THE WELL IS IN !!!!!

Susan and I were so excited yesterday to hear that the well in Pignon has been drilled. We were expecting it to be drilled at the end of the month but equipment was available and there was an open spot in the schedule, so Haiti Outreach went forward and made it happen. This is such a wonderful accomplishment and whether through donations or simply an encouraging word, you have all played a part. It was just about a year ago that Susan and I made this a priority in our lives and we feel so blessed that it has come to fruition. We want to give a huge "THANKS" to our friend Jean Ronal in Pignon who has provided these pictures and who has been such a good friend. He has made our efforts in Haiti much easier. Also the efforts and generosity of the Oakhurst Sierra Rotary Club, the Oakhurst Sierra Sunrise Rotary Club and the Tracy Rotary Club must be acknowledge. These Clubs have gone way beyond what we expected and are the major financial support for this project.

Haiti, like most developing countries, does not know the convenience or health benefits of having fresh water each time you turn on the faucet. Thanks to our trips to Pignon, this wonderful convenience is no longer something we take for granted in our lives. This well will provide fresh water for the students at school eliminating the need to send someone to the river with a 5 gallon bucket to get water. It will also give the school the opportunity to start a community garden providing food for neighborhood families or produce that can be sold at the market. The well will be a life changing event for this Pignon neighborhood.

Again, thank you all for the support and encouragement you have shared with Susan, me and our friends in Haiti.

Back in the US of A

Susan and I got back late Monday night (Aug. 22) and are just getting back into the groove of being home. Both of us seem to have brought a cold back with us. Just our way of holding onto Haiti awhile longer? It was a memorable trip this year in so many ways. Tons of kids, 230+ on our last "school" day, some great Haitian adventures (for us these always involve transportation and/or food), textbook shopping in Cap Haitien and confirming well drilling plans with Haiti Outreach were all part of this wonderful journey.

The results of all our combined efforts to gather school, recreational and health supplies, five suitcases full (180 lbs.), were almost lost before we left the States. Seems that the shuttle driver leaving our Fort Lauderdale hotel at 5:30am just assumed that we were in the van with him, it was actually another couple, and he unloaded all the suitcases in the road outside the departure terminal and sped off leaving the bags there. Susan and I got downstairs at 5:35am, asked about the bags and nearly panicked when we found out what had happened. A mad dash to the airport revealed that, although security had been called, the bags were still sitting in lanes of traffic waiting for us to retrieve them. A mad dash, a close call and a two hour departure delay, but other than that it was an uneventful day. 

This year we stayed in Pastor Carsel's family home. As always our Haitian friends are gracious hosts giving us our own bedroom, preparing wonderful meals everyday and treating us like honored guests. By the end of the week we had the routines down for showering from a 5 gallon bucket and using the outdoor latrine. We continued to get favored treatment but we started to feel like we were part of the family. The Pastor's house seems to be the center of community business as well as a social hub. Lots of neighbors would come by to conduct business, sit and chat for awhile, examine "new" fashions that arrived in two boxes of clothing from the States, play cards or sit in the shade enjoying fresh fruit or sugar cane. These were relaxing times for Susan and I, a wonderful break from the intensity of 200 kids at school.

Although the time we spend with our kids in the classroom is draining physically and emotionally it is the highlight of each trip. It is the reason we go to Haiti. This year our friend Jean Ronal got together a group of his friends (Chedlin, Phanel, Lenna, Benjamin, Son and brother Joseph) to help us out. They were invaluable!! Without them someone may have died. A student? Susan? Me? These young men were there everyday helping to communicate with the kids, teaching songs, telling stories, maintaining order (of sorts) and being there to support us in every way. Susan and I are constantly amazed by Haitians' level of generosity and their willingness to help. Even in the most stressful of times, times when I was ready to pull what remains of my hair out, Jean would smile and say, "They're just kids" or "That's life". I'm starting to understand that when daily life is a struggle and everyday presents new challenges there is no need to sweat the small stuff. A good lesson for me to learn. All of our planning for "learning stations" went out the door on the first day. Too many kids, too little ability to effectively convey detailed instructions, the heat and the humidity did our planning in. For the four days of school we focus on a daily craft (paper plate fans, paper bag puppets, English language color flags and coloring project), teaching songs, telling stories and playing outside. Everyone seemed to enjoy each day with a nice balance of classroom time and playing outside. The Frisbees, soccer balls, jump ropes and balsa wood gliders were a huge hit and went a long way in burning some of the kids bountiful amounts of energy. Susan and my admiration and respect for school teachers continues to grow.

Well that is enough for now. We will be posting more about our adventures later and will try to set up links to photos and videos. Bye for now.....    

 

Just About There.....

