Visitors

Back: FranK, Frank and Joel
Front: Cindy, Ann and Regina
Frank (top left) and Joel, father and son, came to visit from Washington, D.C. Frank, Cindy and Ann are from Connecticut and Regina is from Orlando, Florida. East Coast pretty well represented. This was a first visit by all save Regina, Theo's Work Board member, who organized the trip and escorted/hosted them. We look forward to their return (especially the awesome chili Ann made for us). They all left this morning and we wish them safe travels.

New friends

Biondy and Joel

Joel, from Washington, D.C., is visiting with his dad. Joel's Eagle Scout Project was to provide us with tons of soccer equipment which he did. If there's one thing the kids love, it's soccer. Thank you, Joel, for the hard work that got us all that equipment and for coming down in person to play soccer with our guys. Come back soon.

Latest from our A & C workshop

These angels measure approx. 2 inches square and would be perfect as a pendant or a pin. Click on Konnyskorner on the right and order as many as you like. Thanks.

Laurent

This is Laurent. While practicing his somersaults Laurent fell on his shoulder and dislocated it. He is now the most bored kid here and can't wait to have his cast removed. It is remarkable that there are so few accidents here... mesi, Bondye!

St Frances Cabrini

Marianne, Glenda, Dieugrand, Mary, Bill, Judy and Frank
Here's a group shot of our friends from West Bend, St Frances Cabrini Parish. Marianne Boehme, the lady on the right, heads the team that visited us this past week. It was great to have them here, to renew old friendships and make new ones. St Frances Cabrini Parish has been supporting Haiti (and visiting regularly) for over 18 years. God bless these generous and devoted people.

From this to that

The folks from West Bend brought along some colorful bags (right) for our ladies to use. What is really cool about this is that they are entirely made of plastic shopping bags. What a creative way to recycle!! I asked them to teach our people how to do this the next time they come.

Colorful t-shirts

Mary

Marianne

Here are Mary and Marianne, team leader, from St Frances Cabrini parish sorting the 675 t-shirts they brought with them to give our children. They also brought dresses, aprons, tennis balls, beads, blankets... All excellent stuff that we sorely needed. Thank you, thank you to the kind folks in West Bend.

What?

Father Charlie and Bill inspecting the work of the ladies.

Holy cow!

Most of our cows give birth to only one calf. Occasionally, twins are born. But this mama gave birth to three calves over the weekend. Never seen this before and folks from all over came to see the new mama and kiddies. We'd be ecstatic but for one thing. She belongs to the guy in the photo, a neighbor. We wish them all well.

After & Before

I know, I should have flip the photo so that the title would read "before & after" but... this is the finish work being done by our young masons on the composting toilet. The walls look real good once they're done.

Bravo !!

This is Kens Buteau. The calculations have been made and the report cards have been distributed. Kens came to me so that I could sign his and I was very pleased to see that he had a grade point average of 94 out of 100. Excellent job, Kens. Congrats !!

Herold Vieudage

Herold is crazy for soccer and he's very good at it. He's an orphan and has been with us for nine years. He plays for several local teams and was noticed by a coach from Port-au-Prince in a recent match. The coach invited him to go to PaP and play for his team. He'll get room, board and a small salary. We wish him all the best! Who knows--- maybe someday he'll make the big time!

Forest for the trees?

These trees are planted for this purpose as they grow straight and about 12 feet tall. They are supporting plywood and rebar in preparation for pouring the cement roof. In Asia they use bamboo but here we use this tree. We got these from a gentleman who makes his living renting them and plywood. I asked him how many times a tree is used and he stopped to think. He answered, "Maybe a dozen times."

Cross and friends

Anna, Rachael, Dierdre, Father Paul, Mike and Robyn

These folks flew in this morning from Jeremie. Rache and Robyn are from Cross International and they are escorting two journalists and Father Paul. They saw the farm, the vocational training program, the children in various activities. They also saw the needs we have and how it is in collaborating that we can address these. Cross International has been our partner going on 4 years now and has always been there to support our efforts. Whether it is operating funds (not too glamorous) or emergency help, Cross International is there for us. God bless 'em!

And another

Mr. Sincere sitting on his new front porch.

