March 2017, A different spring break for these university students

11 Loyola University Students chose to spend their Spring break a different way: not on a Florida beach but with lots of children in their home, the Foyer Notre Dame de Lourdes in Haiti.

One special day: Every child at the beach and everyone gets a mango! New bathing suits: thank you Alicia Barger, Teri Louden, Dr Patricia Ayres and all the friends that made that day possible.

 Morning English language classes with material prepared by Dr Heidi Brown:

Craft activities: painting, kites and new project: glasses, pencil and toiletries fabric cases sewn by the older girls. Thank you Angela Christman for the looming kits and Melanie Giraud for kite material.

 

Garden project moving along really nicely: new plot, new fruit trees, growing banana trees, tiny mangos and coconuts, spinach, corn, manioc and yes, water! Thank you: Bob Freson, Angela Christman, Association Terre des Montagnes, Ed Barker, Gilles Letourneau.  

 

Stimulating education: books donated by Philippe Bruno added classics to the existing collection and  a senior project at Prof. Lorenzi’s Social Entrepreneurship class at Loyola University Maryland is designing a distance learning classroom so high schoolers will be able to take courses on line with a French institution. Thank you Louise Finn and IT for the donation of three laptops. Once again, awards were given for best students in their grades.

Gifts of craft supplies, clothing, soaps, toothpaste, backpacks and basic first aid filled 15 duffle bags. Thank you Rendez-vous: Haiti club at Loyola (Krystele Antoine, Courtney Radcliffe, Isabella Luque), Robin and Sal Lenzo, St Pius community, Dr Patricia Ayres and my cousin in France, Françoise Chazal.

Future projects: - Maximize in -house food production with the gardens but also the hen house.

-          Develop bio-digester capacity

-          Build a Transistion house for the older children supported by an infirmary/pharmacy near the Foyer 

-          Set up online high school classes to improve the quality of education for teen agers

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-          Repair damaged home for widow, mother of three

( Thank you Dr Roche and Church of the Transformation)

Other concern: Abelardo. Visiting orthopedists explained that his growing body will become too heavy for his legs.  What to do? Right now he is able to play soccer and has a pretty good kick.

Heartfelt thank you to generous friends and sponsors: International Programs, CCSJ, Mission Integration at Loyola University Maryland

   

July 2017 Volunteer Tracy Sanna is back!

Tracy is a Loyola U. Pastoral Counseling graduate that first volunteered in 2013 and is sponsoring Ti-Widner. She is also a full time social science teacher.

Pizza Project Phase 1

Rendezvous Haiti purchased an outdoor pizza oven to be used to make and sell pizza in the restaurant and to potential offer start-up options for job seekers. During this trip, the young adult and adolescent women practiced making pizzas and cook them in the new oven. In order to encourage creativity we had a pizza cook off to see whose pizza was the tastiest. The girls used a variety of toppings that they thought would peak the interest of their Haitian customers.  Toppings included tomato sauce, cheese, green peppers, onions, and hotdogs. This pilot project is the result of research done by LUM’s class of 2017, Rob Scherba, who interned for RVH this past spring. A start-up investment of around $ 1,000 was assessed. The next step is to find a motivated micro-entrepreneur who can take this on.   

                                

Sewing Project

The young adult women at the Foyer showed their sewing skills by creating pencil cases and eye glass cases. These women worked together and used their creativity and expertise to create 20 items that will be sold this fall to gain money for the Foyer. The most impressive aspect of watching these women was their team work. Side by side, they completed what they could not do alone. This project’s goal is to stimulate resourcefulness, creativity, skill acquisition and autonomy.

Painting Project

The young men at the Foyer again put their artistic ability on display by creating beautiful landscapes of the Caribbean. These also will be sold in order to raise money for the Foyer. Each artist was paid for his work to incentivize creativity and entrepreneurial skills. They are encouraged by their 3^rd place finish in Food for the Poor annual worldwide competition.

Kids Projects

During this trip the young children at the Foyer participated in beading, bracelet making, bridge design and building, drawing, and geography activities. During this week the children did not have camp and appreciated the stimulation and opportunity to engage their bodies and minds. 

Mamba Making

Tati Jo and the other girls and women at the Foyer created their delicious Mamba (peanut butter). This budding business is a hit with volunteers. Catherine, never leaves Haiti without a Mamba supply J and Tracy bought several jars to bring home.  All the proceeds go to the Foyer.