Old friends

Way back in 1999 when we first moved into LaMadone in town and there were only 75 kids in the Espwa family, Mr. Ferdy Mahfood, the founder of Food For The Poor, came to visit and saw the deplorable conditions of the place. We had the children sing a song of welcome. Ferdy turned to me and said, "Write me and tell me what you need." I did and Food For The Poor (FFP) came to our assistance big time. LaMadone is what it is today due to FFP's generous help. That was then. Food For The Poor has once again come to our aid in a huge way by agreeing to build homes for the children of Espwa at Castel-Pere. The photos below show you what good friends they continue to be for us. We are deeply grateful for their help.

This is the second neighborhood (north end of the property). Ten houses are already finished and there are ten to go. The second neighborhood will have 260 residents when done. Photo by Andy while Nico is back home enjoying the cool weather in Nebraska. 

Here's a great longshot of the first neighborhood taken from the roof of the Guest house. There are twenty homes here that accommodate 12 children and one house-mother each. 

Three of the boys preparing a snack for themselves with leftover dried corn. They add a little oil and fry the kernels. They end up with fried corn kernels which they eat like popcorn or peanuts. This photo is also a clue that helps us solve the case of the disappearing spoons from the kitchen. Ah ha!! 

Here's a close up of the corn being cooked. 

Frankel and Sophia in the new kitchen of the Quad. We are waiting for Raymond to get here and do some of his magic with a paint-brush. 

This is the way we brush our teeth each and every morning and evening. If someone stuck a camera in my face while I was brushing my teeth, well, my reaction would be a bit different. That's Ti-Jean in the center.