Tuesday at FNDL

Cool today .....in the 80s and overcast ( it even rained for 10 mn last night) dogs have settled down... crows still noisy.. street vendors calling out their ware...children's spoons busily scraping their breakfast bowls..Jo giving quiet directions to one and all..dogs back at it...their barks can cover all other noises...

 

Today's challenge..to get the guys to finish the coop........they need to install the wire mesh and as of last night I don't think they had a clear idea of how to do it...and no material for it.

 

Last night was the essay writing competition. More than 25 highschoolers were surrounding the 2 long tables in the only lit space of the Foyer, some on the floor using their knees for support. Maud was mercilessly asking for immaculate penmenship and neatness. It has been so interesting to read what the children have written about their lives at the Foyer. Most seem to be content, well adjusted and grateful, one has disturbingly revealed he feels trapped and can't wait to leave. I believe it is the young boy who already ran away for a few weeks but then decided it was still easier to live within the rules of a Home than in the street.

So far I have rewarded the production of Zanmi bands, card drawings and we have paid the older boys when they were being trained and participated in aspects of the construction. It occurred to me that academic pursuits should also be rewarded, some of the children want to become doctors or engineers and Maud is pushing them to excell in school. Not easy..many of them are really behind for their age. Before living here , they had no formal regular education and they struggle to catch up. French is their second language but essential to their highschool education and for college.

It is 7 am and I have already enjoyed excellent coffee, and tasty toast with "mamba piquant", a spicy homemade peanut butter..am ready for this new day.,

Sunday in Haiti

To impatient me, progress is slow.. but if I stop and consider , it is a large coop and I also realize that hand sawing takes probably about three times longer to accomplish what an electric saw could do. No electricity today at the construction site: not that we are not connected to the city circuits ( from two zones) it is simply not available. Why? It is Sunday? No idea, no reason, it just is. The generator? It doesn't work any more, (got to wait for the technician to come fix it, some time.. soon...).. the other one was stolen , so hand sawing it is.  Icee and Bellegarde are the two men that sacrificed their Sunday plans to help make it happen. "Just because it is you and Madame Maud" .

This being said; the frame is up, rafters are being laid out and tomorrow hopefully the roof will be up. Maud and I are talking marketing strategies. Since the vaccinated laying hens chicks are not available, she will start producing chickens for meat: 6 weeks to maximum growth. One the older boys ( 20 year old Edwardson is being introduced to the business and will be trained to manage it, he will get help from the watchman to insure safety and care.

Tomorrow we hunt for chickens.

Faith continued!

 A very short time ago, I had told Maud " go ahead, start building the coop, people will come through.. we will raise the money"  and she did... not telling me so I would have a special surprise when I got here!  And what a surprise it was!  It is going to be big and airy and shaded. 
Straight from the airport we went to the hardware store to buy the 2x4s and the tins.. men spent a good 40 minutes calmly loading all this on her pickup truck and all of a sudden ,the whole cargo slid off and crashed to the ground...Plan B. We hired a Tap Tap to carry the load over the dirt bumpy road to the construction site.
It is actually happening.....the coop is going up.
Oh, we did find out the agriculture ministry is out of vaccinated chicks!  so plan B ????

Eggs for Haiti

Eggs…Easter…Spring …life renewed… hope……..and I am grateful… grateful to all the wonderful people that have so generously given their skills or money to make that hope come alive. Friends far and near, the Loyola University Maryland community, from students to faculty, administrator and staff across the whole campus have helped raised the funds needed to build a chicken coop in Haiti. Truly a wonderful accomplishment.

That was the first challenge!

Packed, ready to head out, it is now the start of the second challenge! But I have an edge: I know that challenges will be at the rendez-vous! Are we going to find the cement we need? Will the gravel and sand be delivered today or the next? And what if the generator breaks down again and we can’t use the pump to pull water from the well? How are the men going to be able to mix the cement for the foundation? Will enough 2x 4 be available when we need them? And the right wire fencing?  And what about the hens… when will the ministry of agriculture have the 100 vaccinated hens we are seeking to buy?  That will be just part of it.  After I return to the States, the journey for my friends in Haiti will continue. When will we know that the bargain is paying off, that indeed this is an income generating enterprise?  In theory there should be no losses… if the eggs don’t sell there are at least 96 kids that can eat them but… to make a profit…to gain self-reliance… how long will it take?

It is almost Spring in the US, I saw a crocus in bloom today on my walk and so I have faith. 

Rendez-vous: Haiti is a new club at Loyola University Maryland

RENDEZ-VOUS;HAITI is now officially a club at Loyola University Maryland!

Thanks to the invitation for me to speak in Dr Peter Lorenzi’s Social Entrepreneurship classes, socially conscious bright energetic Seniors are volunteering to help the project in Haiti.

My new intern Rodrigo  Cordon Villa de Leon is working hard to make RVH a 501 c ( 3) organization and helping with the campaign to raise funds to build a chicken coop during Spring break.  Kendall Ryan, Nestor Cardona of the Enactus group, John Lenart, Raquel Luciw and Justin Lu are all on board contributing their skills to make things happen.

Amazing talents are revealed to me as, for example, Kendall is showing not only computer programs mastery but social-media savvy and Nestor net-works and secures a venue to sell the bracelets produced by the children of the Foyer NDL: those Zanmi solidarity bands are going to be the hottest item on campus if he has his way! These are two examples about how students on campus are effective in supporting overseas operations.  I am really excited to see which other creative ways the students will find to be involved.

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

1st performance in new building

Ever watchful Maud ,Dec. 30, 2012

Card making competition

Jude making Zanmi bracelets

Card making thanks to Michelle McW.

Lovely and Marie-Claude making bead  necklaces

Samuel won the card drawing competition. No prior experience!

Craft making on balcony

Spelling bee Dec. 31,2012

Steven helps Sebastien

Angelo talented craft maker, finishing Zanmi  band

Emma smiles while beading.

Security fencing

Extensive work in securing tins to the existing mesh wire fence is wrapping up.  In Haiti violent frequent storms and winds made it imperative to put in place a sturdy cement frame. After a couple of weeks, three men have the project 90% completed, thereby preventing passersby prying into the site. Hidden from view supplies and people will be safer. 
Thank you Dr Gates, Richard and Janet Spear, we are grateful to have you join the circle of international supporters of the children of the Foyer Notre Dame de Lourdes.