Biology 101

Now this is real education. Our secondary students in their classroom that is very wet from the rain had a visitor this morning. Mrs. Betsy, the cow, decided it was time to give birth so she found shelter from the storm and had her calf right there in the classroom. The calf can be seen only partially as it is hidden by the school desk right in front of Mrs. Betsy.

It has been raining for nine days. "When life serves you lemons, make lemonade!" seems the be the working principle here as the boys enjoy a pick-up game of basketball. The players are Jonas and Evens with their backs to the camera. Mackenson, Wilson, Pierre-Richard (in the air) and Djimy are the shirtless players.

Three of the boys take shelter under the old military truck as the rain pours down on Castel-Pere. 

This is what Castel-Pere looks like these days. 

Elson's birthday party in Maine. Dr. Cynthia wrote: Today was Elson's 19th birthday. We had a little party tonight- he said it was the first time he has ever had a party or a present for his birthday; it was also his very first birthday cake ever. He received a soccer ball, a small camera to record some of his experiences with, and a photo album. Later, Claudette came by and gave him a Bruce Lee video- likely the biggest hit of all!! He is a happy boy tonight. Next Tuesday, he will undergo another surgery- this time to remove the antibiotic rod in his arm and to perform bone grafting. He's nervous, but this should be the final surgery!
Love to all.

Tama wanted her photo taken this morning so I obliged. She was uncharacteristically timid today. Probably has to do with everyone else being in school which leaves no one as a playmate. 

Late afternoon yesterday Nick went out to Castel-Pere and climbed the rickety ladder to take this shot of the rebar put in place for the roof of the new primary school. Took almost two weeks to accomplish this. All the rebar was bent, cut, shaped and tied together with wire by hand. 

This is a long shot of the roof being poured this morning on one side of the school. Men ampil, chay pa lou. Translation: Many hands make for light work! We used about 75 bags of cement, a small hill of sand and lots of water. Labor intensive? You bet! 

Here is the fourth house we built for destitute families. This one is for Matante Maxo. Remember her house burned down? Well, you haven't met a more grateful woman than Matante.  

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This is the Piard family standing in front of their home. Needless to say, when it rains the interior of the house is flooded. The walls are made of leaves and branches woven together and provide very little protection from the elements. With the financial support of Cross International we will build them a new, safe home.

Could not resist adding this picture. She's a cutie and smiling as she heard the news that we will be building her parents and siblings a new and decent home. 

Here is Tanis Jolicoeur, our agriculture guy, with a truckbed full of fruit tree plantings. There's some chadeque (grapefruit), orange and lime in this bunch. More to come as we move towards sustainability. We have started to plant them near the housing so that they will serve double duty: as shade and as a source for vitamins. 

Apprentice photographer

The following five photos were taken by Johnny Fontange. Johnny is one of our junior staff who is very interested in computers, web design... We gave him a small, cheap digital camera and this is the result. As we say here -- pa pi mal!! That translates into -- not too bad !! Keep it up, Johnny.

It must be Saturday. These boys are washing their sneakers so that they will be nice and clean for Sunday morning church. 

Meet two of our Secondary School students. The smiles say it all ! 

This is our first Secondary School class being held in a space between shipping containers. This is only temporary. 

Meet Connie Basso who is with us for two months to help with the store project. Connie is from SoCal where she had a successful retail business. Thank you, Connie, for giving of your time, energy and self to help the kids. 

This little blue house was once our kitchen at Castel-Pere, then it was a storage depot and now it's our store. We sell all manner of cold drinks, bread, cheese, canned milk and we make fresh sandwiches for our workers and staff. It's a chance for the boys to learn some business skills on a small scale.