporting Haiti and its citizens. Please give what you feel you can give.
(Note: Thanks to Adia Onyango of New York who brought to my attention the chess initiative of Sabine Bonnet. Thereafter, we tried contacting Sabine and she eventually responded to both of us!)
Fundraiser for the Bonnet Family
http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2010/01/30/help-for-haitian-chess-family/
Thank you.