Christmas vacation

The munchkins (preschoolers) are on vacation until the second week of January. Vacation started yesterday and they are already bored. Saw these four early this morning and they were eager for an activity. God grant us patience. Now!!

Human Rights Day

Today is Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Declaration, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, set out a list of 30 Articles describing fundamendal human rights and freedoms for everyone. Haiti adopted these rights so they are on the books. Sadly, the reality here is quite different. Join us in praying and working for a more just society in Haiti. It is our conviction that the children we help today will be tomorrow's leaders able to make the necessary changes to benefit all Haitians.

Apron Day

From left: Gardy, Pierre-Richard, Instructor Elicnor, Wesly and Wilnik

From left: Doubie, Wilgens, Elson, Djimy, Fanfan, Evelt, Michael and Kevin, the instructor.

The students of our new vocational school effort were given Espwa aprons this morning right after the liturgy. Not all were present but all were proud to be recognized. We wish them every blessing in their attempt to become skilled craftsmen. The photo on the top contains the carpentry class with their teacher and the other is the metalwork class with Kevin Scobie.

Farmer to Farmer visit

Me, Peggy, Benito and Tanis

Farmer to Farmer (F2F) Program Directors came to visit this past week. Peggy Carlson is International Director and Benito is the country director. We met to discuss future collaboration. F2F, member of Partners of the Americas, matches the agricultural needs in developing countries with experienced people in the states. We look forward to a long and productive relationship.

Update on Rosie's house

Walls are up and stuccoed.

Georges, Jean and Rosie screening/filtering the sand for the stucco.

Louicot St. Pierre

I was making my rounds at Castel-Pere this morning and this young man asked to speak to me. His name is Louicot and he is the oldest of nine children. His father had an accident on Wednesday, March 28th which has left him handicapped and unable to work. His mother is busy with the young children and has no marketable skills. Louicot would love to continue his education but there's no money; he'd love to learn a trade but can't afford to go to a vocational training school; he'd love to help his parents and younger siblings but cannot. To continue his classical education would cost $250 (a year for two more years). To learn a trade would cost about $300 plus the cost of tools. Learning a trade makes a lot of sense but our resources are stretched too thin to be able to help him. I told him that I would post his photo on this blog and that we'd pray for him.

Jackson with new sneakers

This is Jackson with his first pair of new sneakers. We're trying to get the kids ready for Christmas and are starting with those children who have no shoes or have never had a new pair. Actually, these are too large for him but those are the ones he wanted AND he will grow into them.