Haiti

runny noses

2012-01-21T18:23:00.000-05:00

I remember when I first worked at Kay Saint Anne, and one of the babies had a runny nose. I asked a worker for something to wipe the child's nose, expecting a tissue. I never did learn the word for tissue in Haitian Creole since we never had any at work. The worker took the bottom of the little shirt the baby wore and lifted it to the baby's face to wipe the runny nose. This memory came to me the other day at work, when we were having a baby shower for a coworker. One of the presents that someone gave to the expectant mother was a battery operated gadget designed to get the snot out of an infant's nose while playing pleasant music. While someone was seriously commenting on what a practical gift this was, my mind could not help but wander back to Kay St. Anne. Towards the end of my time in Haiti it became possible to locate toilet paper at Kay St. Anne relatively easily at least on most days, which I did use to wipe children's noses; no batteries needed.

Two years have passed since the earthquake. Here is a slide show someone from Haiti posted on Facebook the other day, commemorating the 25th anniversary of NPH Haiti, as well as the second anniversary of the earthquake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmLlwo0PFNQ&feature=share
Enjoy!

Today I had a good time speaking Haitian Creole to a sister who speaks perfect Parisian French, but who could some how, amazingly enough understand my very poor Haitian Creole.
If you are still reading this despite the fact that I have been back in theUS for three months and my posts are infrequent,thank you, mesi!
Take care, Kathleen

New Job, New Year

2012-01-08T17:40:00.001-05:00

I started a new job on Tuesday. It is a clinical position, which will allow me to use my counseling skills to serve people who have substance abuse problems. Before I left the house on my first day of work someone asked me if I would haven an office or a cubical. Without giving it much thought I stated that I would surely have an office, explaining that for clinical work a cubical does not have adequate privacy especially for conducting counseling session. I was wrong; the therapists each have a cubical in one large room where we all conduct individual counseling sessions (actually, at the current time I am sharing a small cubical). I remembered my office in Philadelphia where the walls went all the way to the ceiling and I could close the door, and even turn on a little sound machine that made white noise making it more difficult for anyone standing outside the door the listen in on the content of a therapy session. After a nostalgic moment, I thought of my therapy situation in Haiti, when I had a tent and tried not to do play therapy when the older children were at recess because if I did I would have to constantly ask the older children not to watch through the tent window. When I did not have the tent, which occurred when I first started doing play therapy in Haiti and again after my tent fell down, I had to find a space in the containers which rarely provided the ideal space or the privacy I wanted and were often very hot. If I compare my current work situation to what I had in Philadelphia, I will only feel frustrated, if on the other hand I compare it to Haiti I will feel grateful. So many things are like this.

Today I went to a Haitian Creole Sunday liturgy here in New Orleans. Although I am from time to time listening to daily news in Creole through the internet and reading things written in Haitian Creole, I think I am starting to lose a little bit of the language. I feel like I worked so hard to learn what I know, even though I am not quite fluent, that I want to try to maintain the skills I have. A toddler was looking at me during mass, and I played peek-a-boo with her for a moment. She reminded me of the little ones at Kay St. Anne. When I knew the to a couple of the songs during the liturgy I felt a real sense of joy, as I sang along (although not too loudly of course since I don't sing well in any language.)

In general I am doing quite well. There have been many things to adjust to as I have been transitioning in so many ways for quite some time now. On Christmas day my maternal grandfather passed away. I miss him a great deal and am saddened by his loss, and am very grateful for the gift of having known him.

Certainly 2011 for me a year with a lot of loss and so many funerals. The cycle of life we see everywhere, and the paschal mystery shows that dying leads to new life, death to resurrection. So, I begin this new year with a sense of hope and a sense of gratitude for all that I have, for all those I know and have known, and for life itself. Haiti certainly has taught me not to take anything or anyone for granted and witnessed to me that it is always possible to have a sense of hope and joy.

Happy New Year!

Anniversary of Death

2011-12-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

Today is the one year anniversary of Katiana's death, the little child who died of Cholera while residing at Kay St. Anne. Often I think of her, and pray for her twin sister. Her death still feels so sad and senseless.

Let us not forget the many children and adults who continue to die of preventable illness like Cholera, in places of our world where simple things like quality drinking water and basic sanitation are still lacking.

Seven Sorrows of Mary

2011-12-11T15:52:00.000-05:00

On Monday myself and another sister who is also transferring into the Marinaites of Holy Cross, were welcomed by the congregation in a beautiful simple prayer service held at a nursing facility where many of the older Marianite sisters live. In addition to the congregation's constitutions, and spirituality handbook, we were each given a set of Seven Dolor beads. At first glance they look like rosary beads however there are seven beads in each of the seven sections and when praying with them one reflects on the Seven Sorrows of Mary. These are situations which during Jesus' life and at his death, like a sword pierced the heart of his mother. The seven sorrows are: The prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the child Jesus, Mary meets Jesus carrying his cross, the crucifixion, Jesus is taken down from the cross and the body of Jesus is placed in the tomb. (for more information on the seven sorrows go to: http://www.marianites.org/spirituality/seven-sorrows-of-mary/ )

When I used these beads for my prayer, my mind wandered frequently to Haiti. It seems to me that the suffering many people experience regularly in Haiti, which I witnessed during my 14 months there, is much like the seven sorrows Mary experienced.

My mind goes to the mother of Kevin (name changed to protect confidentiality) the child who was sent to the United States for open heart surgery but died about ten months later. A couple of weeks before his death, when I went to visit him at St. Damien Hospital, she was so concerned for her son. She took my hand in hers and held it to Kevin's chest, so that I could feel that his heart was beating too quickly and too hard. Like Mary hearing the prophecy of Simeon, I think this mother was confused and concerned for the well being of her son. The previous November she had been told that his heart was fixed and he could be expected to now live a normal life. Now his rapid heart beat spoke of a different reality.

It was just about this time last year, when I spent a week working in the Cholera tents. People who lived a distance quickly needed to get to re-hydration centers quickly once someone became ill. I remember a mother who had come with her three children all of whom had Cholera; one of whom took a long time to recover. Fr. Rick would sometimes tell stories of people dying as they arrived because they came from such distances by the time they arrived they were too dehydrated to recover. Like Mary and Joseph fleeing into Egypt, for many people the difficult journey to a cholera hospital is an urgent a matter of life and death. During the days I volunteered in the cholera tents, I did so, because it was not safe to travel even the short distance to the baby house because of political unrest in the country, which greatly complicated the situation for the deathly ill people needing to make such a dangerous trip.

People lose their children in Haiti. Sometimes, extreme poverty leads a loving parent to place their children in an orphanage, abandon them in a hospital, or even send them to work at a young age with a family that is a little better off, certainly too I heard stories of children and parents unable to find one another in the immediate after math of the earthquake, and death rates among children are quite high as well. I remember the pained expression on the face of a father as he left his three young children at Kay Ste. Anne; with the understanding that the program would work to eventually reunite him with his children (by this point this was the decided mission.) I never knew his whole story, but I believe the mother of the children had died, probably in the earthquake. As he walked out of the house, he appeared to me to be on the verge of tears, something I rarely saw among Haitian men. The loss of his children from his care must have pierced his heart, as it had Mary's when she and Joseph were separated from young Jesus as they searched and eventually found him in the temple. In this particular unique situation, the father decided after only a couple of weeks to take his children back home, that struggling to support them in extreme poverty was better for him and his children then leaving them in the care of the program.

The face of an older child comes to my mind, a young person who grieved the death of both of his parents, and then experienced physical abuse, neglect, and rejection at the hands of the relatives who were supposed to care for him. Even though he is in a safe place where he is cared for now, he like many in our world continues to carry a heavy cross created by grief, loss, poverty, rejection and abuse.

The images of little babies I met one Saturday when I helped in a clinic come to me. One baby was being cared for by her aunt because the baby's mother had died. The aunt did not have money for formula to feed the baby, who was tiny, undernourished and suffering. Another baby in the clinic that day was even smaller and the sister/nurse I was with predicted that the baby would soon die. So many loving care givers feel so helpless as they watch their children suffer and die, because they lack of basic necessities

So often morning liturgy was a funeral and sometimes for very small children. I remember one mother who attended morning liturgy the morning following the death of her child. Her little girl lay in a body bag there on the floor of the chapel. As is common in the culture, the mother wept and wailed. At one point she pulled out a cute little dress that had belonged to her little girl and held it up for all of us to see. As this mother held her dead child's dress up, her grief was not unlike the grief Mary experienced when holding the body of her dead son in her arms.

This week it will be a year since we buried Katiana, laid her body in the ground just outside the chapel on the grounds of St. Damien hospital. Cholera quickly killed this four year old who had a wonderful giggle and eyes that suggested to me she had seen pain and suffering beyond my imagining. I think often of her surviving twin sister and think that the pain of such a loss in my mind is like Mary's pain when the body of Jesus was laid in the tomb.

Backpack

2011-12-02T21:17:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago, one of the workers at Kay St. Anne offered to wash my green back pack for me. I felt a bit embarrassed when I realized how dirty it had gradually gotten. This is the knapsack I took almost everywhere I went in Haiti. When she offered I politely said, "non mesi," (no thank you.) Aware that I would be returning to the states soon, I told her that I would wash it when I returned home. Well, since I am home, in the place where I actually am now officially living, and have finally after many weeks am no longer living out of suitcases (Mesi Bon Dye/thanks be to God), I washed my back pack. It contained an amazing amount of Haitian dust, some of which came out easily turning the water brown. I washed it by hand and might throw it in the washer when I do a load of dark clothes soon. I doubt all of the dust will come out even in the washer-machine though because it just seems to be so deeply embedded in the fabric. It is one thing to take the bag out of Haiti, but deep down there may always be some of Haiti in that bag. Even if I do manage to get every speck of dust out of the knapsack, I still think it is an adequate metaphor because I know I can't possibly wash all of the Haiti out of myself.

Peace Pole

2011-11-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

You have probably seen a peace pole somewhere. On each of the four sides in four different languages are words about peace on the Earth. There is one here on the grounds of teh convent in New Orleans where I am staying and will be officially moving to in a few weeks. One of the four languages happens to be Haitian Creole. Near the foot of the peace pole there are flowers some of which are the very same kind that grow near the chapel on the grounds of St. Damien Hospital in Tabarre Haiti. I recognize them because some mornings before liturgy in Haiti, I would pick some of those flowers to place on the body bags; so many mornings daily liturgy was a funeral. I am grateful that since I left Haiti, I have yet to go into a church for daily liturgy and see body bags containing Cholera victims or dead babies on the floor. I find that I am grateful for things that I never would have thought tobe grateful for prior to going to Haiti. Today near the peace pole and the flowers that I saw a beautiful orange butterfly; a much welcomed reminder to me of resurrection and transformation.

Weather

2011-10-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

Everything in America looks different to me because I spent time in Haiti. The other day, when someone commented that the roads near her house were not well maintained, my mind wandered to the dirt roads in the neighborhood of Kay Ste. Ann and bouncing in the seat or in the back of the truck on the way home from school with the children. While I could easily acknowledge the imperfections in the road probably due to warm summers and cold winters, the roads looked quite good to me, since these things are relative. When someone talked about how bad the mosquitoes were in Philadelphia last summer, I acknowledge how annoying that must have been, but my thought was yes, but, at least, here it is highly unusual for them to carry malaria or other serious illnesses. I did here from a volunteer in Haiti yesterday that a couple of children at St. Louie have Malaria, and also that there have been some recent difficulties with the safety of the drinking water for the children. How strange it seems to me now, that here, I take a warm shower in water that is actually perfectly safe to drink.

I took this right after the snow started yesterday; we actually had a couple of inches on the ground this morning. It is very beautiful!

If the conveniences and other cultural aspects related to reentry and reverse culture shock were not apparent enough, I only had to look out my window yesterday to be once again reminded that I am clearly not in Haiti anymore. Snow in October, while there are still leaves on the tress, highly unusual for Philadelphia. Today when I look out the window it looks like autumn and winter at the same time, as there is still snow on the ground and many of the trees are dazzling with their fall colors shining in the sun. I am enjoying it as there was no winter or fall in Haiti, and New Orleans does not get the significant seasonal changes either. Actually it will be nice to be in a place that is considerably cooler than Haiti, and considerably warmer than Philadelphia. I enjoy all kinds of weather, though, so I go where my heart leads.

Here is the website for the Marianites of Holy Cross, the congregation I will be transferring to:
http://www.marianites.org/

Orevwa Ayiti, Cheri!

2011-10-23T18:52:00.000-05:00

Tuesday evening there was a at party at Kay Ste. Anne to say, "mesi, orevwa," (thank you and good bye) to me. The children sang and they danced. It was so touching. They presented me with a booklet of drawings that children had made with notes on the back of the pages from many of the workers. At the party, I laughed with the children and cried as I said my farewells. I miss them a great deal.

Using money that people had given me for Haiti, I was able to put new mats down for the children to play on and bought a tent like play house and some new puzzles and other toys for the playroom I had set up many months ago. Thank you to all who gave me money for the children of Haiti. Thank you too for all of you who were encouraging and supported me with your prayers and compassion.

There was a volunteer from the states who painted a mural in the chapel during the last week or so that I was there. There had been some earthquake damage in the chapel by the hospital where the volunteers and others gather for liturgy each morning. The mural speaks to me of hope and transformation which continues to take place in Haiti. Sometimes it is hard to get a good sense of what it changing in Haiti on the larger scale, but in the lives of individual children, and in the Father Wasson Angels of Light program as a whole I must say I have seen much hope and positive changes during the fourteen months that I was there. If nothing else, I know that the time I spent in Haiti, the contact I had with the people of Haiti, the experiences I had have certainly transformed me and I am grateful

When I told people in Haiti, I was leaving they typically asked me when I was coming back. I told them I would not be returning, and then said, maybe someday, "si Dye vle." This seemed to satisfy most, as if God wants is a common comment among the people of Haiti who have so much trust in the will of God.

On Thursday afternoon, I flew Portauprince to Miami, and then my flight to Philadelphia was delayed. I arrived in Philly very early Friday morning.

I heard from an American women who is volunteering as a nurse with the FWAL program. Even though the children had a good-bye party for me and knew for quite some time that I was leaving, and even though I explained to some of them that I was going so far away that I would take two airplanes to get there, when they saw the nurse and one of the driver's for the program, the children asked the driver if he would go and get me and bring me back to St. Anne. Just thinking about that, causes me to want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Please continue to keep the people of Haiti in your prayers. Please pray for me too, as I reenter into the so called "first world," and also begin a major transition of transferring from my current religious congregation, the Sisters of the Holy Redeemer to the Marianites of Holy Cross. After a long discernment process, I truly have a sense of peace that this is what God is inviting me to at this point in my life, but farewells and transitions are rarely easy.

Thank you again, to everyone who was supportive to me in any way during my time in Haiti. I am grateful to for all of the people in Haiti, who taught me so very much. I am not sure how regularly I will update this, if at all since I am no longer in Haiti. Thank you for reading it. May you experience God's presence on your life's journey wherever it leads you. Many Blessings! Take care.
Love and Prayers,
Kathleen

Reflections as I prepare for my final days in Haiti

2011-10-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

There are somethings about Haiti I will surely miss. There are other things I will not miss, and there are many things I will probably miss with a sense of ambivalence.Needless to say I will miss the children at St. Anne and St. Louie. I will miss their smiles, their laughter. I will miss the ways the young children stand behind me while I pretend to look for them and they call out while giggling "Se Kathleen pa we m" (Sister Kathleen doesn't see me.) I will miss seeing children for play therapy, but I won't miss the challenge of finding a place to conduct therapy with an acceptable amount of privacy. I will miss the workers at St. Anne. I will miss the morning liturgies in the chapel at St. Damien, but it will be very nice to attend daily liturgy where I know there is nearly a zero percent chance (as apposed to a nearly 95% chance) that morning mass will be a funeral for dead babies and or cholera victims. I will miss the volunteers here a great deal, but I won't miss people who did not go to mass asking me how many bodies there were at mass. I will miss speaking Creole and learning new words but I won't miss the frustration I feel when I really don't understand what someone is telling me even though they have repeated themselves several times. I will miss the sound of the rain on the metal roof, but not miss the rain falling through the roof onto the floor of these little houses. The list could go on, but I don't really want to bore you. Mostly I will miss the people.

There were a lot of visitors here this weekend because a Dominican sister from the United States who worked for NPH many years ago, now in her 90s returned for a visit since the Cholera hospital is being named for her. There was a very lovely liturgy held on the grounds of St. Luke and St. Philomen hospitals nearby. Teenagers and young adults she had cared for when they were babies came to the mass; it was very touching. As I looked around at the land where the liturgy was held I thought about how,so much has changed since I arrived 14 months ago. When I first came, the FWAL children had their summer camp program on those grounds, and very soon after my arrival moved to where St. Louie and the FWAL school currently stand. A couple of months later, tents were placed on that property to treat people suffering from Cholera. Now, there are more permanent structures there. When I look at how much some of the children have grown and changed in the past fourteen months, it is amazing. It is a privilege to have witnessed such growth. Although I can't quite name all of the ways yet, I feel that my time here has changed me as well.

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti. Please pray for me as well, as I say my goodbyes here in the coming days. I hope that you are well. Thank you for all those who have been supportive to me in so many ways during my time here; be assured of my continued gratitude and prayers.

Hand-Me Downs and ti bebe (little baby)

2011-10-09T17:27:00.000-05:00

Hand-Me-Downs
Since, school started, it was more difficult than usual to find a private place to conduct individual therapy sessions with the children I have been seeing for play therapy. The tent I used during the previous school year is no longer standing. There was an empty shipping container at St. Louie which seemed like a reasonable spot, although it was impossible to close the door the all of the way from the inside. While I was working with one boy who is about seven years of age, a girl who used to live at St. Anne came to the container door and slid papers with hearts drawn on them through the crack between the container door and called out the name of the boy I was working with. Later I realized that the tee-shirt the little girl was wearing had a picture of two dogs sharing a drink and and had the words, "Puppy love" written on it in English. While I thought her shirt was perfectly appropriate she hadn't a clue what the words on it meant. Many people in Haiti don't know what their tee-shirts say, because often they are hand me downs from the United States. My guess is that somehow when thrift shops get too much, the excess finds its way to the Haitian people. When we have passed people selling clothing on the side of the roads volunteers have joked that one of us might see something that once was ours. People wear shirts with the names of events they could not possibly have attended, races they have never run, schools that are very different from their own, and cities no one in their family has ever visited. Sometimes people are oblivious to the reality that their shirt has a rude message on it. On one occasion I explained to a very kind and agreeable woman who among other tasks, mops the floors (an endless job) at Kay St. Anne, what her shirt meant, on the front it read, "why be difficult" and the back said, "when you can be impossible." Another day, I saw a young dark skinned Haitian man wearing a tee-shirt with the words, "Irish grandmother" printed across the chest. It is not just clothes, many cars, trucks, including tap-taps,were probably once in the states. Sometimes they still have fading signs of companies that I just know are not doing business in Haiti, or signs which make untrue claims, that they are shuttling people from the New Ark airport to a New Jersey hotel. Every now and then you see a vehicle adorned with two license plates, one Haitian and the other American; Florida is the most common but I have seen several other states represented.

