Food

The container of Stop Hunger Now food arrived last night. The fortified rice is such a great gift. Twenty of these boxes will make enough food for one mealtime. The best part about it- the children LOVE their "sweet rice". 

Wash your hands!

Medical volunteers Ryan and Grant and one of the Espwa nurses spent some time yesterday afternoon giving a lesson to the children about the importance of hand washing. They traced their hands, and then drew "germs" on them, adding a disclaimer to the bottom of the picture about how important it is to wash your hands! These signs will be laminated and posted in the children's houses and in the new restroom. Great idea!

Thank you!

A big thank you to the visitors from California. They spent a lot of quality time getting to know the Espwa children, and will be missed. We hope to see you again soon!!

Exam Week

As the school year comes to an end, students of all grades are cramming for their final exams. Walking around the Espwa grounds at any given time you will surely see students with notebooks in their hands. During the day they find a shady place to study, but at night you will see groups of them studying under building security lights- the only places with decent electricity.

House Mothers

This is Madame Jean-Baptiste. She is one of our beloved house mothers. She is posing with a handful of her little guys around her. Madame Jean-Baptiste is one of many women who work tirelessly to ensure the health and well being of the Espwa children are met.

Manicure Time

Our visiting friends from California spent some time yesterday afternoon giving our girls manicures and pedicures. The group is here for a week, led by Dee. The girls really enjoyed being pampered. Some even had the opportunity to practice giving manicures to the visitors! 

Volunteer Courtney

This is Courtney. She is volunteering at Espwa for a month. She is a social worker in Arizona and came to Espwa to experience working with children in Haiti. She has been assisting Paige with the Army of Angels sponsorship program, helping out with the twins, and helping out with any other activities in need. Here she is holding Lydia, Paige's four month old daughter. They have become great friends. 

Medical Volunteers

Medical volunteers, Grant and Ryan, are spending six weeks of their summer here at Espwa. While they are here they will be working on organizing the new clinic, surveying the resident children and students on their hygiene habits, and teaching hygiene classes to the children, and playing basketball. Ryan is a former long term volunteer and welcomed back with open arms. 

Happy Father's Day

Elizabeth, Rebecca, Mikerlange, and Judena are just four of the eight preteen girls living in the house helping to care for Sony and Sonice. The girls and twins want to wish all fathers, especially Father Marc, a very happy Father's Day.

To help support the cost of caring for Sony and Sonice please click here.

Clinic Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting

Yesterday we had the Grand Opening of the Espwa Clinic. It was a grand event complete with speeches, blessings, entertainment, and food. Many local dignitaries were invited. Melissa from IMEC was able to attend and witness that her hard work shipping the medical suites had paid off. 

Above, Dr. Cynthia, Jean Lexima, Jameson and Susan Midgett cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the clinic. Both Jameson and Susan swam Alcatraz with SOS for Haiti raising money for the clinic. 

Ryan Kobayashi, volunteer medical student, and Father Fred pass through each room in the clinic blessing them.

Julio all dressed up and ready to sing a solo for the group. 

Central courtyard of the medical clinic packed with employees, donors, volunteers, and supporting members of the community. 

Mrs. Lexima

Mrs. Lexima, the Espwa dietician and wife to Jean Lexima, has been working hard to improve the health of the children. She has been working with the kitchen staff to improve the menu. The children are receiving substantial servings of food loaded with better vegetables, meat, and dairy. 

Here Mrs. Lexima is working with the kitchen staff to prepare lunch.

Farming

The warm, dry weather makes for perfect farming, but hot work! 

Home Sweet Home

Sony and Sonice have finally made it home! They are much healthier, alert, and being showered with love by their Pwoje Espwa family. Above you can see Matante holding Sonice and Bernonie holding Sony. The twins will be living in the green girls house with a handful of our tween girls who will assist in their care. 

Fanfan and Bernonie carefully carrying the twins to their new home. 

Sony in his brand new crib.

Sonice in her brand new crib. 

This is the first time Pwoje Espwa will be caring for infants. Our goal is to hire a caregiver for each child and provide them with all the comforts an infant deserves. If you would like to make a monthly contribution to help support the high costs of caring for the twins, please visit the Army of Angels website. 

Click Here to Sponsor Sony and Sonice

Sponsor Girl Students

This is Lidena. She is one of 50 girls that has been added to our new Army of Angels category- "little girl students". At the Espwa Preschool we have over 300 students, many of whom travel great distances to receive an education where they otherwise would not have the opportunity.

For $30/month you can sponsor Lidena's education or another little girl just like her. Your support enables us to enroll more children that would otherwise not receive an education.

Army of Angels Website

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Blessings! 

Visiting Dentists

About a week ago we had Dr. Tozzer and his dental team from Dental Care for Children were in town. Below you can see Delince, one of our older boys and more fluent English speaker, translating for the dental team. They spent the majority of their time working with GiGi, one of our neighbors, but they will be back at the end of the summer visiting Espwa. We greatly appreciate their dedication, hard work, and impact they make on the lives of our children. 

First Communion

Above are the Pwoje Espwa Sud students who received their First Communion yesterday at St. Gerard Catholic Church. We are so proud of their accomplishment.

Prayer

                               The First Communion group bowing their heads in prayer before heading out to St. Gerard's for training.