Timeline
  • April, 2011
    Distribute 10,000 seedlings from the Petit Goave nursery to over 100 farmers. These seedlings were raised for $1,000, and will produce $1.25 million in this rural community over the lives of the trees. We will also make final preparations for deployment of the IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Project
  • May, 2011
    Deployment of IEEE electricity project pilot stations. Six units which will power six businesses and 240 homes with electricity will be fabricated in Haiti and established in L’Azile, St. Etienne, Jeremie and Carrefour Poy.
  • January, 2011
    Two new nurseries were started in L'Azile and Petit Goave; to date we have planted 50,000 jatropha trees in Haiti, our goal for 2011 is to complete planting of 250,000. These trees will, over their lifetime, put $6.25 million dollars into the Haitian communities we work with.
  • November, 2010
    The Sirona Team meets with partners who will deploy the IEEE electricity pilot project in January. Shipment of equipment is scheduled for January, so business plans were collected and vetted, and logistical issues were covered in preparation for the launch of that new project.
  • October, 2010
    Sirona sends money collected by 6 year old Kian Amie to buy $400 worth of uniforms putting nearly 30 children into school in Haiti.
  • August, 2010
    Sirona distributes San Francisco Aid Package to 20,000+ people. In this distribution over 50 orphanages, 26 churches and 70 individual families were served. The distribution was run smoothly and safely by our in-country partners. We also met with L’Azile farmers to view their progress with the jatropha nursery and complete contract terms with their leadership committee. Seeds for the next nursery were deposited with the farmer’s committee.
  • June, 2010
    Sirona Completes the largest humanitarian aid effort in Northern California. Goods for more than 20,000 people were shipped to Haiti. These goods were collected by the San Francisco Fire Department and sorted by countless volunteers in the months following the earthquake.
    Haiti June 2010 
  • May, 2010
    Sirona travels to Haiti to meet with L’Azile coffee farmers and expands its jatropha farming project into their village. Later that month the initial nursery in L’Azile was started.
  • March, 2010
    The IRS formally recognizes Sirona Cares as an official non-profit organization with non-profit status retroactive to March, 2009.
  • Feburary, 2010
    Sirona Team returns to Haiti to evaluate their communities needs and prepare for shipment of supplies to in-country partners.
    Haiti Feburary 2010 
  • February, 2010
    United Nations International Women’s Day Michelle Lacourciere United Nations International Women’s Day
  • February, 2010
    Michelle Lacourciere and supporter Farah Makras were honored on United Nations International Women’s Day in San Francisco as an Unsung Heroines for their Haiti earthquake relief work. Her award was presented by Willie Brown at the Global Arts and Education awards ceremony.
  • January 12, 2010
    Earthquake devastates Haiti killing over 250,000 people and leaving more than 1.3 million homeless. The Sirona Cares for Schools program was launched. This program allows local public schools to receive sustainable income by soliciting the donation of used cooking oil from restaurants to be refined into biodiesel by Sirona Fuels. Once refined and sold, Sirona Fuels will donate 20% of the biodiesel sale price back to participating schools. (http://www.sironacaresforschools.com)
  • October, 2009
    Expansion into St. Etienne, Haiti. We began work in a new region on this trip to empower farmers along the road between Leogane and Jacmel. St. Etienne is a prime area for Jatropha cultivation geared at reversing deforestation and stabilizing hillsides.
    Haiti October 2009  Haiti October 2009 
  • August, 2009
    Work begins on the development of a rural electricity project with the IEEE. Sirona Cares was selected as the organization to ultimately deploy this project due to our strong knowledge of Haiti and our reliable partners there.
  • July, 2009
    Sirona Cares returned to Haiti. We support orphanages in Jeremie and Grand Goave, Haiti. We have linked these orphanages to support groups in America. We assisted with the digging of a well in Grand Goave and we have purchased locally produced food for the children supporting not only the orphans but the local farmers as well.
    Haiti July 2009  Haiti July 2009 
  • May, 2009
    We returned to a flooded Haiti to supported the orphanages we work with by bringing shoes, medicines, school uniforms and more supplies. We also met with our partners and made plans for additional nurseries to be set up.
    Haiti May 2009 
  • March, 2009
    The Sirona Team returned to Haiti to plant our first Jatropha Nursery in Cambry, near Les Cayes working with the El Shaddai Ministries International group and the Global Orphan Project.

    Haiti March 2009 Haiti 2009
    The Sirona Cares Foundation is legally formed.
  • January, 2009
    Sirona Fuels (http://www.sironafuels.com) began the effort to create sustainable development through biofuel. This torch was later taken up and carried as a non-profit endeavor by Sirona Cares, the not-for-profit sister corporation of Sirona Fuels a San Francisco based biofuel company.