Ti Bebe
Yesterday I accompanied a sister who is a nurse to volunteer at a clinic at a parish church near one of the poorest areas of the city. The image of one tiny baby stays with me. This fifteen day old, was being cared for by her young aunt, who said that the mother of the baby had died. They tiny baby was quite malnourished, probably because the aunt was not able to purchase formula. The baby was given medicine because she had a fever and infection and referred to a malnutrition program. As I looked at that tiny child, I could not help but think of how we have no control over the circumstances in which we are born.

Next weekend will be my final weekend here. This blog may be ending in a couple of weeks as my time here ends. If I know that people would continue to read it, perhaps I will at least for a couple of months, do some updates as I reflect on my time in Haiti when I am no longer here. Please, let me know if this would be of interest to you.

Please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers, especially that little baby and other very sick people who are living in extreme poverty like those whom I met yesterday. Thank you!

Anpil Bagay (Many things)

2011-10-02T20:50:00.000-05:00

There are so many things I want to write about this week. As it was a full weekend, is already getting late, so I'll give brief perhaps seemingly random summaries and thoughts:

One day my heart ached for a mother who arrived at the chapel during morning liturgy looking sad and distraught because her child was one of the several dead we were praying for that morning, lying there covered in a cloth on the chapel floor. This mother still had a hospital bracelet around her own wrist which made me wonder if the child had died at or soon after birth, or if they both had been in the Cholera hospital at the same time.

Yesterday was the monthly visitor's day for the children of St. Louie and St. Anne. As always it is such a difficult day for some of the children who do not have any relative that comes to see them. Yet, it is difficult for some of the children who do have visitors when their visitors' leave. Yesterday one father decided to take his children home with him. In this particular case I think this was a good thing for him and for the children.

It seemed rather ironic to me the other night, when I decided to wait until the heavy rains stopped before leaving my house to get water, especially as water (although not safely drinkable) was dripping from the ceiling onto my bedroom floor.

Today I went on a day trip to Kenskoft to visit the children who used to live at St. Anne that moved to the big orphanage in the mountains several weeks ago. The children mostly seem to be doing well there, thank God. I am a bit concerned about one of the youngest little girls who was sent up there, because she looked so sad on both occasions that I have visited since they moved. As I am not planning to return to Kenskoft in the next (less than) three weeks, it was the beginning of goodbyes for me.

School will start for the children at the Father Wasson Angel of Light School tomorrow. School is started later this year than originally scheduled so that more children can go to school for free. It is hard for me to get a good sense of exactly what took place in the past month that will enable more children to attend school than would have if it had started in September. This has been one effort of the president and I did notice billboard type signs on the road to Kenskoft with pictures taken of President Martelly with smiling school children wearing new uniforms and Haitian Creole words about children going to school. In general though it seems that many people here in Haiti are frustrated with how little is happening to improve their lives.

Have a good week!

Byenveni e Orevwa (Welcome and Goodbye)

2011-09-25T14:12:00.000-05:00

We welcomed 14 new children at Kay Saint Anne on Monday. Some of the young children looked scared and confused when they arrive to this new place and when the relatives who brought them left. It does not take long to love the new children, to realize that they all have unique personalities and preferences. A few were scared of the two puppies that now resided on the grounds of St. Anne, while one of the youngest toddlers to arrive was fascinated by them. Much time and energy this past week was spent helping the new children get used to the routines of the house.

As the walls in our little prefabricated volunteer houses do not go all the way to the ceiling three of us who live in the house hear everything (except if it is raining then the only thing you can hear is the rain on the metal roof.) One of the women I live with, told me she could hear me talking in my sleep recently but could not hear what I was saying. It would not surprise me if I was saying, "lave men ou apre ou itilize twalet (wash your hands after you go to the bathroom,) since I find myself saying that with great frequency most days. Of course when 36 children under the age of six live in one house, in a country that continues to have a cholera epidemic (or perhaps by now it may be endemic), I think it is important. When, I came to Haiti, at some level I knew that I would not really know what I would be doing until I was there, but somehow thought I would be doing more clinical social work, and had even been trained in EMDR (a therapy used in trauma treatment) before coming. I have been doing play therapy with several children, but I spent a lot more time encouraging basic things like hand washing especially at Kay St. Anne. Before coming I kept saying I felt called to go where the needs were the greatest, and even here once I arrived, what I thought would have been the greatest need (trauma therapy) could not take prescience over more basic needs such as safety and sanitation. When I see the great poverty and suffering that exists in this country I can't say I have done much to make any systemic changes or done anything that would appear significant overall. But I can say that now most of the time, most of the children at Kay Saint Anne wash their hands with soap after they use the bathroom and before meals. I am not sure if I truly convinced people that it is dangerous to store bleach in bottles that used to contain sugary soft drinks especially if the bottles are occasionally left on the ground especially in a house where up to 40 children under the age of six live at any one time, but even if there are people working in the house who are not fully convinced of the danger, it does not happen anymore which I think has to do with my persistence (although in this specific instance I must admit I was not always particularly patient.)

Yesterday after work, I went with a short term group of medical volunteers on a tour of the city. I had seen much of it before, but each time I go downtown, I see something different. I noticed that the rubble had been cleared from around and inside the existing broken shell that was the Catholic Cathedral of Portauprince. It appears too, that some of the remains of the presidential palace are being dismantled. In many places, there are still thousands of people living in tents, right across the street from the palace. Most tents have been reinforced with something perhaps scraps of wood or metal or have sturdy sticks holding them up, and many have extra tarps on them, probably to help keep out the rain. Event he tents here for our short term volunteers where I lived my first month here has a tarp on it now.

In less than one month I will be leaving Haiti. After a long prayerful discernment process, I have made a decision which has resulted in my leaving Haiti earlier than I initially planned, which I expected when I made the decision. I truly have a deep sense of peace and joy believing this is the right decision for me at this time in my life, although saying good bye to the children is going to be especially difficult.

Please continue to keep the people of Haiti in your prayers. Many Blessings!

Basic Updates

2011-09-18T12:11:00.000-05:00

Since ten children from St. Anne had moved to St. Louie and the 15 new children will move in tomorrow, it was a calmer week at Kay St. Anne. I actually think the ratios this past week were more like what I would ideally want them to be all of the time, because smaller numbers allow for better supervision and more individual attention for the children. When there are so many needs and such limited resources, in a country like this I imagine, it is difficult for those in management positions to find the balance between taking in more children who are in desperate need, or serving fewer children while providing more intense services. We heard this week that there are currently budget concerns across programs. It really makes you realize how everything is connected, economic problems in the United States and Europe impact the amount of donations that organizations such as NPH receive, but the needs don't decrease and here in Haiti because of the earthquake and cholera needs have increased greatly. While this is not a fundraising blog, and I don't like asking I decided it is important enough to mention that if anyone reading this who may be interested in making a donation to NPH, if you would like you could ask that it specifically go to Haiti, and directly to the Father Wasson Angel of Light program, here is the link to the website of the fundraising arm of the organization: http://www.friendsoftheorphans.org/s/769/start.aspx

This week during activities at St. Anne, when I wanted to do something a little different, I taught some of the children a classic american children's game, only I called "kanna kanna zwa", instead of "duck duck goose." I was surprised that they enjoyed it so much, that several times later in the week the children got together and spontaneously played it themselves during their free time. I enjoyed watching some of the toddlers who did not fully understand the part of the game where you try to return to the other person's seat on the floor, but who took great pleasure in tapping the heads of other children and joyfully exclaiming, "kanna!"

On Friday I visited with the children who had moved from St. Anne to St. Louie last week. They all seem to have adjusted well and are doing fine.

Yesterday morning, I went with the other volunteer and a driver to visit the family of the child I had accompanied in the states last year, who died a couple of weeks ago. We were warmly welcomed into their small house, which was essentially one little room, with a couple of beds, a table, four plastic chairs, and a shelf with a small television. As I looked at the way the exposed wires hung from the ceiling, I wondered what my father (an electrician, who often comments on how things are wired when visiting a new place) would say; I suspect the wiring would have made him nervous. When the other volunteer needed to use the bathroom during the visit, she was apparently provided with a bucket. The child's mother, two brothers, and a cousin were there. One of his brothers resembled him quite a bit. Everyone in the immediate family seems to be relatively tall and quite thin, and each had a beautiful smile. I enjoyed visiting and talking with them. The family seemed appreciative of our presence, and of the donation we had brought to them, which I believe was from the Rotary Club in Florida which had sponsored the heart surgery last fall.

Hope you are doing well. Have a good week.

Perspective

2011-09-11T16:56:00.000-05:00

Perspectives
Since I have been in Haiti I have been stretched to realize that so much of what I see, could be seen so differently by people of different cultures, or who have had vastly different experiences. The other day when I was riding in the car to a liturgy in a mountain village called Fondwa, we were stuck in traffic on the way there. A large gasoline (tanker) truck was in the middle of the road turned over on its side, completely blocking the road, so that traffic could not pass in either direction. I fear that the driver was at least seriously injured if he survived at all, based on the condition of the cab. When I hear of gasoline leaking from a truck, my thought is of how dangerous this could be because it is flammable and the fumes are not good to breathe. Many of the people living nearby most of whom were very poor had a different perspective. People of all ages were carrying buckets, plastic water bottles, and pitchers, and containers every shape and size, filling them them to the brim with gasoline. I said to the other sister in the car, that all of these people can't have cars, or generators. She said they would probably sell it. We and all of the vehchiles in front of us, ended up driving through a nearby field as it was the only way around the truck. That same day in another location on the side of a large gas tank in English it said something like, "dangerous, contents are flammable, fumes can be harmful." I thought to myself anyone in Haiti who is educated enough to read those English words probably already knows that gasoline is flammable and the people who are least likely to read it are probably least likely to be aware of this.

Vow Ceremony
On the day I saw the tanker truck, I was accompanying another American sister, to the vow ceremony for a young congregation of Haitian sisters, the Franciscan Sisters of St. Antoinne of Fondwa (I hope I got there name right.) The American sister who works here at the hospital now, worked with the sisters there in a clinic prior to the earthquake. Fondwa is a rural village in the mountains. The liturgy was held in the temporary structure which stood on the foundation where the church was before it fell down in the quake. The current church was constructed of corrugated metal held together by beams of wood, which looked as though they had been used before, I wondered if the wood had been salvaged from the fallen church. There were sturdy chairs which had been handmade somewhere in the countryside. The decorations in the church were a couple of plants, some fake flowers and ribbons. The decorations outside were mostly hand made paper chains. There was profound beauty in the simplicity of it all. The bishop of Portauprince presided at the liturgy. Two sisters made final vows and two sisters made first vows; other than the two sisters who founded the congregation these were the first two sisters to make final vows. There was such joy among the sisters, their families, and the people from the village. After the mass, we were all invited to stay for a meal of delicious fresh Haitian food; the sister I was with said that the turkey was probably walking around earlier that morning. As people were finishing their meals there was the distant sound of thunder. Since many people from the village had walked, and even a couple came on horse or donkey, the party cleared out quickly as people attempted to get home before the heavy rains.

Kay St. Anne and Kay St. Louie
This morning ten of the children moved from St. Anne to St. Louie. They came to Sunday liturgy at St. Louie and were introduced to the other children after the mass ended. Then the children went to their new rooms, which are the shipping containers that each house about 16 children and a worker. I stayed around a short time afterwards. I was glad to see the children who had just moved in playing well with the children at St. Louie. Next week we expect to receive 15 new children at Kay St. Anne.

Funerals, Activities. and a Wonderful Weekend

2011-09-04T18:41:00.000-05:00

Funerals
Last weekend Fr. Rick returned to Haiti after some time in the states. Daily liturgy resumed here in the little chapel by the pediatric hospital. Apparently, someone had pointed out that we often had funerals for people that die in the cholera hospital and sometimes for people who did at the adult hospital but never for the children who die at St. Damien hospital. At some point, while I was away children who die at St. Damien began to be included in the funerals. On Monday there were many bodies of small children. During Fr. Rick's absence they had accumulated in the being held in a freezer now kept on the side of the chapel. Usually the dead are not people I knew personally; it is sad in a general way. Sometimes I wonder how many of those dead would have survived had they been born in the United States or Europe.

On Thursday night, I heard that the child who I had spent a week with in Florida last year had died. The other volunteer who has spent time with him called me. I walked to the front of the hospital to offer condolences to his grieving mother. We hugged for a moment, I said little; some situations are simply too sad for words. On Friday, the daily liturgy was like the funerals on the previous days that week in many ways, but it was more difficult and more meaningful because I knew and cared for one of thechildren whose body lay in a body bag on the chapel floor.
I had visited him in the hospital a few times since he was admitted. His death was not expected to be imminent and there was even some talk of possibly sending him back to the states for surgery. The last day I visited him was a couple of days before he died. To my untrained eyes, he appeared to be getting better. He was sitting in a chair by his bed, talking with me and shooing mosquitoes away. His young heart failed him; in my heart I carry memories of him. Please pray for his mother and family.

Activities
The government has changed the official start of the school year from early September to early October in order to make it possible to implement a plan so that when school does start more children in Haiti will be able to attend school for free. When the summer camp for the children in the Father Wasson Angels of Light ended a couple of weeks ago, we were expecting school to be starting soon. I have been involved in the planning of more structured activities for the children at St. Anne during the month of September. The new schedule starts tomorrow and I am looking forward to it.

Weekend
The organization planned a weekend at the beach for all interested long term volunteers in Haiti. The hotel where we stayed was lovely, and in a great location. It was wonderful to spend time swimming, playing in the water, reading, kayaking, hanging out with the other volunteers, and eating the delicious food at the hotel. The hotel even had hot running water for showers! Most of the time I am in Hait, I am not even aware of the reality that I am on an island; this weekend was a major exception. I included a few pictures in an attempt to share the beauty of the Haiti seaside with you. What a wonderful restful weekend!

This morning, while still at the hotel, I was sitting by the pool reading. A small group of people including some police and UN people. exited the conference building and walked by. In the mist of the group, wearing blue jeans and a dress shirt was President Martelly, the President of Haiti. Apparently there was some kind of a meeting taking place that had to do with the UN, at least that is what a young woman who was sunbathing by the pool told me. I was amazed at how little fanfare there seemed to be actually.

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend, and for those in the US celebrating Labor Day; may you have a blessed and enjoyable day.

Ke kontan; ke kase (Happy Heart; Broken Heart)

2011-08-27T11:16:00.000-05:00

Puppet Show
On Monday, a short term volunteer from Italy came to Kay St. Anne with me. She apparently took a clowning class in Italy. She quickly put together a simple puppet show for the children, which they loved. It was wonderful to watch them watching her. One little boy sitting in the back row jumped up and down with pure delight. This was a fun activity which took place before medical workers arrived to give all of the children vaccinations, a much less pleasant event to observe.

Kenskoft
On Wednesday I accompanied the 12 children who do not have family with whom they can be reunited, on the journey to Kenskoft. When I was at St. Louie, I heard the oldest girl who was leaving call out, the the kind gentleman who oversees Kay St. Louie, "Met, Met, Pa bliye m." (Teacher/mister, don't forget me.) My heart was touched as he assured her that she would be remembered. We stopped half way up the mountain in Pettionville, where NPH has an office; there we picked up other children, whom I did not know who were also being admitted to the orphanage in Kenskoft.

A four year old from St. Anne sat on my lap during the ride up the mountain. I remember when this little girl arrived at St. Anne last year. She seemed so small, and so scared. I held her the day she came. During her first weeks at St. Anne she cried every afternoon when I was leaving for the day. She had come to us from a previous orphanage (not NPH) who either did not want to or felt they could not care for her because of her health problems. When she arrived at St. Anne we were told that her mother had died, and her father was in the process of dying. Now this spunky four year old child who has lost both of her parents is at her third orphanage. She cried on and off during the trip as did other children. When a child cries a common reaction in this culture is for adults to tell them "silens" or "pa kriye" (silence or don't cry.) I tried to normalize their crying for the staff and explain in my imperfect kreyol that it is better that they cry than to hold the feelings in. A few words from a foreigner is not likely to have any significant immediate impact on what people have done and experienced their entire lives. Each time I heard an adult tell a child not to cry, I felt a little more like I might cry for them.

When we arrived in Kenskoft it was raining and unusually windy which people attributed to the storm that had passed us by without actually hitting us a couple of days earlier. We pulled the bus into the courtyard of the school. The children's newly assigned workers came to meet them. I made sure I said goodbye to each of the children individually, especially those from St. Anne. One toddler clung to me for a few minute, as I stood by her new worker, eventually she was taken into the arms of her new worker and waved to me and said, "bye bye" as she left the court yard to head towards the house.

Fet
Thursday was not only my birthday but was the feast of St. Louie, for which the home for the older children in our program is named, and the one year anniversary of my arrival at NPH. For the feast day celebration, there was a special liturgy at St. Louie that morning. In Haitian Creole the same word, fet, is used for birthday, feast day, party, celebration, and it has a couple of other uses too. It was not only my fet, but also fet for all of the children over the age of six in our program who celebrated the feast day of the patron of their house that day. After mass, the children joyfully sang Happy Birthday to me in Creole, French, English and Spanish! Then I was able to wish all of them "Bon fet!" I was delighted that my fet was their fet too.

Heart
Last November, as those who read this regularly might remember, I spent a week in Florida with a Haitian child who had heart surgery because due to immigration concerns Haitian parents are not typically allowed to accompany their children to the US when the child is there for surgery. I recall feeling a sense of joy when I translated for him when the doctor explained that he was all better. Unfortunately, this proved to be untrue. A few months ago, after an american pediatric cardiologist came to St. Damien Hospital, I heard that there was something wrong, and that this child will probably need to have heart surgery again. Yesterday, the other volunteer who had also spent some time with him in the states last year, informed me that he is currently in ICU here at St. Damien Hospital. I stopped by to say hello to him last night. He is on oxygen, and was sitting by his mother. When he saw me he smiled, but he looks tiered. His mother took my hand and held it to his chest; she wanted me to feel that his heart is beating too strongly and too quickly. His mother asked about my parents, because the child had told her about meeting them in Florida while he was recovering from surgery. He remembered going in the car with them and eating at a restaurant. His mother explained to me that her son has an infection and then she seemed to be explaining that something was ripped or torn; the previous surgery for some reason apparently did not work, despite the doctors believing it had last November. I don't know too many of the details regarding his situation or the likelihood of him returning to the US for a second surgery. In the meantime I will pray for him and ask you to do so too.

