Our Haitian Heroes to host fundraising concert

SOUTH JORDAN — In the weeks since the walls crumbled and the masses were displaced in Haiti, Steve Eror, Seth Mott, Patricia Barnes and Brett Freeman have been working on a long-term strategy to help the tiny, devastated island nation recover.

The four and about 200 friends and acquaintances from around the world have mapped out plans that go beyond providing short-term emergency relief to get at what Eror calls the "progression of Haiti." And they're setting their sights on ambitious tasks that include microlending, mentoring and home construction.

Their group, Our Haitian Heroes, plans to kick-start a funding campaign to raise money to build some homes with a concert at 7 p.m. Friday at Bingham High School, 2160 W. South Jordan Parkway.

The group was birthed from a coalition of LDS Church missionaries who'd served in Haiti and rallied when they heard about the earthquake. It quickly expanded to include people from many different backgrounds who share both a longing and a drive to help. The group is nonpolitical, religiously diverse and raring to make a difference in a more permanent way.

"We want not to just build homes, but to teach them how to build homes that can last," said Eror, president of Our Haitian Heroes. "If you teach someone to run a construction business, he can hire people to go build homes."

The plan, he noted, is to create opportunities that help the long-impoverished country build an economy, not just homes.

Reality, though, says the first step is providing shelter, Eror said. A business plan will help them only after they've found a place to stay.

Among performers Friday is a young man who takes that issue very personally. Phaya, a hip-hop rapper and dental student in Orem, came from the poorer lower area of one of Port-au-Prince's best-known streets, Eror said. Phaya still has family, now homeless, there. He is performing at the concert to raise awareness and funds to shelter his and other families.

The other headliners are Allred and the Spencer Nielsen Band. Tickets are $10 at the door, with proceeds going to Our Haitian Heroes' construction efforts in Haiti. Donations can also be made to the group at any Wells Fargo bank branch.

More information is online at www.ourhaitianheroes.org.

e-mail: lois@desnews.com