Haiti Salt Project joins the GG-DWC
The Haiti Salt Project (HSP), a leading producer and distributor of fortified salt in Haiti, has joined the University of Notre Dame’s Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child (GC-DWC).
Founded in 2006 as part of the University of Notre Dame Haiti Program, HSP distributes fortified salt to fight lymphatic filariasis (LF) and iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in Haiti. Its production facility is the leading Haitian supplier of packaged salt, under its “Bon Sel Dayiti” brand name, to the retail, foodservice, food-processing, and industrial markets.
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with the Haiti Salt Project,” said Dr. Neil Boothby, the director of the GC-DWC. “Their addition to our team paves the way for an innovative collaboration of education and nutrition initiatives that addresses the needs of the whole child, creating sustainable pathways out of adversity for children in Haiti and beyond.”
HSP works as a non-profit in the Congregation of Holy Cross-Haiti, in coordination with the Haitian Ministry of Health and with technical support from Cargill, Inc. HSP is a major supplier of fortified salt to Haitian school-meal programs, which provide subsidized or free meals to students in need, and is an intellectual leader and advocate for the nutritional and educational impact of serving meals prepared with fortified salt in Haitian schools. Given its vast experience and footprint in Haiti, HSP is well-poised to collaborate with the GC-DWC’s Strong Beginnings initiative and to improve the educational outcomes of children in Haiti through crucial improvements to nutrition and the prevention of LF and IDD.
Joining the GC-DWC from Notre Dame’s College of Science, HSP will also continue its work of developing a self-sustaining business model as a social-enterprise, working to improve public health and to support future economic growth in Haiti. This will include HSP’s new Cap-Haitien Initiative that will strive to distribute fortified salt to 3 million Haitians in northern Haiti through a new distribution program and processing facility in development for Cap-Haitien.
“Teaming up with GC-DWC is a major step forward for HSP and our common goal of helping the people of Haiti, particularly the children of Haiti,” according to Jim Reimer, the director of HSP. “Working together with the Strong Beginnings initiative and leveraging our respective resources and relationships is an auspicious opportunity. We are excited for what lies ahead.”
The Institute for Educational Initiatives’ Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child at the University of Notre Dame collaborates with researchers and practitioners to ensure the wellbeing—physical, emotional, social, and cognitive—of children and adolescents in low-resource and conflict-affected settings. Using an innovative whole child development approach tailored to context-specific needs, we translate research into timely and thoughtful action, adapt research tools to improve the development of learning programs and policies, and activate systems such as families, schools, communities to ensure that children and adolescents can thrive.