Hurricane
We were fortunate that the Tropical Storm Irene, which is now a hurricane, did not hit us directly. It seemed to affect the weather pattern a bit, but not in any serious ways, thank God. For all of you on the east coast of the United States who may have felt the earthquake and are preparing for Hurricane Irene, please be assured of my prayers. Take care. Be safe.

2011-08-21T15:09:00.000-05:00

We had two parties this week. On Tuesday was Fet Pe Wasson. Father Wasson was the founder of NPH international. At that party, the children heard his life story and how he started his first orphanage in Mexico. Then small groups of children did skits, dances and sang songs; many about Pe Wasson.
The following day was the end of the summer camp program, so there was a party, with presentations, singing and dancing. I am often impressed with the talent of the children.

The Father Wasson Angel of Light program is transitioning from an orphanage to a program which will work to eventually, carefully reunite children with living relatives,if they have them. The program will eventually serve as more of a boarding school for children in dire need. I think this is a very good thing for the children who have families, but obviously creates challenges for those who have nowhere to go. It was decided that some of the children who are considered to be true orphans with no known relative capable of caring for in the future would be sent to the large NPH orphanage in Kenskoft. Yesterday I accompanied (along with a couple of workers who themselves grew up in Kenskoft,) a group of 12 children to the orphanage in in the mountains so that they could visit before they actually move there. Some of the children seemed a bit scared when they first arrive, which made me grateful that this was just a visit. They got to see some of the houses during a tour and had a picnic lunch. As we were getting ready to leave the fog rolled in and it started to rain. We were not very far down the mountain, still in the town of Kenskoft, when traffic was completely stopped. Apparently three trees had fallen into the street, so we had to wait until they were removed. In the mean time during the hour of so of waiting, most of the children needed to go to the bathroom and a diaper needed changing. When I opened the door to the of the bus/van there was a small stream of water running down the road and a down power line very close to the van. It was quite an adventure. Eventually the trees were cut and we were able to continue and arrived safely, thanks be to God.

While I was in the states, the permanent structure for the FWAL school was begun. This is defiantly a good thing as many of the tents that were used during the last school year as classrooms are not in good shape at all. In fact the tent that I was using for play therapy and my psycho-social educational groups was no longer standing when returned. As I noticed yesterday during the trip to Kenskoft there are still many people living in tents. Let us pray that the predicted tropical storm Irene will change paths especially for the sake of the people who do not have adequate shelter.

Take care.

M te tounen nan Ayiti. I returned to Haiti

2011-08-14T15:12:00.000-05:00

My final days in the Unites States were quite busy. The memorial service for my baby cousin on was held in Rhode Island on Saturday, on Sunday I returned to the Philadelphia area, and on Monday morning flew direct from Newark NJ to Portaprince.

On Tuesday I spent the day at Kay Saint Anne. Instead of the children going to the summer camp program at St. Louie, the children are staying home and workers are coming to do activities with them. I was so happy to see the children again, they seemed happy to see me to, they actually clapped and cheered when I walked into the house where the workers were trying to do activities with them. Many of them seemed to have grown so much in the time I was away! It is great to be back.

Thank you to all the people who gave me things for the children, or money to purchase things for them. Each day this week I brought something else to Kay Saint Anne. One day the sandals which a family member had asked a high end children's store to donate. These really came in handy since many of the children were wearing broken flimsy flip flops. The next day I brought hand made beautiful sun dresses and shorts that a group of people in Rhode Island sew for children in living in poverty in developing counties. They looked great on the children and are perfect for the hot Haitian weather. The socks, underwear, stickers, crayons and other items will all be used well. The children thanked me, and I told them I would thank the people who gave me the items for them or the money to buy the items. Ti moun yo di nou "mesi anpil!" (The children say to you "thank you very much!"

There have been some positive changes at St. Anne in the time I was away. There are more workers hired, so that the ratio of children to adults has decreased. There is one worker present at all times who is to focus on the three children who have either a developmental or physical disability. I am very pleased about many of the changes because I think the children and workers will benefit.

On Friday afternoon, I went to see the older children at St. Louie. It was great to see them. They seemed happy to see me too, but a couple were clearly disappointed that I had not brought Ti Toti (my turtle puppet) along. One of the youngest children there, was very excited to use a few simple English phrases he had learned while I was away. He asked, "what is your name?" I responded and asked him his name and when he did not know what to say, I prompted him with the correct response. Then he asked, "how are you?", I responded and asked him the same question, again prompting his response. It was the same for, "who are you?" He was beaming with pride that he knew these phrases. He then gave me a look as if to say that he had one more. With pure innocence, not having any clue about the meaning of what he was saying, only aware that he was speaking English, smiling with great pride at his newly acquired language abilities, he proceeded to pronounce one of the most inappropriate of four letter words in the English language followed by the word "you." Not wanting to burst his bubble, I gently whispered, "sa pa janti, nou pa di sa. (that is not nice, we don't say that.)"

This morning, I went to liturgy at St. Louie. The children all wear their best clothes to mass and sing with such joy. My heart filled with a sense of gratitude.

Have a good week. Take care.

Updates and a poem

2011-08-02T15:39:00.000-05:00

It has been quite a while since I last updated this blog and much has happened, some wonderful moments with family and friends, and some sudden and deep sadness such as the death of a baby cousin. I attended provincial chapter, returned to Rhode Island for a few days to be with my family, then went to Cape May NJ where I had a wonderful retreat experience.

Here is a poem I wrote early during retreat which begins with an expression of my grief related to those who have died of Cholera in Haiti as well as the tragic death of my baby cousin.

Water, I am angry.
I am angry at you
for containing Cholera which killed countless people,
including four year old Katinana,
who had such a great giggle and traumatized eyes.

I'm angry at you
for luring Jameson with your playfulness and beauty
for flooding his little lungs
and forever separating his spirit from
his toddler body.

Water, you were my friend,
Your ocean waves have so often spoken to me of God
rhythmically stirring my soul from sleep,
often holding me afloat
or welcoming me for sacred moments beneath your surface.
who else could I pray and play with as I do you?

Water, you never failed to quench my thirst,
to cool me when I am hot,
to wash away the dirt and grime of daily life.

Don't worry, my love,
my anger will dissolve.
I will forgive you.

Now I am feeling bold enough and sorrowful enough to ask
you, if you will forgive me and all of humanity,
for the countless ways we have
wasted, poisoned, and plundered you.
In harming you we have hurt ourselves.

We are not separate from you.
You are in me; you are my blood.
Each sip of you I swallow can remind me
of our intimate unity.

Today as I stand by your side,
as I immerse myself in you,
I offer to you all that I have to give,
which is essentially you,
Releasing from my body,
flowing into yours,
beloved friend,
receive these tears.

I plan to resume more consistent weekly blog updates beginning in mid August. I look forward to my return to Haiti in less than a week. I hope you are having an enjoyable summer.

For a month and a week: Orevwa Ayiti; Hello USA!

2011-07-05T16:23:00.000-05:00

Since I last updated this blog, on the two days of work last week, I attended two positive meetings that gave me a sense of encouragement that certain situations would improve for the children at Kay St. Anne. Some of those improvements were put into place almost immediately. It was difficult to say "orevwa" to the children and to Haiti. I already miss them; young children can grow so much in one month and one week.

On Wednesday morning, after some confusion regarding my prearranged ride to the airport, I left Haiti. The flight from Haiti to Florida is considerably shorter than the flight from Florida to Providence. I arrived at my parents' house in Rhode Island on Wednesday evening. There were many things to do in preparation for the wedding. We have relatives visiting from Ireland. It has been wonderful to see so many relatives and family friends during these past several days. My sister Erin and her long time boyfriend were married in a beautiful ceremony yesterday at the historical towers in Narragansett Pier. They seem happy, and I am happy for them. We followed the Irish tradition of "afters" which means having a party following the wedding reception; it was entwined with the American tradition of the fourth of July celebration. We had delicious chowder and clamcakes, a real Rhode Island specialty. As the wonderful day of celebrations came to and end we could see fireworks near and far over and around Narragansett Bay.

I feel like I am a world away from Haiti, although I often find myself wondering how the children are doing and praying that all is well with them.
Often kind and caring people over the past several days have asked me, "How's Haiti?" Certainly it sounds like a simple question but there is no simple quick response. Nothing comes to mind that accurately captures the situation in Haiti well especially when one is greeting guests at a wedding, a rehearsal dinner or a fourth of July party.

For the next month or so I may not be updating this blog every week, (perhaps a brief update from time to time but I am not committing to it) while I am on vacation, participating in the province chapter for my religious congregation, and on retreat. Weekly updates will resume in August when I return to Haiti.
Enjoy these summer days wherever you are!

Jedi

2011-06-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

On Thursday there was no school because it was a holiday, Corpus Christi. I spent the morning at Kay St. Anne. When one of the newest children, a baby probably just over a year, who was barley over the chicken pox had a very water diarrhea that consisted of small white slimy peices shaped like rice, I got scared. These are the classic symptoms of Cholera. She was quickly sent to the Cholera hospital, where thank God it was determined that she did not have Cholera; she was returned to Kay St. Anne later that very day. The next day she no longer was having white watery rice like diarrhea and even smiled a bit.

There is a child who has been staying at the homes of workers and their families until it seems unlikely that she will get chicken pox from other children at Kay Saint Ann, because she has other health issues. When workers were changing, on Thursday, afternoon I asked to go with them so that I could see the child before I go on vacation. With a worker and a driver I into the crowded city and past the broken cathedral and what remains of the presidential palace, up hilly roads through well populated urban neighborhoods which felt to me like a maze. It was great to see this wonderful little girl, who should be returning to Kay Saint Anne one day later this week. She had grown, and seemed happy. She slept in my arms much of the way to the other worker's home.

At some point during this journey my Haitian cell phone fell from my pocket. The driver and worker and I searched the cab of the truck where I had been sitting but could not find it anywhere. I thought it fell out when the child exited the truck. It did not. The phone was found in the truck probably the following day. Last night, a friend called my number for me and the driver answered. When he returned it to me this morning I was appreciative of how honest and helpful people are until I realized all of the money on the phone card had been used except for one half of a gourde which is worth about two cents or so. I am glad and grateful to have the phone back.

In a few days I will be able to use my american cell phone; I am really really glad for that.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share the beauty of this tree while it is in bloom. It is near my house.

Happy Father's Day to my dad, grandfather, uncles and all fathers. Working with children who are not being cared for by their families increases my appreciation for own family experiences.

Yesterday a group of children from Ste. Anne went on a picnic. We traveled to a nearby town to property which NPH owns. It was wonderful for the children to walk around the land. There were magnificent mango trees which provided great shade. They children saw goats and pigs as we hiked around a bit, jumping over small streams of water. Then they enjoyed sandwiches and Tampico (a sugary fruit drink popular with Haitian children.) It was truly a great outing for them. All of the children from Ste. Anne will get a chance to go there, and the older children from Ste. Louie will all get a chance to go to a beach sometime this summer.

There is much to do in the next week and a half or so; at this point, although I will miss the children, I do find myself looking forward to vacation.
Have a good week!

Happy Pentecost!

2011-06-12T09:59:00.001-05:00

The week began with continued cloudiness and rain, but by the end of the week we were back to the typical sunny and hot Haiti weather. Yesterday, I went with a sister who is a nurse to a clinic at a parish in the city. After driving through the crowded streets, we arrived to find a large crowd of people desperate for basic medical care. There were many people, especially children with skin conditions which probably were a result of living in wet tents during the past couple of weeks. There is the sad realization when working with people who are experiencing what seem like extreme poverty, only to find that there are people much worse off. People are given medications to treat their infections, skin problems, and injuries and illnesses. In reality, so many of these problems are the results of systemic injustices, because so many of these things could easily be prevented if resources were more equally distributed, if people had adequate shelter, basic nutrition, clean water. I think it is helpful for me to see the kinds of situations that many of our children probably experienced prior to coming to Kay Ste. Ann. I wonder what does world look like when seen through the eyes of a young Haitian mother or child living in a crowded dilapidated tent in the slums of Port-a-prince?

Yesterday evening, I went to a local parish for liturgy with two other sisters. The liturgy was beautiful the singing, like the people was Spirit-filled. It was a wonderful Pentecost celebration.
Many Blessings!

Toti epi Lapli Turtle and Rain

2011-06-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

Toti
I use a turtle puppet for the pscycho-social-educational groups which I am doing with the kindergarten and first grade classes at the Father Wasson Angels of Light School. Over the course of the school year, I have become closely associated with this puppet, which is called Titoti (little turtle.) Currently I am teaching the children about different emotions. One of the books which came with the Kreyol children's library which my relatives purchased for Christmas, is the story of a child who finds a turtle on his way to school and puts the live turtle in his pocket. During class he sits the turtle on his shoulder which causes another child to feel so frightened that the children runs out of the classroom. I was reading the story to talk about feeling scared and afraid.
I don't think the young guy who helps out at the school, knew that I would be reading this particular story last week, but when he found a turtle near where he lives, he decided to bring it to me, as a gift! Somehow it seemed oddly providential given the story that I had planned to read that very morning; and I thought that it was very thoughtful of this young man to think of me, although in all honesty I received it with a bit of ambivalence as I wondered what I would do with this creature in my play therapy/class-room, which is really a tent.

Unlike the turtle in the story, this turtle was too big to even fit in an adult size pocket or sit on even a large person's shoulder! I decided to keep turtle for a week, so that the children could get a chance to see it and then release it; I believe that it belongs in nature. The children have mostly been curious and delighted, although a few were afraid that it would try to bite them. I decided it is a female, as one morning when I entered my tent, which was beginning to smell a bit like the reptile house at the zoo, there was a broken egg in the container where the turtle had been placed to swim. I spent a long time cleaning the tent yesterday and have used a lot of hand sanitizer the past several days.

One night when I was able to get internet service, I looked up care for pet turtles so that I could learn all of the things I was doing wrong while trying to care for this creature. There was a lot of information which was not helpful as I did not know what species I had, had not bought it in an American pet store, am not even sure if they sell turtle food sticks anywhere in Haiti, but am very certain that the merchants outside the gates of the hospital don't carry them. The internet pet turtle experts talk about indoor and outdoor arrangements for pet turtles but I was not sure what they would consider a tent. In the little story I read to the children the turtle is given little pieces of carrots and apples. Someone who had read the book when I left it in an office to dry one day brought me apples for the turtle the next day. I asked the woman in the kitchen for scraps of vegetables and they gave me a carrot and a cabbage leaf. People are so generous; an assistant teacher gave me a hat with a turtle on it this week too.

Yesterday morning, when I arrived the turtle has left the container with water and was hiding under the green plastic tent floor partly in the mud. I did not want to disturb it since I wondered if it could be making a nest. This morning, when I went to check on the turtle I thought perhaps she had left on her own, but then found her hiding between two layers of fabric that make up the walls of the tent. She will soon be enjoying her freedom.
Lapli
Normally during the rainy season, it rains most evenings or nights sometimes quite heavily but rarely for more than an hour. The sun is usually out and it is fairly rare to have an overcast day. This week has been an exception. Hurricane season began the first of June, and we have had a tropical depression all week, which has meant cloudy rainy days. The temperature has sometimes been cooler, but the humidity sometimes seems higher than usual. Thursday it rained almost all day; the children did not have school because of Ascension Thursday. When all 39 children were in the house all day long because of the weather, it made me very grateful that this kind of weather is so unusual here. The humidity was so high that day that in the course of working with the children I had sweat through my clothes so much that one little girl pointed to my damp pant leg and innocently asked me if I had peed on myself!

The swings at Kay Ste. Ann on Thursday, notice the puddles under them.

On the mornings at the school, when I sweep the water out of my tent and try to keep the floor clean enough that children can sit on, my heart goes out to the thousands of people who are still living in crowded tents here in Haiti. The rain also somehow makes Cholera incidences increase as well. Let us pray for those living in tents, for those suffering from Cholera, and for a safe hurricane season. Know that you, my family, friends, community members, and others reading this are in my prayers too.

Cholera Continues

2011-05-29T12:16:00.001-05:00

People in Haiti continue to get Cholera. There is not the same energy around it as when the illness first arrived. It has been quite a long time since volunteers here who were working in other programs were asked to also help out in the Cholera tents. Now, buildings have replaced the tents and there is sufficient Haitian staff working there. In the past several days though I was reminded several times that the problem has not gone away. Several days this past week, daily liturgy was a funeral mass for victims of cholera. A couple of the bodies on the chapel floor were quite small (babies or young children.)

At the end of last week a young child, who I think may have significant disabilities, was brought over to Kay St. Anne. While being treated for Cholera apparently the child was abandoned. We do not know his age, only his name. I think he could be about three or four, since when we stand him up he is about the height of some of our children who are that age, but it is hard to tell. Since we don't know his age it is hard to get a sense of how delayed or disabled he is. He is pretty much non verbal, although one day when I was playing with him when he grabbed my telephone, after I said "alo" (hello) many times and held it to his ear he eventually repeated the word clearly. He does not walk, but does scoot around on the floor a bit. Someone is trying to find a better placement for this child, where there are lower ratios of children to adults and where staff have received training in serving children with significant special needs. The organization I work with has one home at the orphanage in Kenskoft for children with disabilities, but it is full and not likely to have any spaces soon; many of the "children" who were placed there because of the degree of disability are now young adults who continue to reside there as they are not able to live independently. The organization has some out-patient programs providing services to children who have disabilities as well. I imagine it is challenging for any family anywhere to care well for a child with a severe disability, but here in Haiti, where there is so much extreme poverty, so few resources, where even non-disabled poor children are not given the right to a free and appropriate education, and subsidies like social security disability are non existent, it is a far greater challenge. A family who abandons such a child may believe that an organization that can run a hospital must have access to resources to care for the child in a way that the family can't. While this Haitian child who likely has significant disabilities who was abandoned in a Cholera camp, seems to have so much going against him in life; I must say his smile is brighter and more frequent than the smiles of most people I know.

Today is Mother's Day in Haiti; so, Happy Mother's Day again. I am also aware that it is Memorial Day weekend in the states, so Happy Memorial Day, too. I always think of Memorial weekend as the beginning of the summer season. In Haiti it always feels like summer; the past week or so has felt to me like an August heat wave, although fortunately it is not so very hot here today.

A month from now, I will be heading home for Erin (my younger sister's) wedding, followed by vacation, provincial chapter and retreat. I look forward to catching up with family and friends.

Chicken Pox, Fet Drapo, and New Arrivals

2011-05-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

When we had only a handful of children left at Kay Ste. Anne who did not have the chicken pox and all of the other children who were sick including some of the youngest ones, were in the containers at Kay Ste. Louie, it was decided that all of the children should just return to Kay Ste. Anne. I suspect some of the children who did not get chicken pox may have had it when they were younger. One child is still away, due to other health problems; it was decided to keep her away from the other children, until the chicken pox are gone. When the children are itchy and terribly uncomfortable the workers turn on the hose and water the children, which does seem to provide relief for a while.

