REACH volunteers

Margaret (top) and Melissa are part of a six-member volunteer group here with us to install doors and windows in the homes built by SHELTER2HOMES and Cross International.  Once installed,  all the houses will need is a little stucco and a paint job.  It is an understatement that the recipients are ecstatic.

S2H

The little house in Madame Combe is coming along nicely.  S2H and Cross International are making this happen for a sweet, older lady in the nearby village.

Food Program

Early this morning Amanda and her team loaded up our truck for the one hour trip to Camp-Perrin.  

The purpose of the trip was to distribute USAID food to the children of our school in Camp-Perrin.  USAID and Cross International sponsor this IFRP (International Food Relief Program).

A shot of a couple of school children receiving the food packets.

Food shipment

Lots of hands were needed to unload the two truckloads' of packaged food.

Nathalie is manager of this program. Here she's seen checking in all the boxes.

Containers of food

Two containers of dry food from the IFRP Project arrived on Tuesday. IFRP (International Food Resource Program) is subsidized by USAID and Cross International.

Visitors from Cross International

Tony Barbieri, Father Rich White and Mike Henry

We were visited twice by our friends at Cross International in two weeks. Above is the second group. Tony works with the Food Project, Father White preaches for Cross and Mike heads up the AIDS PEPFAR-NPI Project.

Tailors' Workshop in Les Cayes Prison

Thanks to a generous donation from Joyce Harmon, a Cross International benefactor, we were able to build a work space for the Prison Tailor Program.  There are twenty graduates, forty students and a long waiting list.  This is the only activity allowed by the prison authorities and it provides prisoners with a skill set so that they have something they can do when they leave.  In the top photo you can see the sewing machines made possible by our kind friends at Practical Compassion.

Jeannine Oaktanvil

Please overlook the quality of these photos. Camera problems. Jeannine is a mother and grandmother who was living in a small shack/lean to until this past week when she moved into the small green home pictured above. She will no longer get wet when it rains and will be safe at night. Jeannine cannot stand straight and has been this way for years. Her son and his wife look after her (they live next door) but there was no room for her. Jeannine spends her days in this wheelbarrow (her wheel chair, she calls it). The new home was built by Ray Verreault who has been volunteering with us for six years. He has a team of young Haitians who help him provide basic homes for the very poor. Funding is provided by Cross International and private donations. A small house like this costs about $1,500 at this time. Remember the phrase from Matthew 25:40 "whatsoever you do the least of my brothers, that you do for me".

View of the Southern Neighborhood

I was standing on the roof of the new food distribution center and liked the view of the neighborhood so here it is. These are the homes of the children. They were recently refurbished with new paint inside and out, new screens, closets, furniture and linen thanks to a grant from Cross International.

Still raining

Am heading out to do Mass for Mother Theresa's group here in town. Just had another mini-storm with wild wind and rushing rain. Many homes have been lost; tons and tons of agricultural products have been flooded; over 60 Haitians have died in these past few days. Haiti is old news now as folks focus on Jamaica and beyond. With no real safety net here and an inept government, who will help? While heading home to LaMadonne from Castel-Pere yesterday afternoon, I ran into a group of young boys. When they saw me they started yelling "grangou, grangou" which means I'm hungry. Children should not have to beg for food. As the saying goes here--
Pa bliye'n. Dont't forget us. There's a transfer of funds coming from Cross International. It should be here by Monday or Tueday. Try not eating until then to see what it's like. God bless our friends at Cross International.

H2H Update

Bebe, Jeff and Jeff sitting at their new tables and chairs

New closets offset by new paint

Exteriors are getting an updated coat of fresh paint.

Paige Orlowski, Coordinator of the Houses to Homes (H2H) Project reports that things are moving along nicely as houses are transformed into homes with the financial help of Cross International.

Houses to Homes (H2H) Project

M. StPreux, our in-house cobbler, is working on covering the mattresses. They will last a lot longer this way.

Our carpenters preparing the wood for the H2H closets.

Our tailors preparing the curtains, tablecloths and bed-covers.

Thanks to a grant from Cross International-Catholic Outreach the children's homes will be made over. They'll be painted inside and out, get curtains and linens, tables and chairs; beds and mattresses will be fabricated and the children will finally get closets. The homes will be downright spiffy!

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!"

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.

Rosie's place

Back door

Front porch
Thanks to a grant from Cross International, Roosvelt Pierre and his family will soon have a new and safe home to live in. Above is the front porch where you see three of our older boys posing. This is the first house they build entirely on their own. We are keeping an eye on them but from a distance.

Cross International

Shaun, Jim, Robyn and Michael (standing) with me as the children perform.

We were visited by our friends of Cross International who support our mission to help these disadvantaged children. They provide us with regular monthly support and fund special projects. We are very grateful for their faithful assistance.

Hope restored

This is Anitese Mentor with her two grandsons in front of their home.

With neighbors looking on, Anitese digs the foundation for her new home with her machete. She is 78 years old.

The foundation blocks are set in mortar and Anitese fills in the gaps with her own food bowl.

Anitese and her grandsons in front of their painted new home. The whole project took only five and half days because Anitese worked before our crew arrived in the morning and after our crew left at night. Anitese came to church with her grandsons last Sunday to thank God for this precious gift. Thanks to Cross International, there's a little oasis of hope in Guiem near Castel-Pere.

A gift of dignity

Mr Yvon Nocent and his son, Yvnel, stand in front of their home in Castel-Pere.

Even after the workers were gone for the day, Mr Nocent and Yvnel continued working to make their dream a reality.

Here's the simple but solid and safe home built by Mr Nocent , his son and our team.

The pride they feel in having been part of the process of building their own home shows in their faces. This new way of building homes for the poor including them in the dialog and in the work makes so much more sense. We can honestly say that the gift of this house was nothing compared to the sense of dignity and respect the Nocents now have. We want to thank Cross International for their support and funding of this project.