Sharing wisdom

 

MaTante, in red above, meets the children daily.  Today's group was 10 to 12 year old boys and the theme was "Choices and Consequences".  MaTante has been a pillar of strength, faith and love for all of us here at ESPWA.  Her talks are sprinkled with anecdotes and humor making them memorable.

Rotary Clubs of Greensboro

Berthony stands in between his car and our new bus 

This 28 passenger, Ford diesel bus arrived last evening from PaP.  A donation from the Rotary Clubs of Greensboro, NC, it was shipped last March and took all this time to get here due to the bureaucratic nightmare of customs in Haiti.  Once hoses, belts and batteries were replaced it ran like a charm and made it safely home.  We are very thankful to the Rotarians who practice what they preach--service above self.  May God bless y'all!

Thank you

Anna, Katy, Fei Fei, Katy, Tony, Max and Len 

Representative students from our pre-school, our primary school and secondary school expressed their gratitude to our friends from North Carolina for all the work they've been doing and for their friendship.  It was short and sweet but the 'thanks' was heartfelt.

Happy Birhday, Berthony

 

 MaTante, Berthony and Renold 

Friends of Berthony gathered this afternoon to wish him all the best as he celebrates his birthday.  We had stuffed pastries, pizza, a lop-sided cake and the obligatory sparkling wine.  We wish him joy, health and much success.  Many happy returns, Berthony.

Women's Day

An excerpt from Paige's Blog:


To some, today means Tuesday. To others, it means Mardi Gras... Fat Tuesday... or Spring Break. Today is Women's Day. Today we recognize the women of the world. The mothers, sisters, nieces, and daughters. Today, the women of Espwa celebrated with our sisters in the Les Cayes prison. 

Bearing gifts of lotion, soap, and personal hygiene products, myself, Linda, our child care director Bernonie, and a team of young college girls from North Carolina loaded up our vehicle to celebrate the life of Woman. Our friend from the UN, Danielle, and a Les Cayes policewoman were able to arrange a small "party"- juice and an hour and a half outside of their cell- to honor the women incarcerated. It was a moment of solidarity. Led by an inmate with the face of an angel, we sang, danced, presented our gifts, and Bernonie gave a speech worth remembering: 

"...Today is our day. Today, all women unite. The merchant women in the streets carrying baskets of fruit... The women at home caring for their children... the women working desk jobs... the teachers, the police officers, the prisoners. Today, we are one. Today, we remember our rights. Our rights that allow us to never be defeated. Our rights that give us the power to speak our minds. Our rights that will let nobody take advantage of us. Our right to say no. Today we gather together. Today is our day..." 

Today, we weren't American women, Canadian UN women, Haitian policewomen, and Incarcerated women. 
Today, we were just women. 
Today, we were one.

ESPWA video

If you have a moment, actually 12 minutes and 11 seconds, please click on the Pwoje Espwa video just below my photo on the left.  It was filmed and directed by Chris Irr who was one of my alter servers when I was stationed in Kodiak, Alaska.  His dad, Frank, produced it and it is beyond great.  Check it out and give us some feedback.  Mesi.

Classroom

Thanks to Max Kern and his mission groups, we are able to build this classroom, an addition to the overcrowded primary school.  Max and his group are also repairing the screens in the children's village, painting secondary classrooms, fixing up the homes at Sitwon...

Max is a blessing!