On Tuesday the school had a celebration for Fet Drapo (flag day.) A group of talented musicians came with trumpets, a trombone and drums and led most of the children in a parade around a few nearby blocks. The younger children stayed behind and danced and played. Wednesday was the offical Hatian Flag Day. Schools were closed for the holdiay. I spent the day at Kay Ste. Anne mostly attendingn to sick children, and organizing some activities for those that were up to it. The workers turned on the generator and the television and the children watched a program of flag day festitvites which was occuring live somehere in Haiti. Haitian music and dance is reallly beautiful.

The Haitian people really do take pride in their flag and in their history and in their culture. I think I can respect that such days are importnat to them and even enjoyed wishing people "Bon Fet Drapo," even though, for me something like Flag Day in the United States is not particularrly important. Although thinking about it did spark a memory for me. In all my life, I only remember ever doing anything to celebrate Flag Day in the United States one time; that was when I was in second grade and the entire elementary school walked to Narragansett Pier (the center of town) singining patriotic songs (we practiced so much that to this day, whenever I hear the song America the Beautiful finish, in my head I start singning You're a Grand Old Flag.)

On Thursday we had five new children move into Kay Ste. Anne. One new little girl, problaby under two sat silently eating her lunch while tears rolled down her face. It is so hard for me to imagine what it must be like for these children when they first arrive. At times, I tend to wish there were fewer children in the home, because I tend to beleive that it is hard for staff to meet their emotional needs well when there are so many. As each new child comes, I find that they are such delightful individuals, I can't help but love them. Often I need to remind myself that this situaiton, is probably much better in many ways from the situations they are coming from.

Please excuse spelling errors, I am using a different computer that is not my own, and it seems to be set to spell check in French. Thanks.

chicken pox and ti krapo (little frog)

2011-05-15T16:44:00.001-05:00

The current challenge here is that several of the children in our program have, or recently have had chicken pox, and it seems likely more will get it. At least in my mind chicken pox seems like a normal childhood illness that children typically recover from without problem, unlike other illness children in Haiti often get. Once the children are diagnosed with it they are staying in one container at St. Louie to avoid contact with others. The children do seem to handle these things fairly well.

On a lighter note, the other morning when I was almost awake, trying to recall my dreams before opening my eyes and beginning the day, I suddenly felt something land on me. I yelped and jumped up immediately at which point I noticed a frog sitting on the floor next to my bed, which is where he landed when I sprang to my feet. At seeing this little creature I laughed out loud. I think it is some kind of a tree frog; they are pretty common around here. These frogs amaze me with their ability to climb walls and to jump great distances for such little animals. Sometimes you see them sitting very still for a long time waiting for a bug to go by. This frog however was not very still; I think that is why I liked him and was quickly able to forgive him for getting me out of bed a couple minutes earlier than usual. Since the internal walls in our home do not go all the way up the ceiling this frog was able to scale the wall a few times while I was getting ready for work, eating breakfast and praying. When I was ready to leave for the day, the frog was by the door. I opened it and gently guided the frog out. While I don't mind an occasional little frog or small lizard in the house since they eat bugs, I prefer them not be on my bed most especially while I am in it! I was glad the frog left since the woman I share a house with was staying home because she was ill that day and I was not sure if she would appreciate a frog landing on her resting body.

In national news the new president was inaugurated yesterday. I received an email from the professor of Creole I had in Miami last summer with a link to an article/letter he wrote encouraging the president to use Creole, the language of the people rather than French which many Haitians not fortunate enough to have been well educated can not really understand. It is of course written in Creole, I decided to include the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.alterpresse.org/spip?page=kr

Have a good week. Watch out for jumping frogs!
Take care.

Here is the frog as it is climbing the wall of the bedroom. A view of the face would have been more flattering perhaps, but this frog was just not sitting still!

2011-05-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to my mother, grandmothers, aunts, and all mothers and mother figures.

Today I was a God mother. Well, in this program our children's sponsors, (generous people in the US and Europe who agree to send regular payments to help our children who are assigned a child to sponsor,) are often referred to as God parents. Today though since those God parents do not come, I was considered a Maren (God mother.) I had the privilege of holding a child in my arms arms, a child who needs assistance to walk because of a physical disability, while he was baptized. He is a grateful young child with a beautiful smile. The children were all dressed up, girls in while dresses, and the boys from St. Louie all had little bow ties. Several truckloads, and small bus trips took the children, some of their family members and workers to a parish church about a half an hour away. Many children were baptized, and some of the children from St. Louie received first communion, some even received both sacraments today. It was a long, (especially for the toddlers) liturgy, but a beautiful one. The children were attentive and seemed to understand the importance of the day, except for the toddlers, who were very well behaved for toddlers.
Afterwards everyone returned to St. Louie for a fet (party.) It was fun. The children and family members who came really seemed to enjoy themselves. My job was cutting the large, beautiful cake into a couple hundred pieces for all of the children, guests and workers.
It was a good day. I hope you had a good one as well.

Storm and norm

2011-05-01T12:41:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, as I was on my way home from work, suddenly a very bad thunderstorm, with unusually strong winds arrived. I was in a tap-tap with a co-worker, and I called my supervisor asking her, to meet me where I get off the tap-tap, so that I would not have to walk even the short distance home. Just running quickly from one vehicle to the other I got drenched and most of the contents in my back pack were at least damp too. When I arrived at my little house, I put towels on the floor to soak up the water that had come in, mostly from under the front door.

When I arrived at the school the next morning, a few of the tents that are used as classrooms had blown down almost completely. Workers had moved benches from the classrooms to a space near the containers that has a roof over it, so the children would be in the shade. Classes resumed normally. There was too much water on the floor of the tent I use for my groups, so I found a different place to work. In between groups I swept the floor, and by the end of the day it was dried out so I was able to use it for a therapy appointment I had with a child. Assistant teachers and other workers, worked all day to reassemble the tents that are used as classrooms. When such things happen people do what they need to do and keep going. Here, in Haiti, there are still so many people who are living in tents. Tents of course are not designed to be lived in for long periods of time. I am sure many of those were blown down or flooded with water.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go for a long scenic ride to a clinic in a rural area. As we passed dwelling places without electricity or running water, people working the land with simple tools, women selling fruits and vegetables in crowded marketplaces, I thought for most of history and even now in many places most people have lived more like this than how we in the United States live today. Sometimes I forget this, and act as though having so many comforts and conveniences is the norm, rather than the exception.

This week I also began to help prepare some of the children at St. Anne for baptism; I am at least helping the older ones to understand what it means and what to expect. Next Sunday many children in the program will receive sacraments.

Please excuse my slow response to emails and things, the internet has been unreliable, but I am very grateful it is working quite well at the moment!

Have a good week.

Take care,

Kathleen

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T19:18:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was asked to incorporate some religious education into what I am doing with the children at St. Anne. I began doing this on Holy Thursday, meeting with small groups of the children telling them the story of these holy days. When I spoke of Jesus washing the feet of the apostles, in order to make it a little more concrete for them, I decided to wash their feet. When I was nearly finished with the first group, a child asked to wash mine; I was very touched by this gesture of such a young child.

On Good Friday I went with another sister to liturgy at the local parish since we were not having mass at the little chapel here on the grounds of St. Damien Hospital. We found seats in the church. There were also some people sitting outside in plastic chairs, who could here the liturgy. I had not realized how many people were present until the veneration of the cross when so many of varying ages, and probably different classes processed into the church to kiss the cross. This went on for nearly an hour, while people sang beautifully and solemnly. There is such great faith among the people here, many of whom have experienced Good Friday suffering throughout their lives.

On Easter Sunday there was mass at St. Louie. In the evening volunteers gathered for a party and spaghetti dinner. It always a gift to celebrate with people.

Hopefully you had a Happy Easter as well, and will experience Easter joy everyday!

2011-04-17T18:44:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture I took in the mountains yesterday. Haiti really is a beautiful country. Although I also saw a lot of suffering and difficult sights as well like earth quake rubble and the faces of people living in extreme poverty. Yesterday I went with a sister who works here at the hospital, who used to work in the mountains in a place called Fondwa. We drove through the crowded city of Portaprince and then into the mountains.

Today we had a Palm Sunday Liturgy at St. Louie. The oldest of the children from St. Anne came. Eight of them moved into St. Louie today. One seemed sad, a couple seemed happy since they have siblings there already.

May you have a blessed Holy Week!

Updates and Thoughts

2011-04-10T16:14:00.000-05:00

There was no school on Monday, although by the time they actually announced the election results the children would have long since returned home. Martelly is the name of the next president of Haiti; his stage name as a singer is "Sweet Mickey." His campaign slogan was "tet kale" literally means "bald head," figuratively it means something like the "the real thing. " If I remember correctly, last summer in Kreyol class when we were learning about music, before he declared his desire to be president, the professor talked about Sweet Mickey, saying something like, "all of his songs are nasty." I don't know what to expect and never felt I had enough information about actual issues to form an opinion regarding the election. We shall see what happens. The week was peaceful, no major manifestations or protests that I am aware of following the results.

I was saddened by the news that a sister in my congregation, Sr. Helen died this week. My prayers went out to her, her family and the other sisters in our small province. Please pray for all of us who will miss her.

A few of the children who reside at St. Anne who are already six years old will be transitioning to St. Louie next weekend. I am working with them to prepare them. When told they will be moving, they seemed mostly excited. A few of them having siblings there already. I felt a little sad that they will be leaving Kay St. Anne to live with the older children. Soon after they move out more little ones will be joining the baby house. The needs here are endless.

If a security guard, or a stranger on the street asks me how I am in French, Spanish, Creole or sometimes even in English, I respond in Haitian Creole.

The children are really enjoying the books my relatives bought. I enjoy reading with them and some of the workers do too. They love being read to. Some of the books I will use when I do the psychosocial program with the children at the school. Thanks again to all my family members who chipped in!

Well, I am off to St. Louie this evening where they children will be praying the Stations of the Cross.
Have a good week.
Take care,
Kathleen

Dlo

2011-04-03T10:39:00.001-05:00

On Monday it was unclear as to whether or not there would be school since there was supposed to be a strike and the tap-tap drivers were not going to take their trucks and buses out to provide transportation. It turns out that some did not work and others did. When I arrived at the school, there were not many children at all. The children who live at St. Louie, which is where the resident children who are over the age of six live, were there since the school and their home are on the same grounds. There were about 11 kindergarten children present but none of the kindergarten teachers or assistants had arrived. For two hours on Monday morning, I was the kindergarten teacher. Since there were not many children, I used the tent I normally use for the psychoeducational groups and for play therapy. I reviewed a lesson I had done with the kindergarten children during a recent group. Then I used some of the play therapy toys put them in different areas of the tent, as well as basic art supplies and allowed the children to play, or draw. The tent is hot.. After a while the children some of whom had sweat dripping off their faces, started to ask for water. They say, "Mwen swaf, dlo" literally "I am thirsty, water." Normally the teachers have a large blue water jug and plastic cups with each child's name written on it. I did not have this. I asked the director of the school how I could get drinking water and cups for the children. I had to wait. The children continued to ask. I felt so helpless. I was unable to provide such young children with something as basic as drinking water on a hot day. This was frustrating for me; I felt powerless. Perhaps this is at least a little bit like how parents who live in extreme poverty feel when unable to adequately provide for the basic needs for their children. After several minutes passed with continued requests for "dlo," and my growing impatience I marched to the converted shipping container called "Direksyon" to say that the children needed water, when I was told that I could send the children home, they were about to close the school since there were so few children. Because all of the children in my little make shift kindergarten class that morning, live at St. Louie which is adjacent to the school, I knew they would get water very soon. We do have enough water for the children, this day it was more of a logistics issue since there was confusion as to whether or not there would actually be school; the children were not at real risk of dying of dehydration. Yet, I know that there are many places in Haiti and in the world where good drinking water is not readily available. Later I reflected on my impatience and sense of powerlessness at not being able to provide water for the children. I had to ask myself if my anger was righteous anger in the face of injustice, or if I was simply being an impatient entitled American?

The Haitian presidential election results have yet to be announced. The day of the announcement keeps changing. Now it is supposed to be Monday, tomorrow. School has already been cancelled, as there is always the possibility that there will be protests and manifestations when an announcement is made.

Have a good week. Take care,
Kathleen

Mango

2011-03-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

mango

Today is Sunday. On Sundays when they are in season as they have been for the past few months, we get mangoes for dessert. On the property of Kay Ste. Anne and houses nearby there are mango trees. I think mango trees are fascinatingly beautiful. It amazes me how many mangoes you can see hanging off the branches of a single tree. These trees tend to be tall, give good shade and seem very fruitful. Each Sunday I try to cut my mango open a different way telling myself that if I am careful I can eat this mango without making a mess; I've had little success with this, but I guess that only makes it all the more fun.

On Monday there was no school, because it was the day after the election so I spent the day with the children at Kay Ste. Anne. These are busy days. Sometimes I feel like I just go from one activity to another, sometimes trying to multitask. One child is asking for water, while I am holding a toddler who I know will have a tantrum if I put her down, and while I am on my way to get someone a glass of water someone else needs toilet paper, which is sometimes hard to find and the workers are busy with diapers, mopping and other childcare tasks. Sometimes though there are calmer moments, when I can really enjoy the children. One little girl, a young three year old was singing the other day. I recognized the tune and that the sounds she was making were actually supposed to be English words which she did not understand. She must have heard the song at the Karnival party a couple of weeks ago. When she finished I told her in Creole that I did not know, and then in Creole I asked her who let the dogs out? She thought this was pretty funny. We both laughed.

Haiti's presidential election results have yet to be announced, maybe Thursday. There are talks of a possible transportation strike tomorrow to protest the rising cost of gasoline. So the week ahead could be interesting.

Hope you are well. Take care.

Yo te Rive! (They Arrived)

2011-03-20T11:47:00.000-05:00

Liv Yo (The books)
On Wednesday, I met with the workers at Kay Ste. Anne. I asked them among other things, what they would like to learn more about to help them better serve the children. I had hoped that they would be interested in issues related to child development, social emotional needs of children, literacy, the importance of play, things that I felt confident enough to discuss with them or prepare a presentation based on my experiences as a teacher and clinical social worker. The first response I received was that one worker wanted to lean more songs to sing with the children. I truly value the importance of music in the lives of children, seeing it as a mode for learning, for self expression and for increasing their knowledge of their own culture. Of course, this was one topic where I lack competence because first of all the songs I knowwell enough to sing with young children are in English (not Creole or French), and even in English reality is that I don't sing well at all; can sometimes get the general tune however I am nearly always too high or too low, and I am musically illiterate (I can't read musical notes.)
That afternoon, when I arrived back to the hospital grounds, someone said that the person who works in the Miami office had arrived with mail for me, a package that had been lost. Yes, the books written in Haitian Creole that my family (parents, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) had purchased instead of Christmas gifts for one another had after being lost in Miami for a couple of months, finally arrived! There were 100 of them in a portable case with wheels. There are a variety of books some beautifully illustrated, some for beginning reading, some board books, some with wonderful stories, a couple of poetry books, and even one large song book with songs for children in French and Creole (which I happily presented to the workers the very next day!) All of the books, with the exception of about three are written in Haitian Creole. Books for the children which are actually written in the language they speak! A couple of them are written in French; I could easily tell because in French unlike Creole, there are "q"s, "x"es and "c"s without "h"s. Some of the books are bilingual, either Creole and English, or French and Creole. This is such a wonderful gift for the children. I am so grateful, so fortunate to have such generous family, so willing to give a gift like this to children who lack family with the ability to provide even their most basic needs. Thank you! I am so grateful that I am crying as I write this!

Arisitide
The books were not the only arrival in Haiti this week.
There is a house not far from here , which someone pointed out to me when I first came calling it, "the house of Aristide." Actually, one can not see the house from the street just the wall, guard station, gate, with branches of tall mango trees which are growing behind and towering above the wall. Recently brush in front of the wall had been cleared away. Then the wall was painted pink and on the wall were placed little flowerpots each containing a few small Haitian flags. On Friday, some of the children were picked up from school a little early. My plan had been to go to Kay Ste. Anne for a shorter time than usual and return to the school to begin therapy with an older child who resides at Kay Ste. Louie. There were reports of "blokisis" (traffic jams) and gatherings near the house of Arisitde welcoming him home after his seven years or so in exile. In order to avoid the chaos on the streets, and because I thought it might take too long to get there and back, I did not go to Kay Ste. Anne at all that day.
Many people are happy that Arisitide has returned. Others are afraid that he will somehow bring trouble. It is suspicious that he choose to arrive two days before the elections; is he here to influence the election process in some way? The reason, he gave for coming now was that he does not know if the person elected president would allow him to come back. Of course there will be a period of time before the newly elected official actually takes office. I am not sure what to think. I have heard and read some positive things and some not so positive things about Aristide. He is a former Catholic priest who supposedly became involved initially in politics because he was motivated by a desire to help the poor in the vein of liberation theology and social justice. I have heard too that in time he became quite corrupt himself.
Certainly this is an interesting time to be in Haiti. Today is election day. Hopefully the person who gets the most votes will actually be proclaimed the winner and that the people will accept this, and that the winner will be motivated to work for the common good of the Haitian people especially caring about the majority of people who live in extreme poverty, and that the new president will not be corrupt or become corrupted once in office. I guess we have a lot to pray for.

Peace,
Kathleen

Lent

2011-03-13T11:34:00.000-05:00

The work week began with two days of Carnival celebrations with the children, which consisted of their getting dressed in donated costumes that looked to me like pirate costumes, (although when I said that a child looked like a pirate nobody seemed to know what I was talking about even though I thought I learned the word for pirate in creole class in Miami last summer.) The children crowded into the van and went to St. Louie to celebrate with the older children. When they arrived adults and older children painted their faces with glitter. There was music, children danced ate bonbons (cookies) and played musical chairs. It was wonderful for me to watch a child who has a developmental disability participate; she does not speak, though her smile spoke of excitement and joy simply to be dressed up and at a party.

The season of Lent began on Wednesday. I decided to lead an evening prayer on Friday evenings during lent for anyone (workers, volunteers, visitors) s interested in coming. A few people said they were interested but were unable to make it this week. Nobody came, but I can't say no-body was there, as on the chapel floor there was a dead body in a white bag, waiting to be prayed for at mass the following morning. We continue to have frequent funerals during daily liturgy. Even when there is not a body there, we are often remembering the dead. Every Thursday we pray for the dead who will be taken from the morgue of the general hospital in down town Portaprince to the potter's field for burial. On Friday morning, there were special prayers said for an Italian woman who died in the earth quake last year, since her parents were visiting because they are working to provide funding for prosthetics for survivors of the earthquake who have lost limbs. In some ways at first glance it seems like it is always lent in Haiti. There has been trial, and suffering one after another, taking shape in political unrest and cholera. Actually it often feels like every week is Holy Week. Like Jesus, there are people in front of us who died young, and unjustly (I say this because their maladies that would be prevented if world resources were distributed more equitably.)