Susan and I are making a final mad dash to get everything ready for being in Haiti on Monday. Thanks to all of your generous donations we are taking 180 lbs. of school & health supplies jammed into suitcases. All our personal stuff will be in a backpack. With the help from a number of educators we actually have some lesson plans prepared for this year. What a concept, right? We are going to divide the younger kids into 5 or 6 groups with the older students (18+) helping as group leaders. Then each group will spend 30 mins. or so at six different learning station. We didn't have this level of planning and preparation last year and still we realize that with over a 100 young kids involved it may all crumble into chaos at any moment. We are hoping that soccer balls, jump ropes and Frisbees will burn off enough energy to maintain a minimum level of control. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

Also...because local Rotary Clubs from Oakhurst and Tracey, California have stepped up, in a huge way, we'll be able to sign agreements to get a well drilled later this year. What a treat it is to get clean water by just turning a faucet. We are very fortunate. The company that is drilling the well, Haiti Outreach, has an office in Pignon with a 6 or 8 bedroom guesthouse so Susan and I hope that some folks who have expressed interest in going to Haiti may be able to join us on the well drilling trip, December or January.

We are excited to see our Haitian friends and look forward to an amazing journey. Pictures & stories upon our return....

Getting Close to Departure

Well some of my growing panic was calmed today. I have been really concerned, maybe overly concerned, that we don't have our "lesson plan" ready for the Haiti trip and there are only 17 days left before we go. But today Susan and I had a wonderful meeting with Annie, our new best friend in Oakhurst, who is a curriculum coordinator for Madera County. Annie shared with us her experience as a mother, a teacher and a curriculum coordinator. After just an hour or so with Annie my panic was fading and a developing plan of how to teach 150 Haitian kids was starting to emerge. We came up with a strategy to divide the students into smaller groups that will rotate through a number of "learning stations". Each station will have a different focus. There will be a music station teaching songs, an English language station, a P.E. station, etc. Each station will be color coded with a matching flag that the student will design using that station's color. This will be so cool! The kids will be outside being active at times followed by indoor lessons. From our experience last year we realized we needed to get the kids outside more often. Hopefully we can burn up some of their apparently endless energy. As has been the case before our appreciation for educators continues to grow. What special people teachers are. Panic fading, excitement growing.....

Los Angeles "Kick-Off Event"

Susan and I wanted to publicly thank daughter Lauren, friends Art Becerra and Beth Andrus for all their hard work on our Haiti fundraiser in Los Angeles last weekend. The Be the Power of One "Kick-Off" event was amazing! Everyone work so hard to bring it all together. The food was fabulous, Art mixed some great cocktails and we raised more than $900 for our Haiti school projects. On top of this, there was a whole table of school and health supplies that were donated. We are very close to having the funds needed for our well and new textbooks. It was a huge success and we really appreciate Alfred opening his home for the afternoon. Thanks to everyone that made this event work and all those who donated. The dollars and supplies will go a long way in Haiti. Let's do it again......

A Busy Sunday in Oakhurst

Susan and I spoke today at two services at our local Methodist Church. What a great group of folks! We shared our Haiti experience and pictures with the congregation. Everyone seemed very interested and they donated some school supplies, money towards the well and a $25 gift certificate to Toys R Us. Between services we enjoyed answering questions and snacking on some Haitian treats that they baked up. Next week we will be in Los Angeles for our "kick off" reception for Be the Power of One. We are expecting about 30 people and we'll share info about our efforts in Pignon. Susan believes that we will soon have enough money for the drilling of the well so we are hoping to finalize drilling plans with Haiti Outreach in August. Both of us would like to be in Pignon when the well is drilled and it will be nice to return before another year passes.

Planning and Packing

Planning: Thanks to all the efforts of our daughter Lauren, friends Beth Andrus and Art Becerra our July 16th event looks like it'll be a wonderful "kick off" for Be the Power of One in Los Angeles. This looks to be a gathering of about 30-40 folks that have already started to get together supplies for our August trip to Haiti. It'll also be a time for Susan and I to visit with new friends and to share some of our experiences. We are very excited and look forward to a fun evening.

Packing: Our plan this year is to take our school supplies, personal hygiene items and playground equipment in a number of suitcases that we can leave in Haiti when we return home. The baggage charges really add up and it is still cheaper than shipping from the west coast to Haiti. By carrying things with us we are also assured that they get to the planned destination. As we grow and deliver more and more items to Haiti we will have to figure out a better plan. One partial solution will be to purchase items in Florida and ship from Miami to Port-au-Prince. This seems to be relatively inexpensive and Pastor Carsel has reliable people to receive the shipment when it arrives in Haiti.

So far we have 80+ pounds of school supplies packed and ready to go. Next week we will pick up 400 fruit and vegetable seed packets that will be for family and community gardens in and around Pignon. Susan and I think we can get the rest packed in one large suitcase but are willing to add a fourth piece if needed. In the end we'll be carrying somewhere between 120 - 160 pounds. Our personal items for the week will be in our two backpacks. What an adventure!