Orphanage receives $10,000 worth of items thanks to Boomer’s Legacy Fund

Nearly $10,000 worth of items will be awarded to an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti from the Boomer’s Legacy Fund thanks to the efforts of a Canadian Armed Forces member.

Maj. David Roberge, a Plans & Evaluation Staff Officer within the United Nations headquarters in Port-au-Prince, was the driving force behind this initiative due to his deployment to the Caribbean nation during Operation HAMLET, Canada’s participation with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

“The opportunity to deploy to Haiti and to get involved with the orphanage showed me how lucky I was. I was born in this area and the kids growing up in orphanages, that could have been me. Not everyone was lucky like I was, so I wanted to help,” said Roberge.

Thanks to his efforts, Foyer de l’Action pour l’Avenir will receive household items, school materials, potable water and children’s clothing. Specifically, the orphanage will receive a refrigerator, an oven, a generator, a year’s supply of potable water, 12-bed mattresses, children’s clothing and shoes, and school materials—including uniforms and books for each child.

CAF members and the orphanage have had a longstanding relationship for many years now. Members deployed to Haiti often visit the orphanage and provide support and spend time with the ten children, aged six to 15.

The orphanage does not receive government funds and relies entirely on provide donations.

Since it was established in 2006, Boomer’s Legacy has provided funds so that CAF members serving around the world could contribute to areas most affected by war and poverty.

The fund is named after Cpl. Andrew “Boomer” Eykelenboom, a CAF medic, who was killed in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber on August 11, 2006.