If I focus only on my own trials, what I have given up by being here, the pain I have witnessed, I could convince myself that my whole time here has been one long lent so far. Yet, this is not the whole story, not by any means. Not for me, and not for the people I work with, and probably not for the people of Haiti as a whole (although I do feel a little presumptuous in saying that). I simply need to look at the babies at Kay Ste. Anne, including one who had been badly injured as an infant in the earth quake who are all at least starting to walk. Since I arrived, I have been gifted with new friends, new understanding and insights, new life, wonderful gifts. The children here have grown, I have witnessed this. There is joy in the midst of all of it. The children smile, laugh, sing, and learn. Recently, I heard that most of the tents in the camp behind Matthew 25 are gone, because people have moved on. Now, I notice in the car when we drive by certain areas, that some of the large tent communities actually seem to be slowly shrinking. In some areas there seems to be a lot of construction happening. There is hope here. There is new life, maybe even at least in some small ways, resurrection.
I think it is important to have liturgical seasons to communally focus on aspects of the life and death of Jesus each year. Yet, I also believe that every season is happening everyday only most of the time I forget to look for it, or name it as such.
May these days of Lent be blessed for you!

Visitor's Day, Safety, Mardi Gras!

2011-03-06T09:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, being the first Saturday of the month, was visitors’ day for the children at St. Anne and St. Louie. This used to occur only once every few months, now it is a monthly event. This is good, as I think it is important for the children to maintain contact with family members. The longer I am here, the more convinced that more needs to be done in some cases to keep children with family members, when possible. There are of course children who seem never to have visitors and who truly are orphaned, but many seem to have someone, an extended family member who does care. A few even have a parent, who for whatever reason was seen as unable to care for the child. I ask myself what can we do for the families to help them meet the needs of their children. Even before I arrived, the program was considering the possibility of having children go to their families for weekends and holidays. There are many reasons for this, as in some ways children as they grow older can be too sheltered if they only know life in the orphanage. The move towards more frequent visitor's days is a good one and the possibility of children who have someone, going home for weekends seems to be in the plan for the future, but of course ground work would need to be done first, and planning then for the children with no place to go.

Being here, I have come to realize how safety conscious my American culture is, and how in other places this is not the case. When people have always been trying to survive and don't have a lot of resources, things are prioritized quite differently. When I was in the states a few weeks ago, I watched as a child, (the son of a dear friend) who is taller than all of our children at Saint Anne, got into his booster seat in the back seat of a car and fastened the seat belt. Our children ride back and forth from St. Anne to the school either sitting in the back of a large truck with a flat bed, or in a crowded van; nobody fastens a seatbelt. If any of the smaller babies are with us, they tend to be held in someone's arms in the front seat. When I was home too, I stopped by the transitional housing facility where I used to work. There were no drastic changes in the childcare center, but it seemed so calm to me, and the ratios of adults to children seemed wonderful. We easily have more children in the three year old kindergarten class here than there are in the three preschool classrooms there. Issues related to safety, supervision and sanitation are often challenging for me. I strive to do what is best for the children, to advocate for their safety, while also not wanting to come in as the outsider sounding critical of workers or assuming that my way of thinking is better. Yesterday there were a couple of social workers visiting the program, from a university in the states; it was good to talk with them briefly discuss topics like culture and empowerment in this reality from a common professional perspective.

On Friday there was a Carnival celebration at the school. Children got dressed in costumes and danced and sang. Many children had glitter on their faces which teachers had given them to decorate themselves for the “fet.” An older child, who I don't really know, came up to me and wiped some of the glitter from her own face and put it on mine; later a couple of younger children tried to wipe the glitter off of my face and put it on their own. School will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for Marid Gras and on Wednesday for Ash Wednesday. I will spend the days mostly at Ste. Anne and go with them to the celebrations at St. Louie (where the older children live.) It should be fun.

If I were in Philly I would have a party; if I were in New Orleans I would go to the parades, but I am in Haiti, so I will go to the parties we will have for the children and celebrate with them.

Happy Mardi Gras!

M pa mouri.

2011-02-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

It has been a full week now since I returned to Haiti. It has been a while since I wrote. I wanted to do a blog update yesterday but was not able to get on line. My time in the states was great. Wonderful to see so many people. I also have many people to thank for my time there and for support and useful things given to me for the children here.

When I returned I was happy to see the children. They seemed happy to see me as well. Although I had told them I was going away for one week, I suspect some may have been surprised that I came back. One little girl at Kay St. Anne said, "Ou pa mouri;" which means "you are not dead." She said it matter of factly. This is logical for a five year old, whose mother died in an earth quake 13 months ago, and who ocassionally asks about Katiana (the four year old girl who died of Cholera in December.) To this child death is a part of life, and certainly more common than things like vacations.

I do have much more I would like to say, but will probably wait for a weekend when internet is working, and I am not (I work every other Saturday.) I just thought it might be good to at least do a brief update, let you all know that yes, I am happily, still alive!
Take care.

Greetings from the USA

2011-02-13T19:39:00.000-05:00

The work week went fine. It seems to me I had a story I wanted to tell, but now I can't think of it. I have shifted gears.

On Friday afternoon, instead of going to the baby house after school, I went back to my house to pack and then to the airport. Twelve hours after walking in the hot midday Haitian sun, I was at the airport breathing in Philadelphia's winter night air. It has been great to see community members and friends this weekend, and to meet this year's Redeemer Ministry Corps members. Great to have my American cell phone on, making it easy to contact family and friends. Today my community had a prechapter province gathering. I could see and hear everything very clearly! Skype is amazing, and I am grateful for it, but it is not the same as being physically present; so now I have attended one pre-chapter meeting in person.

My plans for the week include dentist, doctor, spiritual direction appointments, visits with family, and hopefully catching up with a few friends. I am grateful for the break. Sometimes I find myself responding to English speakers in Creole, but usually only when I say "wi" or "mesi" (yes or thank you.) I am struck by the abundance of things here in this country that I have always called home. There are many things that have always been here, like hot water in the shower, that I probably never really thought to appreciate before. I am also grateful for the warm welcome back, even if my visit is short.

A year after the inital idea, six months since my arrival

2011-02-06T12:16:00.000-05:00

If I remember correctly, it was just about a year ago, some time last February, when the initial possibility of going to Haiti was discussed. The very day it was mentioned as a possibility, I did some searches online for programs to learn Haitian Creole. A year later, after hours of listening to mp3 files and cds, using a program on the computer, a free on line class for eight weeks, and six weeks of intense university courses, and six months living in Haiti, I can speak very basic Haitian Creole, but continue to struggle with listening comprehension. If I better understood what people were saying, I would be able to do more clinical work, which there is a great need for. Yet, what I am doing now does have its advantages too, and I am enjoying it, probably able to reach more childre

Yesterday, we had another day for relatives to visit the children who reside at Kay St. Anne and St. Louie. This is always interesting. It seems so good for the children who have relatives who come. It seems so difficult for those who do not. Some of the children who have visitors seem to have such a hard time when they leave. I watched as a baby did not recognize the older woman who came to visit her (not sure if it was a grandmother or an aunt) in a typical developmentally appropriate display of stranger anxiety, the child cried for the workers she knew and the elderly woman ended up spending some of her time holding some of the other small children who had no visitors and less stranger anxiety

A few days ago they announced the results of the recount from the elections, and while there was word of some manifestations in some areas, it was not large scale, not in the immediate area where I am, and did not affect the school being opened or anything of that sort. Most people seem satisfied with the decision and the change in candidates as the initial "count" was likely not a reflection of the real results. There are some questions as to what will happen in coming days as the current president is scheduled to step down, and the actual election will not take place until March. Also, Arisitde is expected to return to Haiti soon.
Well, I am looking forward to spending some days in the United States soon. I am hoping that there won't be any snow storms that affect my travel plans when I arrive, and no political situations here that shut down the airport here in Haiti later this week.

So, hopefully I will see some of you soon, si Dye vle.

"GADE!" LOOK!

2011-01-29T18:56:00.000-05:00

There is a room in the hospital we tend to refer to as "the abandonded room." Unfortunately, it is not the room that has been abandoned, but the children who live there. There is some kind a law that children who are abandoned need to kept for a few months before they can be placed permanently (being abandoned is different than being brought to an orphanage and having a relative place a child in a program.) The children in the abandonded room are not living in a hospital because they need medical care. This week three young children who reside at the hospital, began attending kindergarten classes at the school. On their third day of school I had the privilege of being a fellow passenger during the very short ride from the hospital grounds to the FWAL school. The children were so happy to be going to school, so happy to be in a car, probably so happy to leave the walls the hospital room. Everything the saw seemed to bring them joy. "Gade moun!! Moun!", they would say everytime we passed a person on the road, which means, "look people! People." They would say, "Bon Jou" to pedestrains who could not hear them and then giggle with pure delight. Every time we saw a car one would say, "Gade, Gade machin!!" They were thrilled to see a street vendor selling food; "gade, gade manje, manje!!" The excitement level only rose as the van pulled into the gate of the school, "gade lekol!" as we rolled across the stones on the school grounds they proclaimed, "Gade woch! Woch!" Which means, "Look, rocks! Rocks!"

Their joy was contagious. Sometimes I take the beauty of people and objects around me for granted, and forget to notice all that is gift. (It may be okay, however to take some of the rocks for granite.) They helped me to recongize the beauty. Other events remind me too of the gift of life, people, family and relationships.

Most daily liturgies this week were funeral masses, most who died were victims of cholera. One morning there were three bodies on the floor, all in white body bags, sheets decorated with religious symbolism draped over them. The one in the middle was small, a child of six. The dead child's mother and a couple of other relatives were there. This was not the first child in that family who had died, I am told. The mother wept and wailed loudly much of the time, as is common for grieving family members in this culture. She cried and yelled, calling out for God. At one point during the mass, the mother pulled out an adorable red plaid child's dress and held it up for all to see. This was her child's dress, and now her child was dead. It was as if that mother were saying "look, look" and we did, getting a glimpse of her pain held there in that little dress.

This week I felt immense joy when being directed by children who had been abandoned to look at rocks on the ground, This week I felt deep anguish at the sight of an adorable dress in the hands of grieving mother, whose dead child lay in a white body bag covered by a decorated cloth, on the ground of the chapel.

Updates and musing regarding language

2011-01-23T12:59:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday I went with the woman who is responsible for Kay Ste. Anne and another woman who works for Father Wasson Angles of Lights, to visit the twin sister of Katiana, the little girl who died of Cholera a month earlier. After the funeral the family had decided to take the twin sister back and care for her. The family lives in a rural area, in the mountains. As is common in such areas, there were a few small simple houses very close together where extended family lived on the side of a mountain. The child in some ways looks as if she had grown a little and seemed physically okay. Yet, she seemed quiet and sad at the same time. What else though would one expect of a very young child whose mother and twin sister died before she even turned five?

I am glad that at Kay Ste. Anne now in the afternoons a couple of assistant teachers from the school are coming to help with activities. One of the other teachers at the school requested that after school the children in her kindergarten class continue with the same activities they do in the morning to help with reading and writing with the children. Aware that my own cultural values and perspectives were playing into my opinion I tried to explain that they can learn while they are playing and doing different activities in the afternoon. I mentioned that when they are drawing we can talk with them about what color crayons they are using to help them learn their colors. This is a teacher, who I think is very good with the children, committed, kind, and intelligent. Her perspective, reflects the culture in which she was raised. Since I don't know French, she suggested I learn it, since if I help the children learn their colors in Creole, and they will for example say "ble" (which means blue in Creole), and not bleu (which means blue in French) (the end pronunciation of the vowel sound at the end is different with the french having an "r" like sound) ; the teacher insisted that if the children go to another school people will think this was a bad school if they don't use the French pronunciation. She is probably right that there are people in Haiti who judge the quality of a person's education on how well the speak and pronounce French words. I do think if children are to learn a second language it is easiest for them to do so when they are still quite young, so from that perspective I see the value of beginning to teach a second language early. Yet, when I walk by kindergarten classrooms, I do wonder if educationally it would be more helpful for the children to learn basic concepts or colors first in the language they speak the vast majority of the time. When I first started working at the school in the mornings, one day I asked the youngest children their names in Creole some looked confused and started talking about Jemma Pell, but I knew there could not be too many people with that name in the three year old class, (when I was young I went to school with a girl named Jemma, and Pell was the last name of a RI senator, so it could be a name.)While I understand that it is a cultural value here to learn French at a young age, even though I personally don't fully understand or appreicate the importance because of my own cultual bias and educational philosphy, I realize that if I started learning Creole when I was three years old, my listening comprehnsion would be so much better than it is now.

Last night there was a program at Ste. Louie where the older children live. A group came on Friday and taught the children dance, singing, acting, juggling, culminating with a show last night. The children preformed along with the adult professional performers who taught them. It was well done and was actually recorded for Haitian television. Some of the older children from Kay Ste. Anne went over to Ste. Louie to watch the show. They were so excited for a night out! The name of the group is French, although the show was in Creole. Here is a link to the website:
http://www.lesrescapes.com/lesrescapes/PROJETS.html

There still seems to be mystery and speculation around the motivations for the return of Baby Doc last week. We have also heard that Ariside is hoping to return to Haiti as well. Of course you can probably get better information on these things on line or on the news.

My personal news is this morning I made plans for a week long visit to the US next month. Looking forward to that.
Well take care.

Anniversary, loss and life.

2011-01-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

As some of the offices and classrooms at the Father Wasson Angles of Light school have moved from tents into converted shipping containers, a tent became avaliable for my use when I do the psychoeducational lessons and play therapy. It is a large octagon shaped tent, large enough that the children can sit in a circle for the groups, and contained enough for play therapy. I was very happy about this.

That afternoon, shortly after returning to my little house, I recieved the sad news that a beloved sister in my community had passed away, Sr. Joan Marie. She will be missed a great deal. Her kind spirit and her laughter will always live in my memory. She was buried on Saturday. Please keep her family, and all of us who loved her in your prayers.

On Tuesday night before dusk, a caravan of trucks went from here to a place called Titanyen, where there are mass graves where earth quake victims were buried last year. There on the eve of the anniversary of the earthquake, people from all many nations stood holding candles celebrating liturgy together.  As distant fires probably lit to clear brush on fields somewhere burned, I could not fathom, the thousands of people's whose remains lay in the ground there. We had a couple of bodies with us, cholera victims most likely, who after the liturgy was over, were also buried there. Someone told me that since the Duvalier dictatorships, when victims of violene were first laid to rest there, this area has been used to bury people. Every week a group of people go from here to the city mourge to take the unclaimed bodies in attempt to give them a more dignified burial. (If you want to know a little more about information is included in this documentary (http://www.suncitypicturehouse.com/)

The following morning, I went with a large group of people into Portaprince where by the remains of the catheral  thousands of people gathered for a liturgy remembering those who had lost there lives last year.

Later that day, there was a mass here. All of the children from St. Anne and St. Louie as well as many of the employees of the hospital gathered. Later that afternoon, at the actual time of the earthquake a small group gathered in the little chapel here for a very touching evening prayer. Somehow, for me in a way that I can't quite describe, the anniversary of the earthquake really felt like a holiday or maybe more of a holyday. My hope and prayer is that the day was somehow healing for the many people who lost so much a year earlier.

It was only days after the earthquake that the Father Wasson Angles of Light Program first began reaching out to displaced children. On Sunday we celebrated its one year anniversary, with a party for all of the children who live at St. Anne and St. Louie. It was an enjoyable event. At the end the children were given presents, some of which I think they were supposed to get the previous week for Little Christmas. These presents seemed not to break quite as easily, as the others, fortuently.

The NPH office in the United States made a video which was released for the earth quake anniversary, showing the programs which were begun or expanded during the past year including of course the Father Wasson Angles of Light program. Here is the link if you are interested.  youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQuvQRWUMMH4&h=88b93

Now that the anniversary of the earthquake is over, things seem a little quieter here on the grounds of St. Damien's hospital.  The quieter is not likely to apply to Haiti in general, as you may have heard by now, much to the surprise of everyone, we got word last night that Duvalier, Baby Doc, the former dictator had just landed at the airport after spending about 25 years in exile. What does this mean for haiti? M pa konnen (I don't know.)

I also don't kow why this computer is insisting on spell checking this blog in French, even though it seems like it is set to English, so I will assume I have a kind audience who will overlook any spelling errors or typos, and as it is getting late I am not even going to proff read.
Good night! Take care.

Kado Kase

2011-01-09T16:10:00.000-05:00

School resumed for the children on Tuesday; and I resumed play therapy and groups at the school, and continued activities in the afternoon at Kay Ste. Anne. On Thursday there was no school in celebration of Epiphany. On this day the children from Ste. Anne went to Ste. Louie (where the children over six years of age live) to receive Christmas gifts. There were speeches, prayers, piñatas, and bonbons. Each child was given a Christmas gift. Most of the girls received dolls and most of the boys received toy cars. The children were so happy to open their presents, and enjoyed playing with them much of the afternoon. By the time I left Ste. Anne for the day, I had tried at the request of several children and with mixed results to put limbs back on dolls and wheels back on cars. To me it seemed sad when a new toy got broken only hours after being opened, but while some of the children seemed disappointed, I realized that some of them were not as bothered by it as I would have thought, they did not seem to have my expectation that things not break so easily, after all in many ways they are surrounded by and have known so much brokenness in their young lives.

The population of blahs (white person or any foreigner in Haiti) is dramatically increasing here on the grounds of Ste. Damien Hospital. Groups of medical professionals are arriving to help with Cholera, (now the Cholera hospitals are well organized, volunteers who began planning to come when the numbers of patients were rising, may find that they will be doing other things, as fortunately there are fewer patients.) Other visitors are here for January 12th, the first anniversary of the earth quake. Special liturgies and services are planned for this week. I will tell you more about them next week.

Please continue to keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T12:32:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday Anne Marie, the provincial (sister in leadership) of my community came to visit for a few days. It was wonderful to see her and to be able to show her where I work and live. She stayed with me in our little house. On Thursday she came to Kay Ste. Anne with me in the morning. I think she was ablet to get a sense of the beauty of the children, the reasons I feel called to work there, as well as the frustrations I sometimes face. While here, she got to experience a daily liturgy which turned into a funeral when a dead body was carried in during the mass. She was able to experience holiday celebrations as well, and people who are at times quite joy-filled even though they are often surrounded and have experienced so much suffering. I think too, she was able to experience the sense of community that exists among the volunteers that are here. On Friday we got a tour of the city, seeing the brokenness of Portaprince, the tent communities which even now seem filled to overflowing in what this time last year were parks and open spaces.  We passed the presidential palace and the catherderal, still in shambles as if the disaster had happened days ago. That evening we had a prayer service for the New Year followed by a party on the roof of the former volunteer house.
Anne Marie brought with her greetings, cards, things for the children and a few much appreciated gifts for me (like a hot pot so I can make tea.) I am so grateful. Thank you to all of you who sent greetings, love, donations, stickers, gifts, cards, and notes. I am truly touched by the generosity of so many people and feel supported in my work here.

