If you walk past the Live Oak Pavilion on the Boca campus on a Wednesday afternoon, you’ll likely hear a mixture of languages coming from inside – part English and part Creole. This is a Konbit Kreyol meeting trademark. FAU’s Haitian Student Associate seeks to promote Haitian culture while educating members about life in America and succeeding after graduation.

The club’s name comes from the Haitian words Konbit, meaning to gather in a group, and Kreyol, a term for the Haitian population that the club uses to tie itself to its roots.

“We try to keep [the meetings] in English,” Konbit Kreyol President Regine Lafontant says, “and some members say, ‘why don’t we just have it in Creole,’ but we want to be open to all cultures.”

Konbit Kreyol is FAU’s largest club, with 250 active members and 500 members altogether, according to Lafontant. Between 100 and 150 members attend the weekly meetings.

“Haitian culture is underrepresented at FAU,” Konbit Kreyol Vice President Dawrance Constant says. “There are thousands of Haitians on campus and we want to make the entire university aware of things that are happening in our community.”

One of the ways Konbit Kreyol raises awareness is through its many events each year, which include parties, fundraisers, community service opportunities and outreach programs. The group’s largest program is College Outreach. Club members visit high schools and promote college, handing out FAU applications and financial aid information.

“We go to at least 10 schools each year,” Lafontant says, “and at the end of the year, we gather them and give a tour of FAU.”

The club’s fundraisers, which include parties, Haitian art exhibits, and sponsorship from area businesses, bring in money that Konbit Kreyol gives to one incoming student each year as a scholarship.

Konbit Kreyol also performs community service though helping out at area churches, maintaining a tutoring program at Boca Middle School and sending club members to any Haitian events in the area.

“When we [set up programs],” Constant says, “it gives people a sense of responsibility, and when they get out in the real world it’s like second nature.”

The club’s largest event of the year will be held on the Boca campus from March 21 – 28. Konbit Kreyol Week provides different activities each day that celebrate Haitian culture. The activities include a cultural debate between different Caribbean countries, College Outreach Day, when high school students the club has recruited visit FAU, free Haitian food handed out in the Breezeway, a pageant in which the club anoints Mr. and Mrs. Konbit Kreyol, and Haiti Outreach, a fundraiser that raises money the club sends to schools in Haiti.

Konbit Kreyol also brings in members of the community, such as doctors and lawyers, to educate club members about life beyond FAU.

“We feel that college is a training ground where you get experiences to help you in life,” Constant says. After graduation, “being that they have succeeded, they’ll later be able to help others who are less fortunate.”

Though the club is involved in many aspects of college and Haitian life, Lafontant says its biggest strength is its unity.

“We stick together to get the work done while having fun,” she says. “I invite everyone and anyone to come. We like suggestions on how we can make the club bigger and better and stronger.”

Konbit Kreyol meets every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Live Oak Pavilion Room A on the Boca campus. To become an active member, students must attend three meetings, two social events and at least one community service project.

For more information, visit www.KonbitKreyol.com.