Housing and Kitchen

Took this photo this morning.  You can see the pumphouse (left background) on which we will build a cistern/water-tower for the girls' housing and the kitchen/dining room. 

Bye! Bye! Raymond

Raymond Verreault left us this morning on the early flight to Port-au-Prince to catch his long flight back home to Canada and be with his family. Not to worry-- he'll be back in the fall like he has for the last five years. If you've kept up with the blog you know that Raymond was responsible for the painting at Castel-Pere. He has done a bang-up job of that but this past month or so Raymond has found a new endeavor. He is now our Outreach Housing Director. Oh, he'd laugh at the title and make a joke but he has taken on a huge and powerful service for our less fortunate neighbors. As he is not one to replicate what has been done and as he is a very thorough individual, he thought this through in detail and then plunged in with all his gusto. The next two posts show the result of his work. Have a good rest, Raymond. Come back to us refreshed and re-energized as there are many more deserving families waiting for your collaboration. N'ap songe ou chak jou, Raymond.

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.

Housing help

This is 8 year old Yven, one of our neighbors. He shares the home behind him with his father who is a laborer. Mom took off a while ago and Yven has no idea where she is. I hope that we can assist this family in providing Yven and his father with a decent home. It will take between $2,500 and $3,000 so if you or your parish/organization are looking for an international, humanitarian project--this is a good one.

Matante's home

A while back I posted a photo of Matante in the middle of her new home which was being built. Well, here it is all done but for the paint job. It's a real looker and Matante is very happy with the results. Thanks to Cross International and their donor for this wonderful gift.