Spring break 2018: solidarity in action

Fourteen students, Dr. Andrea Thomas , from Loyola University Maryland chose to joined me to spend Spring break living and sharing our lives and skills with one hundred and fifty of the children in the Foyer Notre Dame de Lourdes outside of Port au Prince.

This past March 2018 students were able to:

Teach English vocabulary and songs to 6 different age groups of students

 Work with local carpenter and mason to build a new storage space

 Organize hundreds of donations of clothes, shoes, medicine, games, and other supplies brought by the volunteers

Teach how to make pizza! It might turn into a job and a profit generating enterprise.

 


Work with several children at the Foyer to make a beautiful mosaic table in the hopes of making and selling more tables in the future

Facilitate arts and craft activities such as coloring, card making, gimp, rosary bead making, coconut key chain making, painting, etc.

Work with students who have aged out of the Foyer to clean up and paint their transition home

     

Bring new concept of sunlamps put together by intern Miguel Swing solving the problem of the often absent electricity!

Take all 118 children and staff to the beach for a day of fun in the sun

   

Spend time playing, laughing, and making memories with the many many children that call the Foyer home

     

Maud Laurent, Josette Sanon and their team are raising the standard of care for children in institutions in Haiti. Here children get to be children: they grow up in a healthy nurturing environment and also benefit from the care of the many volunteers who come from Canada, France and the US.

Volunteer student from Loyola University Maryland 's appeal

My name is Julia Kasmouski and I am a member of the club Rendezvous Haiti here at Loyola.

Last March, I had the privilege to travel to Haiti with a group of Loyola students to witness first hand the profound impact Rendezvous Haiti and its leader Madame Catherine Savell have had on the lives of those who live at the Foyer Notre Dame de Lourdes outside of Port-au-Prince Haiti.

This March I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to return to Haiti and continue the great work of this organization. Not only will I get to spend another week teaching, playing, and working with some of the most kind-hearted and loving children I have ever met, but I will get to take part in building upon the tremendous success Rendezvous Haiti has already helped to create. Since the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010, Rendezvous Haiti and the numerous volunteers that have traveled to the Foyer are helping dozens of children find paths of success through education and entrepreneurship.

This year with the help of generous donors two more teenagers at the Foyer have had the opportunity to attend the University of Haiti to further their education and become teachers. In addition, this coming March myself and another group of volunteers will be working to renovate a transition home for teenagers that age out of the orphanage but have nowhere else to go.

Being a part of this organization has completely changed my view of the world and I am so grateful for that. However, one person or even a small group can only do so much to enact positive change. Rendezvous Haiti and the 150 children at the Foyer need your help and support too. Whether that be through donations of toys, supplies, or funds, you too can help make a difference in the lives of children just trying to succeed. Because despite the hardship and poverty that has left many of these children without family to love them and take care of them, they have found happiness, love, and support at the Foyer and without the help of generous donors and volunteers none of that would be possible. Thank you.