After Anne Marie left yesterday morning, there was a visitor's day for the children who have family members. It was nice to see some of them enjoying time with thier relatives. New Year's Day in Haiti is also the day in which Independence Day is celebrated. For our main meal here, a pumpkin soup was served which is the tranditional meal eaten in Haiti on this day.  It was delicious!

I wish you and your family a happy New Year. Thanks for your support and even for being interested enough to take the time to read this. I have much to be grateful for as this new year begins. Let us see where it will lead, after all when this previous year began I had not imagined that this is where I would be now.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T11:50:00.000-05:00

On Christmas Eve I spent the morning with the children at Kay Ste. Anne. In the afternoon with all of the children and workers we went to Ste. Louie, the home for the children over the age of six. There a big meal was served to all of the children and they had an enjoyable Christmas party. One of the most enjoyble activities was the pinatas. This is not a Haitian tradition, but a Mexican one, but the first NPH orphanage was in Mexico and the man who oversees the Angles of Light program (which includes St. Anne, St. Louie and the schools) is from Mexico.

Later, I went with another sister and two medical volunteers from Italy to the Sisters of Charity (Mother Theresa's congregation) for midnight mass. It really started to feel like Chirstmas especially when we sang familar Christmas hymns in english. Everyone removes thier shoes when they enter the chapel and the sisters sit on the floor during the liturgy. Afterwards we had cake and hotchocolate before returning home, in record time since there was no traffic at all.

Yesterday morning, I went to Kay Ste. Anne, wanting to spend Christmas morning with the children. There were no special activities planned there for Christmas morning. When gifts are exchanged in Haiti, they are given more often around the first of January which is when Haiti celebrates independence day, or on the feast of the Epiphany. Chirstmas is generally celebrated in Haiti by attending church and a family meal. I enjoyed spending the morning with the children, appreciating their presence and the gift of their laughter and lives. Special moments yesterday morning, had to do with a successful step twords toilet traning for one little girl, and a negative cholera test for a little boy with diareha (better than anything you can put in wrapping paper.)

There was liturgy at 5:00 in the chapel, a beautifully simple and reflective mass. There were two bodies in white bags on the floor of the chapel, cholera victims whose names we did not know. At 6:00 on the roof of the former volunteer house we continued our Christmas celebration. It was a fun party and a delicious meal. At my invitation Sr. Mary and another friend from Matthew 25 came. It was great to see them.

Thanks to skype, I was able to wish my family a Merry Christmas. My relatives including aunts, uncles and first cousins on both sides of my family, have chipped in to purchase a portable library of children's books in Haitian Creole for the children I work with. This was done instead of choosing names and buying gifts for each other. I am so touched by their generosity, their willingness to change a family trandition to benefit the children here that just thinking about it, causes my eyes to water. I am unable to explain to anyone that this is what may family is doing for Christmas gifts this year without crying. So many people have been so generous to the people of Haiti, and so supportive of my work here in so many ways. Thank you.

Thanks to for all those in my community, family and friends who sent greetings. Be assured of my appreciation and prayers. May you enjoy these days of Christmas!

Quick and varied updates

2010-12-23T19:54:00.000-05:00

This week is going better than last. No new cases of Cholera among the children at Kay St. Anne, thanks be to God. At the school yesterday there was a party for Christmas and the beginning of the holiday vacation. School will resume the 8th of January.

Here are a few unrelated updates you might be interested in:

The child who I was with in the United States while he was recovering from surgery was here at the hospital earlier this week. The other volunteer who has spent time with him contacted me and brought him over to the school so that I could see him. He looks healthier, as he has put on some weight. It was truly a gift to see him, a wonderful Christmas surprise.

Katiana, the child who died of Cholera was buried last week by the chapel here on the grounds of St. Damien Hospital, by the chapel. On one side of the chapel earth quake victims were buried, now in the ground on the other side, lie the remains of people who died from Cholera. A couple of relatives of Katiana's were present at the funeral. After the liturgy they decided to take her twin sister home, that maybe they could care for her after all. I hope and pray that the surviving twin will thrive with her relatives.

There have been changes in the Cholera hospital. The sickest people have been moved from tents into prefabricated houses which are more comfortable. They are the same type of house that I am living in, but in a different location. There is also consrtuction going on there for a premanant structure.

After the comptuer that had previously been my grandmothers broke completely, and my seven year old comptuer failed to connect to internet either wirelessly or when plugged in, someone here gave me a new small computer which is wondreful because I can get internet more easily and more frequenlty.

Politically things have been fairly calm and it has been safe to go out. There is apparently a gasoline shortage in the country though which could cause serious problems if it last a long time.

Well those are my updates. It is begininng to feel like Christmas.

May your days be blessed and filled with joy! Merry Christmas!
Peace,
Kathleen

Cholera and Christmas

2010-12-19T18:44:00.000-05:00

It really does not seem like Christmas is less than a week away. Many years it seems like in the busyness of life Christmas just sort of sneaks up on me, but this year it feels different. There are a few decorations around here and there, but I would not be surprised if the average US shopping mall has more lights and decorations hangining than all of Haiti. This past week, when it seemed most days we were taking at least one child for Cholera treatment, it was hard to think about Christmas.

Yet, at some point I did think about Christmas. The story of the first Christmas after all did not take place under a well lit pine tree, but in a make shift shelter surrounded by animals.  Actually, in Haitit there are many make shift shelters; they are the norm for most of the children attending the school where I work. The hyms and songs we associate with Christmas were not sung in the manger, instead there were the sounds of cows and the sound of a woman giving birth. Actually, everday I hear these sounds since the little house I live in is right near the the materity ward of St. Damien's hospital, and I pass cows every morning on my way to the school,(which is also in make shift shelters.)  Maybe the gift for me this Christmas is to recognize the presence of God, in the unexpected places, amongst the animlas I see eating trash in the filed, in the people for whom we there is no roon in the inn or in anything other than a disingrating tent, in babies born in places that do not seem fit for human habitation, in children who could so easily killed not by a jelous power hungry king, but by preventable diseases like Cholera which spread because people have not taken steps to ensure that all the world has acess to clean drinking water and adaquate sanitation. I am in a place where hope needs to be born everyday; I can not think of a better place to celbrate the true meaning of Christmas.

Of course that does not mean there are not or will not be moments when I might be wishing for a more comfortable Christmas with my family, my community, or long time friends, delicious desserts and a place where I can take a warm shower. Yes, I have moments, like on Wednesday just after Katiana died, and while I was somewhere between the school and the cholera camp, I caught a glimpse of an American Airlines plane which had just taken off from the nearby airport and at least for a few seconds felt a bit jelous of the passangers who were leaving Haiti. Yet when I stop and reflect, I know that yes this is where I am called to be at this time. If given the choice I would not really leave right now. It is truly a gift to believe that at this moment in my life I am in the place where I am called to be.

I hope to write again before Christmas, but in case, I don't Merry Christmas.  May you experience the presence of God both in the places you expect and in the people and places you would least expect to find love, joy and hope. Many Blessings!

Cholera came

2010-12-15T19:44:00.000-05:00

On Monday Choera arrived at Kay Ste. Anne. Working in the cholera camp last week when it was not safe to travel the short distance to Kay Ste. Anne provided me with an ability to recongize it; actually it was the smell which gave it away. Cholera has a distinct smell, not a pleasant scent, although certainly I have smelled seemingly worse odors though probably less deadly. The first child from Kay Ste. Anne was taken over to the cholera tents on Monday afternoon. He tested positive on arrival was given rehydration intervenously and orally, as well as some medication. He recovered quickly and returned to Kay Ste. Anne aproximetly 24 hours later where he was happily reunited with his baby sister. Around the same time he was returning another child became ill and was taken over to the Cholera tents. I visited him this afternoon, he is doing well; they will send him back to Kay Ste. Anne shortly.

The third child was not so fortunate, a four year old girl name Katiana. She became ill quite quickly this morning. Apparently dying within a very short time of the onset of symptoms while staff was in the process of getting her to the hospital. When I got news of her death I was actually at the school with her twin sister. It breaks my heart that this little girl who was laughing and playing yesterday is dead today. A little girl who lost her mother in the earth quake and had experienced so much trauama and loss, now dies so tragically. My heart breaks today not only for Katiana, but for all of the staff at Kay Ste. Anne, all of the children especially for her beloved twin sister.

Steps have been taken in attempt to prevent furhter tragedy at Kay Ste.Anne. A nures has been hired to spend the night there. Everything was sanitized very well today. There is serum oral mixed ready to be given to anyone who does become sick to prevent dehydration. Staff are becoming vigilent about having children wash their hands more frequently.

I generally am reluctant to post pictures of the children because I am probably overly cautious about confidentiality, but here is a the picture of Katiana that went out on an email to inform many people associated with NPH of her death. She was a beautiful child, with a great smile and wonderful laugh.

As you can imagine these are difficult times here. Please keep the people of Haiti, especially the children of Kay Ste. Anne and in particular the twim sister of Katiana in your prayers.

Katiana

What a week!

2010-12-11T17:39:00.000-05:00

The week started out more or less like a fairly typical week for me. Monday and Tuesday I went to the school in the morning to do the groups with the children and some individual play therapy. In the afternoon I wen to Kay Ste. Anne to do activities with the children. Then on Wednesday, as a result of the announcement of the elections results everything was different. People do not believe, and for good reason, that the process was fair, that one of the two candiates announced as the winners who will be candidates in a run off elections really received more votes than another. People were burining tires, gathering and protesting in different places. I hardly left the premisis for the rest of the week. Other than remenents of tire fires and distant smoke, I did not directly witness any violence and never personally felt unsafe. School was cancelled. Since people could not get to work, there was help needed in the rehydtration center, previously referred to as the cholera tents.

I primarliy helped in the pediatiric tents. I gave children serum oral to drink, fetched sheets and supplies from the depo, changed diapears on babies and older children who needed them not because they are not toilet tranied, but because their diarhea was so frquent and sudden. Even though my Creole is still quite basic, at times I was able to translate for a doctor or nurse, such as those volunteering from Italy, who could speak english but not Creole. I watched children who had almost no energy and frequent diarhea when they arrived one day, smile, laugh and prepare to leave within a day or two. I saw pain in the eyes of mothers, a few of whom had multiple children who were ill. In one family there were three children who were all sick; the oldest sister and baby recovered quickly and then spent a day wathcing their brother who continued to suffer from frequent and severe diareah (there is hope that he will recover.) Sometimes in the children's tents one meets an ill woman being treated on a bed beside her baby's crib since both are ill. As most people do recover fully and quickly it is actually a place of hope. What is of concern is that since there were no tap-taps on the roads for a few days, and people were afraid to travel it is possible that there were people in need of treatment who could not find transportation to the tents.

Today, things seem calmer. Tap taps are running. It was considered safe to leave. I was able to go to Kay Ste. Anne. It was wonderful to see the children there again. The calm of course is not likely to continue as the situation has not really been resolved, but let's hope for peaceful, just and quick resolutuion.

Know that I am well and safe as the grounds here are quite secure, but please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers.

Also, please excuse any spelling errors, as I am using someone eles's computer and I can't figure out how to change the blogspell check from french to english.

Anpil Bagay (many things)

2010-12-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

A view of the mountains from outside the room where I stayed in Kenskoff.

It has been two weeks since my last update. Last weekend, I went to Kenskoff, which is in the mountains. NPH has an orphanage there, and on the grounds there is a guest/retreat house. I traveled to Kenskoff on Saturday in a van of children from the orphanage there who had been here, and a sister, Lorraine, who works here in Tabarre. We got off at the Baptist Mission, an interesting place, that has an American style fast food restaurant, a gift shop, bakery, hospital and other program. I rarely it fast food in the states, but enjoyed it especially the milkshake, since it is not typically an option here. There were volunteers from Ireland staying in Kenskoff. I actually had a decent cup of tea (they had brought tea bags with them from Ireland!) Just sitting around the table drinking tea was enjoyable; a very normal thing, that I have rarely done here in Haiti; I don't even crave tea when it is so hot, but in the mountains it was much cooler. There is little light pollution there as well, and on an unusually clear night, the sky was beautiful so many stars, that are usually impossible to see in other places. What a wonderful place to begin the season of Advent, as the image of light and darkness is such a powerful one. Last Sunday, I took a quiet prayer day, enjoying the beauty of the mountains. Last year during Advent, I really sensed that God was calling me to something different, that I was walking in the dark, barely able to see the next step ahead of me. Now, a year later here I am in Haiti, a year ago I really did not see that this is where the Spirit was leading, but now here I am, confident that at this moment this is where I am called to be, and where the path through the darkness will lead does not matter so much as being present here, now.

The presidential election took place last Sunday in Haiti. Apparently, and unsurprisingly, there were many alleged flaws with the process. The results as far as I know are still unknown. There have been protests in response to the elections in various places in Haiti, although I have not personally encountered or witnessed any of them.

There are more tents treating Cholera victims here. A week ago Tuesday I spent some time helping out, mostly organizing supplies and mixing serum oral. In the past weeks, on the days when there are no bodies in white bags or cardboard coffins on the floor of the chapel it seems almost empty. One day one of the youngest children in our program was taken to the tents, but fortunately she did not actually have cholera, but diarrhea caused by something else. After spending a night and getting treatment including rehydration she was sent back to the home, and is doing fine.

On Friday afternoon, I had visitors. Dr. Coletta who works for Holy Redeemer Health System, was in Haiti with a group of medical professionals doing surgery in Croix de Bouquet, which is not too far from here. His entire team came for a tour. It was a truly enjoyable visit! He brought medical supplies from Holy Redeemer that surely will be put to good use here and are of course very appreciated.

Every three months there is a family day for the children at Kay St. Anne and Saint Louie. This occurred yesterday. While all of the children are considered orphans many of them do have some relatives who may not have the means to care for them, but do love them and are able to come to the family days. If the poverty was not so extreme and life so harsh for so many, probably many of the children would not have been sent to our programs. It was an interesting and emotional day. Some of the children were so happy to see their relatives, and so sad when they left. Many other children had no visitors at all. I spent time sitting with, holding, playing with or simply just trying to be present with these children. The older children had prepared a program of songs and dancing for the visitors; it was well done.

My work continues in the mornings at the school and in the afternoons at Kay St. Anne. It is such a privilege to be able to offer play therapy to children, to journey with them, to witness their playing and processing of trauma and loss, and to watch them grow.

I am doing well here, and hope all of you are as well. Many blessings during this season of Advent

Happy Thanksgiving! (and more typical updates.)

2010-11-21T11:54:00.000-05:00

The weeks are going by quickly and although the mornings and evenings are pleasantly cool (at least relative to when I arrived in August,) it certainly does not feel like late November to me.

My groups with the kindgerten children are going fairly well. The children really like the puppet I am using. It is a turtle puppet, which I have decided to call "Ti Toti," which means "little turtle." Now when some of the young children see me walking around the tents which is their school, they will ask for Ti Toti, I respond, "Ti Toti ap donmi", which means he is sleeping. It is quite fun to work with the young children. I began play therapy with a second child as well this past week. My hope is that the workers at Kay St. Anne will do activities with the children after school even if I am not there. This will enable me to start working some afternoons with groups of the children ages six and over, who live in the orphanage at St. Louie, which is on the same site as the school.

All volunteers have been asked if possible to try to give some time at the Cholera tents to help out and be a supportive presence to the people, at least temporarily until administrative workers are hired. I went over there yesterday for the first time. There were a couple of large tents for children and a couple of large tents containing adults. It seems over the past few days people have arrived soon enough after symptoms began that they could be re-hydrated quickly. Yesterday during morning liturgy Farther Rick announced that nobody had died at our cholera tents for a few days. While I was there for a few hours yesterday, I helped with copying some of the paper work for record keeping purposes and worked with another volunteer to mix water and re-hydration salts to form a serum that patients drink. The tents seemed better organized than I expected and many established protocols are in place to prevent the spread of the illness, such as soft mattresses soaked in bleach water people must walk on when leaving to kill any cholera germs that may have attached to one's shoes. it seems that such prevention startegies are successful, as even those working directly with patients everyday for many hours are not catching the illness. On one hand it seems under control at the moment, as there seem to be 40-50 patients there at a time, but there are several empty tents because some are predicting that it could get worse before it gets better. The fears are around the crowded tent communities that lack sanitation. I think I was a little nervous about going over there, mostly fearing that it would be chaotic and somehow overwhelming. This was not the case at all. As I sat helping with record keeping in the depo tent, I could actually hear singing coming from a tent of Cholera patients.

While this coming Thursday is not a holiday in Haiti, I do believe that my being here has increased my thankfulness as my gratitude for what I have grows especially for what I have often taken for granted, but realize so many don't have. I am also thankful for my family, friends, community, and all who are supportive of me in many ways especially at this time. I say thank you to you, anyone interested enough to read this.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-14T16:41:00.000-05:00

This week was filled with a variety of activity. I spent Monday at Kay St. Anne after I learned that there was no school, (which was after I showed up at the school.) It had been canceled because they had taken down the tents that are used for classroom in anticipation of the hurricane that occurred the end of the previous week, and needed the day to resurrect the tents. This week, I started doing play therapy with one of the children who attends the school and lives in the orphanage; I felt that went well. Yesterday, I went shopping with a child who needed underwear and watned to buy a birthday gift for the couple that works at Kay St. Anne.

We now have electricity and running water and even a working air conditioner in our house. Much appreciated luxuries! Another volunteer, a speech therapist from Luxembourg has moved into our house the other day. I must say I do meet a variety of kind people who come here to work. This week there was a group from Ohio who came to do medical care, who I enjoyed meeting as well.

The Cholera problem has come closer. If I go on the roof of the building where I am sitting, I can see what is now referred to as the cholera tents. It was decided to create a separate area for cholera victims rather than put them in the pediatric or adult hospitals here; to prevent contaminating other patients. Yesterday morning, when I arrived for daily mass at the chapel, there were a few bodies of cholera victims in body bags and in small card board coffins on the floor of the chapel. The daily liturgy was actually, a funeral mass for a few individuals of various ages, who probably arrived at a hospital when it was too late to help them, perhaps after making long journeys. If people get IV fluids and immediate treatment, then they recover fully and quickly, sometimes within a few hours.

Often from my little house, I can hear the cries of women in labor since my house is behind the maternity wing of the hospital. This morning I heard such cries, and then later as I sat praying I was facing a nearby field. On the other side of the field is a crematorium. I watched as a truck pulled up to the crematorium, as a bag containing a body was removed, and a few minutes later a gentle almost clear smoke came from the chimney. As I sat, a butterfly came close, and I became aware of the full cycle of life which surrounds me and all of us everyday.

