Valparaiso University

Last week Espwa was extremely fortunate to be visited by Valparaiso (Valpo) University! The group was led by Professor Blood, who has been coming to Espwa for years. Professor Blood teaches engineering at the university, and showed Espwa students how to work a 3D printer and he even made bracelets for some of the girls! In addition, the group brought various academic supplies for the secondary school and talked to the ten oldest girls about how to create a business plan. 

The group also split up and worked with Espwa students on their English conversational skills and reading comprehension. 

And of course it wouldn't be a proper trip to Espwa without arts and crafts.While the students were here they made bracelets, paper Christmas trees, and butterflies out of coffee filters.  

Thank you, Valpo University! We look forward to your next visit! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our home to yours, we hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

We were able to continue the American tradition here at Espwa, giving thanks for our blessings and sharing turkey, stuffing, gravy, and pie with our staff and visitors. 

We even were able to catch some of the game!

Universal Children's Day

Yesterday was Universal Children's Day, and Espwa celebrated with a field day! To the children's delight, school was canceled and activities included a soccer game, dancing, musical chairs, and potato sack races.

On a more serious note, our child care office arranged a workshop on Thursday for all the housemothers and other Espwa staff. They discussed how to better care for the children of Espwa and how to make sure all of their rights are protected.

A Thanksgiving Message from Father Marc Boisvert Founder of Free the Kids

A Thanksgiving Message from Father Marc Boisvert 

Founder of Free the Kids

“Thanksgiving” is what comes to mind at this time of year.  For many it is the holiday of the month sandwiched in between October’s Halloween and December’s Christmas.  Here in Haiti Thanksgiving is basically celebrated by our American staff and volunteers.  There are no parades or lots of hoopla for Black Friday or thoughts of turkey with all the trimmings.  To be honest, it is much easier to focus on the real meaning of giving thanks when there are fewer distractions.

We are thankful for the children in our care who keep us grounded, who bring so much value to our lives, who make us laugh and cry.

We are thankful for all the folks who help us with their prayers, with their encouragement, with their selfless giving because all this allows us to fulfill our roles here with the children. 

For me, Thanksgiving is synonymous with Eucharist (eucharist is Greek for thanksgiving ), an action taken by a Christian community to thank God for the gift of His son, Jesus, who by His incarnation (Christmas) and His work of redemption (Easter) we are healed and made whole. 

We are forever thankful to our Savior for our ongoing healing which empowers us to desire the healing of others.

Soon it will be Christmas when we will celebrate the greatest gift, God’s gift to us in the person of Jesus. 

The giving of gifts to people we love is a wonderful tradition based on God’s generosity.  We count on your gifts that will directly impact our children.  They need good food, decent clothing, safe shelter, quality education and medical care.  We can’t provide these without you.

May God shower you with His blessings in the coming weeks and reward you for caring for His little ones in southern Haiti.

Free the Kids, Inc.  5704 W. Market St. #8947, Greensboro, NC 27419  844-222-6300 phone ... 888-423-2447 fax ... inquiries@freethekids.org

Espwa Shout-Out

Check out this great article on Espwa featured on Intelsat's website!

The companies Intelsat and On Call together provide internet access at Espwa. Thanks to their generosity, the Espwa community is able to benefit from the insurmountable benefits of internet access such as students learning about different cultures through conferencing with American students, staff updating supporters of activities at Espwa, and visitors having a connection to friends and family at home during their visits. Thank you Intelsat and On Call for your generosity and services!

From Painting Nails to Painting the Clinic

Last week we were extremely fortunate to be visited by six women from New Jersey! Not only did they re-paint the trim on the clinic, they also did many activities with the kids and house mothers. 

They hosted a spa day for the house moms and gave a piece of jewelry to every woman who attended! 

They also taught the older girls how to make beautiful necklaces with sea glass and the younger girls how to make rings out of buttons. 

But teaching English class was where their skills shined the brightest! They read The Cat in the Hat and patiently helped every student assemble complex sentences. 

Thank you!!

Assessment Team

Thank you so much to our outstanding assessment team! Their work has been a culmination of over a year's planning with countless conference calls and trips to Espwa. On this trip, they worked nonstop to install a new generator and to move electrical wires underground. This will make Espwa safer and provide reliable power! 

Prayers for Evenson

Thank you for all of your continued support and prayers for Evenson.

After seeing several doctors around the Les Cayes area, Espwa's medical staff found a urologist in Port au Prince who was able to perform surgery on Evenson.  

He is now recovering at Espwa's clinic, but in severe pain, and we believe is suffering from some complications from the procedure. While we are working to make Evenson as comfortable as we can, the level of medical care and comfort provided by the American health care system is difficult to find in Haiti.

We are asking for you and your faith communities to keep Evenson's comfort and health in your prayers.