On Thursday October 26th, 2017, at the Le Flambeau Foundation 10th Anniversary Awards Celebration held at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Gleacher Center in Chicago; Consul General of Haiti in Chicago Lesly Condé, delivered the following message.
Distinguished guests,
Dear friends of Haiti,
Dear compatriots,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am thrilled to be taking part in this prestigious event commemorating the tenth anniversary of Le Flambeau Foundation , an organization whose vocation coincides harmoniously with my most intimate preoccupations, and one of Haiti’s most urgent needs. With unadulterated enthusiasm, I bring you brotherly greetings from the Consulate General of Haiti in Chicago, and the Chicago Haitian Community.
It is, indeed for me a distinct privilege and an immense pleasure to welcome this philanthropic organization on behalf of the Chicago Haitian Community. There is much appreciation here for all the work that has been done during the past ten years, and much gratitude for the lives that have been changed.
Le Flambeau Foundation Board with Consul General, Chicago 102617" width="300" height="248" />Chicago, the city of Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable, is a well-chosen location for the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of Le Flambeau Foundation since this organization has been doing so much for education in Haiti. I also take this opportunity to, publicly, congratulate DuSable Heritage Association on bringing a very strong Haitian note into the worthwhile struggle toward obtaining for that illustrious son of our Motherland all the recognition he deserves in the city he founded.
At this point, let me thank the organizers of this event who have been thoughtful enough to invite me to be here among you. The work that Le Flambeau Foundation has been doing for the past ten years is quietly paving the way for the kind of future Haiti deserves. Since our young people represent our best investment in tomorrow, every time one is rescued from hopelessness, and encouraged to acquire self-confidence, one new leader is born, and Haiti’s future looks that much brighter.
In closing, I thank all of you whose support has, for a decade, been bringing hope to so many young lives. You have been reaching out and touching some deeply grateful people whom you will, most certainly, never meet. That makes you magnanimous indeed. Thank you for supporting Le Flambeau Foundation . Thank you for believing in my country’s future.
Lesly Condé
Consul General
(Pictured from left to right are Frantz Jacques, Vice-Consul of Haiti in Chicago; Gregory Collingwood, Le Flambeau Foundation Board of Directors; Joseph Puchner, Le Flambeau Foundation Board of Directors; Lesly Condé, Consul General of Haiti in Chicago; Sheri Colas-Gervais, Le Flambeau Foundation Board of Directors; Timothy W. Wright III, Le Flambeau Foundation Board of Directors; and Jean St.Lot-Gervais, President of Le Flambeau Foundation )