Samuel and Jean-Remy, brothers, sitting in front of the Arts and Crafts Workshop. Sammy is holding his latest creation--the Music of an Angel. The detail work is unbelievable and, to think, it started out as an old 50 gallon metal drum! 

Medical Visit

Doctors Jerry and Cynthia have been on the blog before. They are joined by two new faces: Ellen Boldon, a dietician from New Brunswick and Marc Wilson, a nurse from Boston. These medical visits are extremely important to us as we try to provide better care of the children. We are doing pro-active, preventive stuff and no longer just reacting to diseases. We've come a long way and credit is due to Dr. Cynthia, our Medical Director, and kind folks like Dr. Jerry, Marc and Ellen.

Here's Ellen welcoming the children into the Quad which is our temporary clinic space. The children are waiting their turn to be pricked, prodded and processed. Except for Herbie (the only one smiling) no one seems too enthused.  

Here's Marc preparing for the inoculations and testing. See the apprehensive kids in the background. 

Here's Jeandaly with Rose-Marthe, our nurse. He appears quite at ease with the medical staff despite the testing that is going on. 

Our dear friends, Doctors Cynthia and Jerry, are seen here with one of our little guys. They are testing them all for tuberculosis and other diseases. Cynthia is from Maine and Jerry is from Alaska...many miles apart but with a common passion for children. 

Dan (left) sitting with our recent visitors. That's Jack in the green shirt, Eddy with the nice camera, Claudia taking notes and Portia checking out the notes. Eddy and Claudia are Rotarians from North Carolina and Portia is from D.C. We hope to see a lot of Portia in the very near future. There was one more but Liz had to leave a little early. They are waiting for the spektak to begin. You missed a great show, Liz. Maybe next time! 

Special Day at Castel-Pere

This morning was special. Every Sunday morning we celebrate Eucharist with all the children and staff. But this morning was extra special as Berthony and Camille presented their daughter for Baptism. It was a joyous and noisy occasion. Welcome to the family, Bercame.

Here are Berthony and Camille waiting for Mass and their daughter's baptism. Danielle, Bercame's godmother, is holding her.

Berthony and his wife, Camille, along with Danielle and Brant (godparents) answer questions and give their approval for the baptism of their baby girl, Bercame.

The moment of baptism. Up to this point, Bercame was asleep. The cool water woke her up. 

Berthony, Danielle and Brant receiving the candle signifying the light of Christ for Bercame.

Taking a rest after the festivities-- Alexander, Father Charlie, Pouchon, Father Marc and Johnny.

Setting up for breakfast. One of the kids' favorite is spaghetti for breakfast!! De gustibus non disputandum est. That's Latin for: to each his own. 

This is Jeffte, aka TiKapi.  

First day of the academic school year--Hip, Hip, Hooray! Funny how the monitors (me, too) were the loudest to chant out. 

Here's a shot of our Secondary School staff. From left: Johnny Fantale, assistant; Harry Jean, administrator and Yves Mescene, principal. Yes, I know the shot is grainy but what do you do when the project photog is on vacation? 

Can you spot the wannabe? Dan got so excited about school starting that he thought he'd join in.  

FOLLOW THE LEADER 

A few kindergarten children. 

Once inside the school courtyard, the children prayed and sang songs to kick off the new school year. 

Old friends

Way back in 1999 when we first moved into LaMadone in town and there were only 75 kids in the Espwa family, Mr. Ferdy Mahfood, the founder of Food For The Poor, came to visit and saw the deplorable conditions of the place. We had the children sing a song of welcome. Ferdy turned to me and said, "Write me and tell me what you need." I did and Food For The Poor (FFP) came to our assistance big time. LaMadone is what it is today due to FFP's generous help. That was then. Food For The Poor has once again come to our aid in a huge way by agreeing to build homes for the children of Espwa at Castel-Pere. The photos below show you what good friends they continue to be for us. We are deeply grateful for their help.

This is the second neighborhood (north end of the property). Ten houses are already finished and there are ten to go. The second neighborhood will have 260 residents when done. Photo by Andy while Nico is back home enjoying the cool weather in Nebraska. 

Here's a great longshot of the first neighborhood taken from the roof of the Guest house. There are twenty homes here that accommodate 12 children and one house-mother each. 

Three of the boys preparing a snack for themselves with leftover dried corn. They add a little oil and fry the kernels. They end up with fried corn kernels which they eat like popcorn or peanuts. This photo is also a clue that helps us solve the case of the disappearing spoons from the kitchen. Ah ha!! 

Here's a close up of the corn being cooked. 

Frankel and Sophia in the new kitchen of the Quad. We are waiting for Raymond to get here and do some of his magic with a paint-brush. 

This is the way we brush our teeth each and every morning and evening. If someone stuck a camera in my face while I was brushing my teeth, well, my reaction would be a bit different. That's Ti-Jean in the center.