JOOLA is proud to partner with charities dedicated to spreading the love of table tennis worldwide. One of these organizations, Shakehand Youth, focuses on creating a brighter future for the youth of Haiti.

Meet Shakehand Youth’s founder, Mozart François, and his brother, Herold François—the duo who introduced organized table tennis to Haiti in October 1997.

Tell me a little bit about the origins of Shakehand Youth, how the idea came about and how did you bring it to life?

Mozart Francois, Haitian by birth, is a table tennis coach who has been active in the Boston area for many years. Mozart’s adult students learned that he would take off a few weeks, twice a year, to go back to Haiti, where he would work with his brother Herold to organize table tennis lessons and camps for young people. Mozart and Herold were partly financing their work in Haiti out of their own pockets. After the terrible earthquake that afflicted Haiti in 2010, Mozart was gone for about a month, organizing table tennis sessions even amidst the worst of the earthquake’s destruction. Not only did Mozart pay many of the expenses for this effort and by being gone for an extended time he missed out on income from his day jobs here in the Boston area. Seeing the Mozart’s efforts inspired some of his adult students to donate money to help offset his expenses. After a while, some of Mozart’s students created the USA Friends of the Association Haitienne de Tennis de Table (USAFAHTT). In 2024, USAFAHTT was renamed Shakehand Youth, in hopes that it might become better-known amongst table tennis players and other supporters here in the U.S.

Tell me about the country of Haiti? The people? And what this program means to them?

Haiti is a beautiful and culturally vibrant country that is also among the poorest places on earth. Its social and economic development are hindered by extreme vulnerability to natural disasters, political instability, increasing violence in some areas, and high levels of insecurity. The major earthquake in 2010 killed around 250,000 people and destroyed 2/3 of the country’s GDP. Since then, a major hurricane (2016) and another earthquake (2021) have only compounded the difficulties. The World Bank estimated that in 2023 many Haitian children would be living below the poverty line, and this has turned out to be true. The World Bank Human Capital Index has estimated that a child born in Haiti in 2023 would grow up to be only 45% as productive as they could be if they had access to quality healthcare and education. It estimated that over 20% of children were at risk of cognitive and physical limitations, and that only 78 percent of 15-year-olds would survive to age 60. This is the context in which we try to contribute to the lives of young people in Haiti through table tennis.

Can you talk about the Jean-Rabel Program and the Multi-Site Program? What makes each unique?

Over the years Mozart has organized table tennis programs in many different parts of Haiti. In recent years, however, the poor security in many places (including, and especially, the capital city Port Au Prince) has made it unsafe to organize table tennis activities in these areas for the time being. An exception, however, is Mozart’s home city, Jean-Rabel. Here, it remains possible to organize table tennis programs that take advantage of 2 things: (1) the existence of a Community Center in the city, which was built with the help of the Francois family some years ago; and (2) the presence in the local community of several table tennis coaches who have been trained personally by Mozart in years past. Over the 2024 Christmas period, Shakehand Youth supported a table tennis camp for young people in the Community Center over several days of the holiday. Expanding this program is dependent on providing improved equipment – including, and especially, additional table tennis tables. This is the focus of Shakehand Youth’s current efforts in Haiti. As and when the security situation improves in other parts of the country, we will look to expand our activities to other places.



What does a partnership with JOOLA mean for Shakehand Youth?

We are thrilled that JOOLA understands the great value that organized table tennis can bring to young people living in extremely difficult circumstances. JOOLA’s support is enabling us to send 6 professional quality table tennis tables to the Haitian City of Jean-Rabel. Once there, the equipment will support table tennis programs in a Community Center which is easily accessible by school students in the Jean-Rabel area. We realize that this is just a start, but it would not have been possible without JOOLA’s help. We are greatly encouraged to have such a prestigious partner from the world of table tennis as we seek to provide new table tennis opportunities to young people living in one of the poorest countries on earth.



Why table tennis?

As a common denominator and shared passion, sport can build bridges between communities regardless of their cultural differences or political divisions. In times of conflict or instability, sporting activities can provide participants with a sense of normalcy. Research has shown that participation in organized sport can help children overcome childhood traumas and promote their mental health and wellbeing. Table tennis is a serious sport that requires commitment, focus and dedication. At the same time, it can be played with comparatively little by way of infrastructure or capital investment and in a wide variety of physical and social settings.

How can someone get involved?

If you are interested in getting involved in our work, get in touch with us: PO Box. 242, Dracut MA. 01826.

Or by email: shakehandyouth@gmail.com.

Information about Shakehand Youth, and opportunities to donate to our cause online, can be found at: Shakehand-youth.com. We welcome interest from anyone who supports our mission to bring table tennis to young people in Haiti.