Rendez-vous: Haiti: New Year in Haiti

Rooster crows and dog barks are sounds the visitor to Haiti will identify with, but for me
it is also the chatter of children’s voices as they go about their day. Back in the US, it is
6 am and I imagine them lining up for their daily dose of tooth paste and I remember
how little ones run towards me with delighted smiles and outstretched arms calling my
name ,ready to give so much affection that it melts your heart.
What did take place this Christmas break?
For starters: the accomplishment of 18 months of work: 1st performance by the children
in the new multipurpose room now completed and then also
 New Year’s salsa dancing lessons from John for the 12 older children.
 Computer literacy specifically for the 6 motivated high-schoolers from Steven,
LUM class of 2016
 Making bead necklaces and bracelets delighted the little ones.
 Colorful plastic gimp key chains and bracelets were a continued huge hit with
teens.
 Card drawing competition. Winners: Frantzy (17) and Samuel (14). Proceed
from the sale of mass produced cards will help fund high school costs.
 Zanmi ( creole word for friend) bracelets made by Jude, Angelo, Pouchon, Mano
and Jhonker, originally worn by Haitian men to heal their muscle aches, will be
marketed at LUM by the “Enactus” club. Proceeds will fund vocational programs.
 Retrieved receipts for the installation of cabinets, sinks and counter of the
bakery, funded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
 Consulted with the directors of the post-earthquake elementary school set in
Canaan to offer ideas for development and sustainability.
 Research for chicken coop project.
 Brainstormed and planned over long multiple conversations with Maud for the
care and future of the Foyer NDL and its new complex.
What did I learn?
What stands out once more: how hard it is to do good and not risk what I have started
calling “collateral damage”. How many well-meaning foreigners create more hassle
and work with very little positive results? How many useless donations stream to Haiti
(fur boots and knit hats for this average 90 F country?) How hard it is to put ourselves
aside and really listen to the needs of those we try to help