Several years ago, Mr. Sincere was helping to offload cement bags from a truck into a warehouse. A few bags fell on him and he was hurt. He is now paralyzed from the waist down. Unable to work, he could not make payments on the small house he lived in with his wife and three sons. They were put out on the street and soon Mrs Sincere left her husband and the boys. The small village where they live, Jonc-Tibi, came to the rescue and built a small lean-to which was placed against the wall of a chapel. The neighbors provided food and the boys eventually all went their separate ways. Thanks to Cross International, we were able to build Mr. Sincere a two-room house that protects him from the elements and does not flood when it rains. His words:
"My heart is ready to burst with happiness at the kindness of strangers!"

Carpenters' turn

Dining Room set

Wardrobe waiting on mirror

When my carpenters and apprentices saw the photo I posted on the tailors' wares they wanted equal time so here it is. The cabinet-makers are very talented and proud of their work-- as well they should be. These pieces are part of an order from a client who is furnishing his home. Wish we had a place to display this furniture in town. Someday!

Our guava trees

Guava flower

Guava fruit on the way

These guava trees are all grafted onto local guava trunks. Haitian guava fruit tends to be small while this Cuban variety will be four or five times as big and full of luscious meat extra high in vitamin C and anti-oxidants. Great stuff for the kids as is or as juice or as jam.

Rosie's place

Entrance to Roosvelt's home

Pierre Rinot and Martin doing some touch up work on the house.
Thanks to Norm Dugas and Cross International, another house is ready to welcome a very grateful and happy family. Rosie, his wife, child and his brother, Jean-Baptiste, will be moving in pronto. Sadly, Rosie's sister, Mirlande, never saw the finished house. She passed away last week -- another victim of AIDS. Her son, John, is one of our children and is taking this very badly. Please say a prayer for Mirlande and her family, especially John.

Garden fresh

Here's a shot of a few of our cabbage heads straight from the garden. The kids'll be eating spicy coleslaw tonight and sauerkraut tomorrow.

Jean man

Variety of products!

Our new tailor, Bertrand.
Bertrand sitting at his workstation. He makes jeans and heavy duty shorts, trousers and skirts. He's doing an excellent job and we have started getting requests from folks all over the city. This could prove to be a long-awaited chance for our tailors to independence. Asking price is less than ten dollars US. Such a deal!

Sponsorship Opportunities

I will be posting more and more opportunities for you to sponsor a child or family. Our monthly budget does not allow us to reach out and help these desperately poor children or worthy older students or to take in any more children (unless it is a life and death situation or an abandonment case). Theo's Work, our funding source in the states, is in the process of reorganizing to better provide for our financial needs so that we can help more desperately poor children and families. Help us by spreading the word. Tell folks about this blog or direct them to www.freethekids.org or... well, you get the idea. Thank you and God bless.

Rousman's family

Steevens

Family portrait sans Rousman

One of our young residents, thirteen year old Rousman, has been bugging us incessantly to visit his family. Berthony Constant finally did so this past week and reports that the family is struggling to survive. All their combined energy goes into finding food to eat. There's no money for such luxuries as school or medical care. Lourdes Duclair, the mother, begged Berthony to take nine-year old Steevens with him so that he could eat regularly and go to school. To send the older girls to the local school would cost 600 dollars Haitian or $100 US. Drop a line to Dee at dee@theoswork.org if you are interested in assisting this family.

Mardi Gras celebration

Our children had a wonderful time yesterday as they celebrated "Kanaval". Games of all sorts, a soccer match-up, special snacks made the day special.

Osny Rene

Meet Osny Rene. Osny is charming, polite, soft-spoken, slight of build and very bright. He just turned 19 and hails from Ile-a-Vache, the large island just off the southern coast. When three years old, Osny was taken in by Sister Flora who runs an orphanage on the island. He came to us at sister's request in 2004. Osny suffers from sickle cell anemia and has a crisis practically every month. Despite this condition, Osny has managed to excel in school and has finished his secondary education. His dream is to become a doctor so that he can help others when they are in need, the way he has been helped. He is spending his time tutoring our younger boys and girls. Osny needs a sponsor to help him achieve his dream. Five hundred Haitian dollars a month would cover all expenses--that's $68 US. Thank you. Please contact Dee at dee@theoswork.org or Jack at jhrtheoswork@aol.com for more info.