Well, hopefully you are doing well. Please continue to keep the people of Haiti in your prayers.
Take care,
Kathleen

Pa malad

2010-11-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

The child I accompanied last week is doing well. He was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. The local contact person from the Marco Island Rotary Club who paid for the surgery, was working the polls and was unable to come for us on Tuesday. We could have spent the night in the clubhouse (like a Ronald McDonald House), but as life has a way of working out, my parents were on vacation in Florida and were willing to come for us. It was great to see them! How grateful I am for them. They were able to help me figure out the directions and measure the medications he needed that evening. They reminded me that they had done this before (36 years earlier my own twin sister, who was an infant had a similar surgery herself.)

It was a privilege to spent time with this little boy. On Friday we returned to the hospital for a check up. I translated for him when the doctors told him he is fine, all is well. When he asked me in Creole if he is no longer sick and I could tell him, "wi, ou pa malad," I almost cried tears of joy. I was touched by the kindness of the people. The hospital staff who worked hard to find foods that he would eat, the woman behind the counter at Publix who was Haitian who gave him a piece of chicken to try, and thanked me for helping her people, the security guard at the hospital who because I had the bracelet on that parents usually wear, told me I did not have to wait in line because I need to save my energy for my child, the couple from the Rotary Club who sacrificed to take us around, my parents who donated the use of their condo and were so helpful during their own vacation. The little boy himself, the courage he had to come to a foreign land with strangers and the hope of getting better.

I am also feeling better. As I had been sick the previous week, spending time with one sick child mostly in air conditioned places in the cooler (than Haiti) weather up North in Florida, was good for my recovery from those parasites and amebas that were living in me. I am also grateful to the doctor in Naples who saw me for free for follow up based on my lab results from Haiti. I am still taking the antibiotic but have felt fine for a week now.

The week went quickly. I returned to Haiti yesterday. Hurricane Tomas, had come through the area the day before, but it was not nearly as severe as some predicted or feared it would be. On the way from the airport to NPH we did have to drive through some very large puddles, but otherwise there was not any apparent damage on the route that we took. Apparently other areas of the country did get heavier rains which caused some problems. It seems too that at least at this point, from what I have heard, the Cholera has not really reached this area in epidemic proportions, let us hope and pray it stays that way.

I hope that you are well. Many Blessings!Take care.

Love, Kathleen
(Is that better? I did get accurate feedback that the previous entry ended kind of abruptly.)

2010-11-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

There are so many things I could write about since my last update. Last Monday, I took groups of children from kindergarten to at least introduce them to the psychoeducational program I will be doing. There were challenges, like finding something to put on the ground so the children could sit, since the program is in a tent without a floor which sits on stony ground. The tent I was going to use did not have any walls; at one point there was a generator running nearby and older children had recess; they kept coming into the tent in groups mostly out of curiosity; so I kept asking them to leave.
On Wednesday I was sick; we were all pretty certain it was not Cholera as it had not reached to Portapince area and I did not have the symptoms which differentiate Cholear from other stomach problems. Since this was the third time I had gotten sick in approximately two months, even though each time I had recovered with in a day, it was recommended that I go to a hospital to get checked out. It turns out that some parasites and amoebas, (no where near as serious as Cholera)had made their home in my gut, thanks to antibiotics they are being evicted and I am feeling better. Being sick teaches me a lot about humility. Once again, in the midst of my simple suffering I realize how fortunate I am, as I have heard stories s of people who are suffering from the more devastating illness, Cholera in other places in Haiti, who do not have easy access to clean water and what most of us consider basic necessities, never mind for the the means to go to a private hospital like the one I was sent to.

I am updating this blog from the Connie Clubhouse of the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Florida. I am responsible this week for a Haitian child who had surgery last week. After open heart surgery he was discharged, but when fluid developed around his heart he was readmitted. He is a delightful child. I will be with him until Saturday when the volunteer who is his official guardian while he is in the USA, returns from an NPH meeting in Nicaragua. It is truly a privilege to accompany a child in this situation. It is also truly an injustice that due to fears of illegal immigration the child's mother is not with him.

As the plane was descending to land in Miami, I clearly identified the Florida International University Campus, the dorm and library where I had class last summer were both easy spot.

Kenscoft, Ministry, Cholera, Child, Kay, Province

2010-10-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

Kenscoft
Last Sunday I went with Fr. Rick, another sister, a volunteer from Ireland, a man who is from Mexico who oversees the Angels of Light program, a man from Haiti, and a driver to a place called Kenscoft, which is in the mountains, where NPH has had an orphanage for many years. The drive was long and beautiful. It was considerably cooler up there, I borrowed a jacket from a long term volunteer to wear during the liturgy. I enjoyed meeting some of the children and especially some of the children and young adults who have disabilities. After the liturgy we had a lunch which consisted of popcorn, then soup and lastly chicken. On the way home we stopped at a place that sold statues , and Fr. Rick bought the only two that did not appear to me to be broken, both statues of the Blessed Mother, one was placed in front of the crematorium which is behind the children's hospital, the other is for St. Luke, which is the adult hospital.

Ministry
Well my ministry is evolving. After observing at the school for several days and having discussions about what I might be able to do to address the needs of the school, it was decided that I would implement a pscychoeducational program, beginning with kindergarten. I will teach skills such as conflict resolution. In the afternoons I am still going to Kay St. Anne to do activities with the children there. Eventually I will probably do activities and lessons to reinforce the psychoeducational program in the afternoons at both orphanages. I am excited about this idea. I will be using ideas and adapting concepts from a curriculum used at my previous ministry. I am quite excited about this. Since I knew the classes were large, I decided I will work with the kindergarten classes in groups, taking half of the class at at a time. Then when I get the list of the names of the children in the four year old class, I thought I wish I had said I would divide them into eighths when I saw 97 names of the enrollment list!

Cholera
There is a cholera epidemic in Haiti. The region where it began is a distance from here, but it is likely it will reach the Portaprince area quiet soon, if it has not already. The children's hospital is planning for it. I worry about the children at the orphanages and school here as there are certain conditions that I think could cause an illness like that to spread easily. On the radio, the government UNICEF and others are reminding people to wash their hands. The fear is that cholera will spread quickly and be especially devastating for the thousands of people living in crowded tent communities. You can probably get better details by watching the news and reading newspapers and websites, than I can tell you.

Child's surgery
There is a child who was sent to the United States for open heart surgery last week. He is doing quite well, surgery went smoothly and he will be discharged soon. When the volunteer who is with him goes to Nicargua for a meeting, I will go to Florida to stay with the child. I will be state side from November first through the sixth.

Kay mwen
The other day air conditioners with remote controls were installed in our houses! This is very exciting, although we can't use them yet, because we don't have electricity, but we expect to get both electricity and running water in the next few weeks.

Province Gathering
Today, thanks to the technology of webcams and internet (SKYPE) I was able to sit at a kitchen table in Tabarre Haiti, while attending a pre-chapter province gathering in Huntingdon Valley Pennsylvania. It was a pleasure to see so many of my sisters!

Well, as you can see there is a lot going on here.
Please keep Haiti in your prayers.

A few brief updates

2010-10-16T18:24:00.001-05:00

So, as I have not had any success recently in getting my computer to connect to the internet, I am writing this blog update on Word and hopefully can copy and paste it into the blog either when I can connect my computer to internet or if I save it to a thumb drive and paste it when I borrow someone’s computer.

Since there are only four babies at Kay St. Anne in the morning, I am now going to St. Louie which is the school the children ages three and over attend. The school is located where the children in the residential program who are over the age of six live. In addition to the orphaned children, many other school age students come most from nearby tent communities where they reside with their families. This week I mostly observed in different classrooms to get ideas as to how I can be supportive to the children and their teachers. One of my biggest frustrations is that it is still often difficult for me to comprehend what people are saying to me in Creole. At the school I understand considerably less, because many of the lessons are taught to the children in French. When I am with many of the youngest children I realize that they don’t fully understand the songs they are singing or what the teachers are saying either, after all, those going to school for the first time are essentially hearing the French language for the first time. All of the classes are held in large tents which don’t have electricity. The primary educational methods used in Haiti are route learning, recitation, copying, memorizing, and singing in the kindergarten classrooms. I was able to participate when they sang the only French song that I kind of know Fera Jaques (I don’t know how to spell it though.) The school day ends around 12:00, then the children eat a meal usually of rice and beans in their classrooms. After school I go with the children who live at Kay St. Anne to their home where I am assisting the staff with doing activities with groups of children. The centers I set up on the roof for the children to play are working out reasonably well.

Tomorrow another volunteer from the United States and a nine year old Haitian child who most likely needs to have open heart surgery are leaving for Florida. Assuming he has the surgery as planned, and needs a few weeks to recover, I will likely replace the volunteer, for several day in early November when she needs to go to a meeting somewhere else. This is not definite as there are several factors that could cause the plan to change, but there is a possibility that I will be Florida caring for a child for several days in early November.

Last weekend I went to Matthew 25 to visit my friend Anne who was my study buddy in Creole class last summer. It was great to see her again, and I enjoyed spending a night at Matthew 25. While there is no doubt that I am now in the ministry that is a better fit for me, I also find that I am grateful for the connections and people at Matthew 25.

2010-10-05T20:39:00.000-05:00

Well, while I am unable to connect to the wireless which may or may not be working, since nobody else seems to be waiting here to plug thier computer in for internet, I will try to catch up.

Nearly two weeks ago on a Friday afternoon, we had a bad storm which came quickly. It was extremely windy and the rain was quite heavy; it may have been the remnants of a tropical storm; it felt to me like a mini hurricane, fortunately it did not last too long. At Kay St. Anne, where I work the storm blew some tree branches to the ground but did no real damage. There were problems however where the children over the age of six live. There was one mild injury of an teenage who comes to the program for the day because something blew off the roof of a container and hit her in the mouth. There, tents blew around, water got into the tents and places where the children stay (shipping containers converted into long term shelter), look-out towers that security guards used at night blew down.

Compared with the problems there and in the many tent communities in the area, the water in my house was minimal. The irony is that the tent I used to live in stayed perfectly dry and all of the new houses like mine which were supposed to be hurricane and earth quake proof had water in them. We learned that the crew who assembled the prefabricated houses had not put on some finishing touche which include sealing the seems of the houses; they have completed them now. My cardboard box bookshelf seemed more clever before it got wet.   Recently, I was given real shelves for which I am very grateful.

Last week all 40 of the children were home all day, as there was no summer camp or school program. Kay St. Anne was quite a busy place! Everyday the children bring a smile to face and most days break my heart as well. It is such a privilege to watch as a baby learns to walk. Yet, I felt a deep sadness upon hearing a two year old orphan with a fever cry out, "momma, momma."

The children at Kay St. Anne have started their school year this week. All of the children who are three and over are going to school in the mornings now. This week I am using the mornings to help the cook who works there use some of the large supply donated food since the directions are in English. This morning on a typical Haitian charcoal stove, we heated up large precooked packages of rice and Beef Burgundy which was created for the US army. I am also in the process of organizing a space in a porch like area that is on the roof of the house, for the children to play in the afternoons. We are planning activities for them for after school; although the past two days for reasons related to transportation they did not come back until after 2:00.

I had been asked a couple of weeks ago if I would like to go on a bus trip to the beach with the people who gather for liturgy near Matthew 25. I expressed interest, but then the date changed. I found out on Saturday that they would be going on Sunday, but I had no idea how I would get there, as I don't have a car, and have yet to develop any sense of direction here, nor would it be safe for me to take a tap tap by myself to Matthew 25, so said I would not be going. Then, I was offered a ride. Never do I remember being so excited about going to the beach. A driver, the priest, a volunteer who is at Matthew 25 and about five others arrived at the gate by St. Damien hospital in a crowded SUV at 10:00 am. There was also a full school bus which they had charteded for the day as well.    Like many buses and vehicles in Haiti, the school bus was likely a hand me down from the United States, at least I don't think there is a Pottsville Area School District in Haiti which can afford a school bus like that and if there is they would have painted the word "lekol" on it instead of "school." The drive to the beach was wonderful. It was really the first time I had left the general Purtaprince area. We drove for about two hours through smaller towns and rural areas. We saw large tent communities on the sides of mountains which I was told have sprouted up more recently as some people who were living in the city were relocated, although there did not seem to be much around them in terms employment or resources; the only visible advantage I could think of was that the tents and shelters were not so close together as they are in the city. As we got closer to our destination, there were tall mountains on our right and beautiful ocean views and occasional resort signs on our left (including a sign for the Obama Hotel.) The beach was a piece of land someone said had been left to the diocese. The water was clear, calm and a beautiful turquoise color. There were people on the trip of varied ages and it was wonderful to see so many people really enjoying themselves. I learned that for my Irish skin applying a number 70 sunscreen four times is insufficient when spending three hours at the beach in Haiti, oh mezami!

Very brief update

2010-10-01T19:56:00.000-05:00

Greetings!
I have much to say but as the internet has been spotty and there are a lot of misquotes in the room where I am using a computer that is actually able to access the internet; I will exclude the details for now. Things are generally going well. I am fine. My days are full. I am enjoying working with the children. I truly feel that at the moment I am where I am called to be. There are many challenges that are truly stretching me in a good way. Know that I appreacite the love and support of all of you at home or wherever you are at the moment.
Many Blessings!
Love, Kathleen

2010-09-26T20:32:00.000-05:00

Hello! I hope you are well. The wireless is not working here. I will update the blog once it is when I have more time to be online. In case you heard about the storm we had on Friday, or was wondering why I have not responded to emails for a few days, I am perfectly fine, but the storm did seem to effect the internet. In case you did not hear about the storm, maybe I'll write a bit about it, when the wireless is fixed.

Community and Friends in Philly, I hope Oktoberfest went well. I was thinking of you!

Take care.
Love, Kathleen

Ti kay

2010-09-19T13:11:00.001-05:00

I have moved. I am now living in a house. It is very near where the tents are, on the same property. In fact, as the house does not yet have running water, I am using the toilets and showers and am eating by the tents.
Living in the tent was a good experience for me. At times it had challenges of course. Sometimes I felt like I lacked privacy, because I certainly had less privacy than I am accustomed to. When I wanted a moment to myself someone would come into the tent. Yet, as I recognized the challenge of this, I also realized how even as I perceived that I was lacking something, I still had so much more than most people who live in this country and most people on the planet. Certainly, the tent I was living in assured me more privacy and was considerably safer and more comfortable than most of the many many post earthquake tents, some of which are makeshift, that are found throughout the city and surrounding areas.

A a few of the articles of clothing I brought with me have become stained and ruined. When this happens I feel disappointed, as I think oh, I liked this shirt and now I won't wear it out in public again. Then, I realized I still have many other shirts, and I think of the children at Kay Ste. Ann. They do not have their own clothes, they wear whatever fits them. A long dress worn by a toddler one day is washed by the laundry women the next, and the following day the same dress may be seen on a five year old girl, coming down to her knees. The individual child there really has nothing at all which is considered his or her own.

Being here has truly been an experience of simultaneously tasting poverty, while recognizing my abundance and becoming aware of how privileged I am. I imagine, that there are a couple of people who after reading the first sentences of the previous paragraph started thinking about how to get clothing to me, to replace what has become ruined, but I truly do have more than enough. I have supportive family, community and friends who have the means to help me replace whatever material possessions I loose, to fix what breaks. Oh, how I wish everyone had that! There is nothing I have done to earn this, and those who don't have it are no less worthy of such support than I am.

This week at Kay Ste. Ann, I began working with small groups of children. I have crayons colred pencils (which are also called crayons) and paper and allow them to draw whatever they want to draw. I think it is going well, and the children seem to enjoy it. . This appears to be quite different than what is typically done in this culture, as I have watched the children sit and wait while the teacher draws pictures for the children to color in. On a couple of occasions while children were drawing their own pictures, adults came by and tried to draw shapes on the children's papers and told them to color them in. I try to explain in Creole that I am using a different philosophy and would prefer the children make their own pictures. I often need to remind myself that I am in a different culture where people think differently and where what I expect to happen is not what will actually occur. One day the workers at the house turned on the generator and put on Chipmunks Movie for the children; an American movie, dubbed in French. When the chipmunks were dancing and singing the children seemed to enjoy it, however as they could not understand the story well; most lost interest after a little while, (all of the children who were home are four and under.) After a while most of the children drifted out of the room, nobody called them back in when they did, so I was playing outside with them. At some point I realized that two children were still watching the movie with three adult workers. I asked the adults, why more adults are watching the movie than children. I was expecting at least two adults would come outside to assist me with the children, instead they immediately called all of the children back in the house and told them to "chita" (sit) and "gade" (watch.) I had to laugh at myself for being so surprised by this.

Oh Rats!
I liked living in the tent especially in the beginning. One night though I heard something in the tent, which scared me. It sounded like a big animal. It was difficult to go back to sleep. I tried shining the flashlight on it, and making enough noise to scare it, while not making so much noise that I would awaken the other women in the tent; this proved impossible, actually. As it was the middle of the night, I hoped I was just dreaming. The next morning, there was a wrapper and a little piece of a chewed granola bar as well as a lovely little present on the floor of the tent. The next night I zipped the doors well and checked that the velcro on the bottom of the door was attached to the Velcro on floor of the tent under the door. I was convinced that this would prevent any large rodent from entering. No such luck! It came even earlier, announcing its arrival with the sound of the Velcro coming unfastened. It found another one of the Italian lady's granola bars. When I went to girl scout camp as a child, they would not allow us to keep food in the tent because they said we would get animals in the tent. So, a couple of weeks ago, that when I did purchase a few snacks I also purchased a plastic container with a lid which sealed well, made sure packages were closed well, and placed the container on a bench. I don't think the Italian lady ever went to Girl Scout Camp. I tired to ask her, to zip the flaps and be sure food was put away, but since she still does not understand English or Creole, and I have not learned more than one word of Italian, this was a challenge. She responded by saying a word that sounded a lot like "disinfected."

So, between rats and bedbugs and challenging communication, when on Thursday, I was told that if I wanted to I could move into one of the little houses, with other long term volunteers, I did not hesitate to say yes! The houses are new, prefabricated, and quite lovely. There are two long term volunteers in each house. We were told that we would eventually get electricity and running water. Then we were allowed to run an extension cord from the hospital for electricity! We were given two brand new lamps; I was able to use the cardboard boxes from the lamps to make a book shelf. I am still able to come to the house that was for long term volunteers but will soon be offices for the nearby adult hospital, to use the internet. (There could however, at some point be a short period of time when I will not have internet access.)

Because some Americans were coming to do surgeries at the hospital, and they would be staying in the tents, the sister who is the administrator of the hospital put out some traps and caught a few rats. I think she caught the one that came into my tent, because I did not hear it at all during my last night in the tent. The other morning, from a distance I saw a rat. During daylight hours, when the rat was outside and a quite a distance away, I must say, it was kind of cute!

Ti Kay yo (the little houses)

Home Sweet Home


The picture is a little dark, but this is my room.

