Our Story
Si Ayiti Te Pale — which translates to “If Haiti Could Speak” — was born from the silence too many young people are forced to carry. Founded by a community of artists, educators, and healers, our movement gives that silence a voice through music, visual art, storytelling, dance, and digital expression.
We believe in the radical power of Haitian culture — not as a relic, but as a living force capable of transforming futures.
Our Mission
To provide Haitian and Haitian-descended youth with transformative platforms for cultural expression, emotional healing, and identity affirmation — locally and globally.
Our Vision
A world in which Haitian youth are recognized as cultural architects — creators of art, ambassadors of truth, and leaders of a reimagined Haitian narrative on the global stage.
Our Focus Areas
Music & Sound Healing
Sound as therapy, identity, and resistance.
Visual Arts & Design
Painting stories that textbooks erase.
Storytelling & Poetry
Words that reclaim and reimagine.
Digital Content Creation
Youth voices amplified through modern media.
Dance & Movement
The body as a vessel of cultural memory.
Community & Mental Wellness
Healing circles, support, and belonging.
FOUNDERS' MESSAGE
To speak of Haiti is to speak of love, memory, pain, resilience, dignity, and possibility.
Si Ayiti Te Pale was born from a deep conviction that the voices of Haitian and Haitian-descended youth matter — not tomorrow, not someday, but now. Across Haiti and throughout the Diaspora, too many of our young people carry invisible burdens: displacement, silence, generational trauma, cultural misunderstanding, humiliation, identity struggles, and the painful feeling of loving a country the world too often reduces to tragedy. Yet despite everything, Haiti continues to live in the hearts of its children.This movement exists because we believe Haiti is not voiceless. Haiti speaks through its youth.
It speaks through poetry and drums. Through dance and film. Through stories whispered between generations. Through grief transformed into art. Through courage transformed into leadership. Through the dreams of young people who still dare to imagine a better Haiti and a more united global Haitian community.
At the Jacquelin Montalvo Despeignes Foundation, New York City Coalition for Educating Families Together, and Fondation des Gens Devoués pour le Développement D’Haiti, we have always believed that education, culture, community engagement, and human dignity are interconnected. We believe healing and empowerment must happen together. We believe culture is not decoration — it is survival, memory, resistance, diplomacy, and medicine.
Si Ayiti Te Pale is therefore more than a festival. It is a global cultural and artistic movement rooted in truth, healing, identity, and renaissance. It is a sacred space where Haitian youth and Haitian-descended youth can speak openly, create fearlessly, reconnect proudly, and help shape the future of Haiti and its Diaspora.
We are building bridges:
between Haiti and the world,
between generations,
between memory and future,
between pain and hope,
between silence and voice.
We invite artists, students, educators, families, organizations, and communities everywhere to join us in this movement of remembrance, expression, healing, and transformation.
Because Haiti is still speaking.
Because Haiti is still alive.
Because Haiti’s children still carry the power to help rebuild its future.
With hope, love, and solidarity,
Rose Amazan
Farah Despeignes
Guy-Robert Pierre
The rest of the team at Si Ayiti Te Pale
The Teams at
Fondation des Gens Devoués pour le Développement D’Haiti
New York City Coalition for Educating Families Together (NYC CEFT)
The Jacquelin Montalvo Despeignes Foundation (JMD)
Our Journey in Four Movements
1
Remembering
Honoring the roots and stories that define Haitian identity.
2
Expressing
Creating space for authentic voices and artistic freedom.
3
Healing
Processing trauma and finding strength through community.
4
Reimagining
Imagining and building the future we choose.
Join Our Journey
Whether you are a youth, an artist, an educator, or an ally — there is a place for you in this movement.