A photo for Gayle. Johnny is very happy to say BONJOU to his godmother, Gayle. Johnny says, "Thanks for your generous gifts. May Our Father bless you many times over. Mwen renmen ou ampil! " 

The good, the bad and the ugly

I try to be positive about life here, and with good
reason: the kids are doing well, the agricultural
projects are bearing fruit (a little pun), many
friends are giving us wonderful support back in their
home countries. . . but at times, one must accept the
negative, too. This is a photo of Jean-Gardy, one of
our external boys. He lives at home with his ailing
grandmother, sister and younger brother. We help them
with school expenses, medical care, rent and food so
that they can remain together as a family. Two nights
ago, Jean-Gardy was shot twice by a thug who stole the
small motorcycle he used as a taxi. He is lucky that
the wounds were superficial. Another graduate of
Pwoje Espwa, James Esperance, was also recently robbed
at gun-point, and although he was spared a bullet
wound, his taxi-moto met the same fate as that of
Jean-Gardy. These two boys work hard, they were fast
becoming completely self-sufficient, and then disaster
struck. It’s an all too common tale here in Haiti.
James is completely depressed and Jean-Gardy is still
in shock. Please add them to your prayer list.

This is Enel who is our principal painter. He's doing some excellent work under the supervision of Raymond. 

First house in the new neighborhood to get a coat of paint. Still needs some trim work but looks pretty good already. 

Before and after. What a treat! 

The latest creations from our Arts and Crafts Department. All are for sale and the profit goes to continuing our efforts to train our young people and helping them become independent. Dimensions and prices are all different and you will soon be able to order them from our friend, Connie, at http://konnyskorner.blogspot.com Check it out as it is well worth the visit.

This is the first step. The boys are digging a foundation for the new carpenters' workshop. The workshop is a gift from Father Joseph Balthazar who will be joining us as soon as it is finished.  

Joanes, his two apprentices and Brother Edmond proudly show off the staircase they are putting in for the Quad. 

Fresh salad fixins straight from our gardens!! Those of you up north who have to buy veggies and such from big supermarket chains don't know what you're missing!! Tasty fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes, crisp lettuce, sweet green peppers. All organic, no chemicals. Oh, the sacrifices we have to endure here are just indescribable.  

This is Brother Edmond Genick. He has tons of experience in construction and is helping us with the Quad, the second Sixto, the new carpenters' workshop, latrines for the school... Yes, we are keeping him busy. Brother Edmond is no stranger to us. He worked with us before and asked to come back as it was so much fun!! 

Meet Doris Boisvert. This is the fifth year she comes to spend six months or so with us. Here you see her in her little depot cutting some kingsize blankets down to size so that they fit the small beds of the children.

Mr. Charles Henry Baker, a presidential candidate here in Haiti, came to visit us this morning. He gave a a short and sweet talk (my favorite kind) to the kids and was warmly applauded.  

Mr. Baker receives a token of our appreciation for his visit.  

Mr. Baker watches as our folklore dancers entertain.  

Welcome Jeff and Pouchon, our newest boys. Their mother died and an aunt tried her best to care for them but could not so they are now part of the Espwa family. 

These three photos are of the students in their new school. These two are paying very close attention.  

This is Rico, one of our tumbling acrobats and one tough little guy, working out a math problem on the board. 

This is a photo of the kindergarden class. See how bright it is compared to the old school. 

A woman came by with her four sons. She is desperately poor and widowed. She begged us to take in her four sons while she will keep her six daughters with her. The family does not eat every day nor do the children attend school. The boys will be moving to Castel-Pere and we will try and find some aid for the mom and her daughters. The boys are (from left) Rony, Junior (tallest), Johnny and Davidson. 

Here's a great shot of the new school with the children's vegetable gardens in the foreground. If you think the school is good looking now, just wait until it is painted. 

Sony, Johnny, Martin, Junior, TiWawa and Pierre-Luc digging the foundation for the bathrooms that will service the children of the new school. Happy bunch, eh? 

Maxime and Ebel are preparing orange juice for the children at Castel-Pere. It takes three hours to produce 8 five-gallon buckets. 

Life can overwhelming at times...

This is Ti Papi. Two days ago one of my older boys came to see me and told me about this young man he had seen at the hospital who had no one to care for him. He was in an accident; his foot was crushed by a truck and the Cuban doctor decided that amputating was the only way to go. Ti Papi has no parents, no family and no home. He used to sleep in the market stalls at night and his work was to transport goods for the market merchants very early in the morning and again late in the afternoon. The hospital wanted him out as soon as possible so they could give his bed to a paying patient. We took him in but quickly realized that his needs were beyond our resources. Sr. Anthony of LaCharite was gracious enough to accept him. He will stay with them until he can ambulate and care for himself and then will come back here where we hope to train him in a trade that does not require two feet. Thank God there are generous folks back home who support us so that we can be of help to people like Ti Papi.

Meet Andy

Here's Andy Cramer, a newly arrived volunteer. He is playing along with his guitar as our talented Kakoune belts out one of his compositions. Welcome, Andy, and best of luck to you. May your time with us prove as fruitful for you as it will be for the children here.

Orientation session at Castel-Pere. The boys standing in front are all new. They are assigned house-mothers, buddies and given some basic information on how things work at C-P. Welcome home, boys.