2010-09-11T17:59:00.000-05:00

This week my heart broke when the most malnourished child I have ever met, the smallest three year old I have ever seen, ofered me the cookie she was eating. It broke again when the same child sat next to a baby I was feeding and tried to catch drips from the baby's chin so she could eat it.

I could not help but laugh when in the midst of a temper tantrum a young three year old started yelling "wo jezi, wo jezi" (king Jesus) repeatedly.

The baby house as Kay Saint Anne is sometimes called, is certainly a busy place. There are many social and emotions needs that the children have. Sometimes I feel frustrated about situations and have to remind myself that the staff there has a different cultural perspective and has not had many educational opportunities. Some concepts related to cultural perspective are more challenging to understand and accept. Somethings may not be possible for me to compromise very well, for example, my western understanding of disease transmission, as a result I insist that when I give the children water on not using the same cup for all of the children, unless I was going to wash it in between each child. I say things to the kids like, "lave men ou apre ou itilize twalet (wash your hands after you go to the bathroom),which I suspect many of the children are not used to hearing.
My frequent use of handsanatizer did not prevent me from getting sick though, but I am getting better. I was in bed most of the day and just got up to check email, try to skype with my parents, update this blog and then I'll probably go back to bed; I expect to be better tomorrow.

The smiles of the children, make it all worth it. When I arrive at the house and say bon jou, I tell them mwen kontan we' ou jodia, I am happy to see you today, and everyday it is true.

2010-09-04T20:58:00.000-05:00

My first full week working with NPH completed. The children at Kay St. Anne are beautiful. I am really feeling like this is where God has called me to be. It is truly a gift to have that sense, that at this moment I am where I am supposed to be.

This does not mean that this is always easy. While I have made some progress in learning Kreyol, I am still far from fluent. The children usually seem to understand me, but I don't always understand the adults. Even when I do understand the words or what is being said, I am sometimes puzzled because of cultural differences and perspectives. At times because of their culture and understanding the workers in the house are strict about things that would never occur to me to expect of children, but may not encourage the children to do or not do things that I because of my upbringing and educationwould would want children to do.  Such situations cause me to learn about myself and at times challenge me, as I wonder what is simply opinion and what is truly best for the children.

Several new children came to the house this week. It is now full to capacity. One little girl who arrived on Friday, is extremely malnourished. Although she is three years old she is smaller and weighs less than most one year olds. Her body is scarred and bruised as well. It is a sad situation, but there is hope for her because the program is able to provide her with a safe place, and nourishment physically and emotionally.

Fr. Rick, who is also a doctor is the person who oversees all of the NPH programs in Haiti. He returned to Tabarre in the middle of the week. Daily liturgy resumed in the chapel.  His first day back the list of children who had died, in the hospital while he was away was read.  There were many names. The following day the liturgy was also the funeral mass for the people who Fr. Rick and others were going to be burying; every Thursday they bury the unidentified dead from the area. On Friday Fr. Rick spoke about Haitians who were detained for no reason. While liturgy is happening we can hear sounds of mothers and children waiting to be seen for medical care, or babies crying from their hospital rooms. My challenges are quickly put into perspective.

For all of you, in the United States Happy Labor Day. I hope you are having a good weekend.
Love, Kathleen

Today and Tent

2010-08-30T19:09:00.000-05:00

I spent the day at the house where the younger children. Some of those children go to the school/camp program during the day, but the youngest stay at the house. A woman comes and does activities with them. It was a lot of fun. Two new children arrived around lunch time. Later when I was playing outside with the children, one of the new arrivals looked at me and said, "manman mouri." (mom's dead.)

It amazes me how people can do so well without things we in the United States generally consider necessities. Without highchairs, bibs, special baby dishes, baby spoons, or napkins, Haitians seem able to feed babies while sitting with them on the floor, and without getting food all over their own or the baby's clothing. I fed a baby too, but I will not comment in details on the condition of the clothing of baby or me when we were finished. Actually, I think I have been to American baby showers where one can find more things for babies than you find in this house where 40 young children reside.

I am now sharing the tent with a short term volunteer from Italy. She seems very nice, however we do find communication a little challenging. If I understood her correctly, she is a midwife; I don't think she understood me when I tried to explain that I am a social worker. She tells me things in Italian, which I don't understand, I respond in a mixture of English and creole, or say something in English and then try to say the same thing again in Creole; she understands neither language. She smiles frequently and is quite pleasant. She gave me a couple of granola bars, which are tasty. When she was unpacking she showed me things she brought with her which include packages of pasta and little jars of pesto. Since she moved in, I have learned to say "grati" (thank you in Italian, although I may not have spelled it correctly.)


The front and side of the tent. It is in a cluster of identical tents.

The front door! Welcome!

Yesterday I had time to take pictures of the tent, so you can say that it really is a nice place to live. I took a few pictures of the grounds which I may post another time. I have not taken any pictures of the children and at this point I would not feel comfortable posting anyway, in time I will get a better sense of what is appropriate and if I am comfortable may ask permission to post some pictures of the children. The reason I don't typically post pictures of people is in many circumstances I feel like I probably should get their permission first; at times I am probably overly cautious about this; but I hope you enjoy the pictures of the tents.


My bed, belongings and much appreciated fans (they were there when I arrived as was the mosquito net!) There are 6 beds in the tent. Only mine and now one other are being used.

Kay

2010-08-27T17:58:00.000-05:00

Today I went to the house where the youngest children in the program live. In the house, there are 40 children under age 6 who live there. A couple lives and works there, and there are several other workers as well. The children are beautiful. In the coming weeks, the plan is for me to spend a lot of time there, helping out, and observing. Eventually my supervisor and I are going to do some training for the staff working there. The program is new, so some staff development on topics related to childhood development, and social emotional needs could be helpful. At some point I may do some individual or group work with some of the children depending upon the observed needs. I look forward to returning to the house tomorrow. Have a good weekend.
Love, Kathleen

New Beginning

2010-08-26T15:42:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Tabarre, Haiti! Thanks to many of you for prayers, support and birthday greetings.

Before I left Matthew 25 yesterday, Mary gave me a delicious little birthday cake which we ate for dessert after lunch. I will miss her and the people who work at and visit Matthew 25. I am grateful for the experience I had there; I feel like it was a good place for me to be while I was transitioning into Haiti.

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived here on the grounds of St. Damian's hospital in Tabarre. Last night I went out to dinner with my supervisor, a sister who works at the hospital here, a long term volunteer, and a Haitian American woman who is a doctor, she works at a hospital in Philly most of the time but comes here to work for one week each month.

I am beginning to work with the Angels of Light program for children who have been displaced since the earthquake. Some of the children live here; because they were identified as being orphaned or lacking family they could stay with. Others come for the day, from nearby tent communities. The children are beautiful. I enjoyed meeting some of them yesterday afternoon and this morning. The children participate in a wide variety of activities during the day such as dance, sewing, drumming, and calligraphy. There are a few other programs on the grounds including the hospital, and a day program for children with disabilities.

Obviously, I do have internet access here for which I am grateful. My tent has electricity, lights and a couple of much appreciated fans; it is probably a lot nicer than most people imagine a tent to be. I am the only one staying in that tent, even though there is plenty of space and six beds! It is in a group of tents for volunteers. The grounds here are beautiful. I have met some very nice people. There are two other sisters working here, one in the hospital and one in the program for children with disabilities. Someone pointed out that now each program on the grounds has its own sister!

Today and Tomorrow

2010-08-24T16:03:00.000-05:00

Today I was able to go for a ride with to some volunteers who are staying here and a man who works here. We went to down town port a prince. I brought my camera but I had no desire to take pictures; so my camera remained in my bag. Most of the historical places were surrounded by tent communities or else were in ruins or both. There was a group of people praying by a fence which surrounded the crumbled cathedral. We saw poverty which I can't describe. We also saw beauty in the people, in the distant mountains and sea, in the art work we passed.

On the way back, my phone rang. They have a space ready for me to move into the program called Angels of Light in Tabarre. Most likely I will move there tomorrow afternoon. I am looking forward to it. The first weekend in September I am going to come back here to Matthew 25 to help out just for the weekend since Mary will be at a board meeting and there are guests coming. That will be good.

Table

2010-08-23T20:53:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of the table we painted over the weekend. A volunteer named Nancy, is truly a talented artist. I helped with some of the simpler things. It was great fun! I took these pictures before it was sealed with polyurethane. Once this table was finished she went to work on the other table; perhaps I'll post some pictures of that soon.

I had a nice weekend. It was relatively quiet here at Matthew 25. On Saturday night we went out to eat, thanks to someone who stayed here and gave us money to do something. We went to an excellent Chinese restaurant. A couple of times over the weekend, I walked around and visited with some people in the tent community. It is always enjoyable to talk with the children and interesting to talk with the adults. Another highlight of the weekend was on Sunday when I was able to use skype to talk with family and a couple sisters from my community; technology is amazing.

Today I was able to meet with a Haitian woman who does EMDR therapy. We had an enjoyable lunch. She was able to help me to better understand the culture and shared some of her experience and expertise with me. For this I am very grateful!

Painting

2010-08-20T20:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I helped to paint a wall in the kitchen here at Matthew 25 and applied a second coat today. I helped someone who is volunteering here for several days to paint a dinning room table. It was the table that was used for surgery just after the earthquake. If you would like, you can guess why there is a picture of a foot on the table. The woman who is volunteering has a lot of artistic ability. She did most of the work, I helped by paining in some of the easier things. It seems that I have had a lot of opportunity to do things here that I don't consider myself to do well, but I have basically done okay and for the most part have enjoyed them. I do make an effort to find time to walk though the tent community and talk with people most days, I will miss them. There are many beautiful people. Some people are amazingly joyful even in the midst of challenges I can't imagine.

I am still not sure exactly when I will move to the other program. They are in the process of moving things around, and hope to have a space, well actually a tent, (but a really nice one) ready for me by early next week. There is someone who is interested in coming to Matthew 25 to volunteer long term. Apparently she expressed an interest previously and was turned away because I was coming. I am glad that she may have the oppertunity; it is a great place, just not what I am feeling called to right now. Hopefully it will work out well for her, maybe she will be good at and enjoy book keeping and laundry.
I hope you are all doing well. Take care.
Love, Kathleen

Bookkeeping, Revisited.

2010-08-18T19:23:00.001-05:00

I asked Mary what needed to be done. She had a pile of receipts and a paper a volunteer had written which had some kind of record of the receipts which were handwritten and not in order. She asked if I could put the receipts in order of date, and we decided that it would make sense to type the list of receipts instead of having them on the handwritten page and total them up. I was about half way through this task, when I realized that I was doing the one thing I most resisted and doubted I could not well, Bookkeeping!
Okay, so, I am more capable of doing bookkeeping than I thought, although I still believe most others would do this more efficiently. Even though it was not quite as difficult as I thought, I am glad it is not what I do everday. Of course I might regret saying that, because someone else may expect it of me at some point, so don't tell anyone.

Angels of Light

2010-08-17T20:36:00.000-05:00

Today I went to visit and learn more about a program which serves children who have been affected by the earthquake. Each day some children come from nearby tent communtities for school, although since it is summer vacation now in Haiti, much of the day is more like a summer camp. Other children live there, because they may be orphans or do not have family able to care for them. I got a tour of the program, met some of the staff and children. What a wonderful program. There were a variety of activities going on for the children while I was there. It feels like a place where my skills will be utalized, and where I am feeling led by the Spirit. The program I will be working with is called Angles of Light. It is one of many programs in Haiti run by an organization called, Nuestros Pequanos Hermanos, which has various programs, mostly orphanages in several countires in latin america and the caribbean. Fr. Rick Frachette, a passionist priest oversees the programs in Haiti. The grounds are well maintained, large, and feel safe. It is located just outside of Purtaprince, very near the US embassy. I will be able to do some clinical work there, and perhaps help with training some of the staff about trauma and therapy. It seems the program itself is evolving. They are in the process of creating housing out of large shipping containers for the children who live there. Many of the children are still in tents. I expect to move there sometime next week and begin work. As I did not go through the normal volunteer application process, the first month is a trial, and if that goes well, I will likely be for a couple of years.

Exploring other Options

2010-08-15T21:34:00.000-05:00

The hospitality house is an interesting place to work. There are many good things about it. While it has been a good experience, I am not really doing work that I feel called to do, not using the skills I have, and I often find myself trying to do things that I am not especially good at. An 11 year old child came by and helped me hang sheets and towels on the clothes line yesterday because she noticed I was not doing a very good job of it; she truly had a much better method than me. Apparently I did a poor job of folding or putting the sheets in the closet yesterday as well. It is important that places like Matthew 25 exist and that people flying in to do missionary or humanitarian work out in the provinces have an affordable, safe, comfortable place to stay on their way into or out of Haiti. I truly have an appreciation for it, and for all that Sister Mary does to make this place run smoothly. It is just not the work I am feeling called to do at this point in my life.

I am exploring other options here in Haiti which will hopefully be a better match for my skills and hopefully benefit those who are in need. I am going to visit a program for children this week. Hopefully this will work out, if not something else will. Please, pray that I can truly be open to the Spirit.

Please also pray for Sr. Suzanne who died recently and all of the Sisters of the Holy Redeemer as we mourn her loss and will miss her presence.

2010-08-12T21:21:00.000-05:00

One of the guests was going to check out a solar oven program for a group he is volunteering with, and asked if I wanted to come along; it was great to get out a little. We walked some of the way and took a tap-tap part of the way. My first ride on a Haitian tap-tap!

There is pleanty to do around the house as we have lots of guests coming and going. Today I took a ball to the tent camp and played with the children; it was fun.

I do enjoy talking with the visitors.

Gourds and Dollars

2010-08-11T19:40:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Haiti!

Today two people wanted to pay for either items from our giftshop or lodging using a combination of Haitian gourds and american dollars. This was complicated but once I knew what number to multiply by, and with a little assistance from a caluculator, I figured it out.

A young woman who lives in the tent community had expressed an interest in learning English. I brought the picutre English/Creole Oxford Picture Dictoranry which we used in Creole class and a few people sat with me as we looked at a few of the pages and I practiced my Creole and they learned a little English. It was enjoyable, but I left a little sooner than I otherwise would have because a thunderstorm was coming.

The people who stay here are typically very generous and kind. I enjoy meeting people from all over the United States but do wish I could have more time to interact with the people of Haiti.

2010-08-10T20:33:00.001-05:00

Today I joined a group of people from a parish in Iowa who went to home for children who are sick run by Mother Theresa's sisters. Volunteers can go at certain times to play with the children and hold the babies. It was a good experience. The children were beautiful. Some appeared to be so much younger than their actual ages, which was sad; a few of them seemed quite sickly. Playing with them was quite enjoyable.

We have many beautiful things here at Matthew 25 hospitality house, which are made by local artisans which we sell to the people who stay here. The items are quite varied and of great quality. Everytime I go in the room where the itmes are kept I see somthing new and feel amazed. Some of the paintings seem to me to be of the same quality as the ones hanging in the art exhibit we went to during the Haitian Summer Insititue at the museum on campus at FIU.

Yesterday they said that the cistern is full, a rarity here, so we don't have to be quite as careful about water usage as usual at the moment. The rain at night seems to cool everything off, but it does create a lot of mud and can cause difficulties for the many people living in the tents.

2010-08-09T21:18:00.002-05:00

Finally, Skype and my webcam were both working this afternoon. A little while later I found out, that we did not have internet. There is some kind of a limit to the amount we can download and skype is too much. So after spending a lot of time in Miami and some time here trying to get this to work, which caused problems for the internet connection for the house; I uninstalled the programs. There is a cybercafe accross the street which I may try using. Apparenlty it costs $1 an hour.

We have two mission groups staying here tonight. One is coming in from woking in a mission, preparing to return to the states; the other group just arrived and will go out to thier mission.
I did go out and just walk around in the tent community today for a while this afteroon. I enjoyed that a great deal.

First full day

2010-08-09T13:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, Sister Mary and I went to liturgy. It was held in someone's yard. At first, I thought this was probably due to a church being damaged from the earthquake, but that was not the case, the neighborhood does not have a church building and did not prior to the earthquake. It was mostly in Creole, though some of it, and about half of the music was in French. I like that it is held at someone's home, that is afterall how the early church began.

In the afternoon, I walked though the tent community in the soccer field. People are very welcoming and friendly. I was able to talk with people, they are amazingly patient with my poor creole. For a little while I kicked a soccer ball around with some of the kids. So many people seem to live in such a small area. It was enjoyable to be with them for a little while.

Mary and I were invited to dinner at the family house of the priest who presided at the liturgy yesterday.  He, his sister and brother were all very kind and hospitable. A true Haitian meal. The food was delicious. It was a very large and beautiful house. There were a couple other people from the community which gathered for litugry that morning also there for dinner.  It seems we are located in a very nice area of Portaprince.

We are expecting 17 guests tonight, which should be interesting.  Hopefully I will soon have Skype and the webcam my parents gave to me working on the same computer at the same time soon.
Take care,
Kathleen

Safe Arrival

2010-08-07T21:05:00.001-05:00

I arrived safely in Haiti today. I am writing from the hospitality house. It is very nice. My accommodations are very good.

There were no major problems getting here, just a couple tiny glitches which were worked out relatively quickly. For example, I was sharing a taxi from the dorm to the airport with another student because the dorms closed yesterday and I was flying out today. This made sense because we were both going to the Airport Days Inn; only I did not know that there were two Days Inn Hotels in Miami that have airport in their title. So I ended up at the one that did not have my reservation; my classmate did have a reservation there, but they could not switch mine, fortunately they both have free airport shuttles, which is how I got from one to the other.

I used the hotel airport shuttle this morning as well and apparently dropped my wallet in the airport shuttle, which I realized I did not have at the baggage check.  I called the hotel as soon as I realized I had lost my wallet. They found it in the van and the shuttle driver brought it to me quickly. I am so grateful for the Days Inn Airport shuttle drivers!

It took a little longer for me to get picked up at the airport than I expected, but things have a way of working out.

We passed many people in the streets on the way to the house. It is a densely populated city. There is a lot of rubble from buildings damaged during the earth quake.  We passed many tent communities all around. It is hard to describe; my words are not doing it justice. I got a tour of the house, met some people.  Sr. Mary took me through the tent community in the soccer field. There are a lot of children. People are friendly. We went to the grocery store which was not too different from a small grocery store you might find at home. We bought frozen pizza which we had for dinner; it was quite good.
It just started raining and there is a wonderful breeze which is cooling everyhting off.
I hope you are all doing well.
Take care,
Kathleen

Exam Today, Haiti Tomorrow!

2010-08-06T05:19:00.000-05:00

The next time I update this blog, I will be in Haiti, si Dye vle.

Mesi Anpil!

2010-08-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful weekend. Ana's perpetual profession was beautiful. It was wonderful to see community members, family, and friends in Philly. The missioning for me during Sunday liturgy was very inspiring for me. Thank you, thank you, and thanks be to God. I am fortunate to have so many people in my life who are so supportive.

I returned to Miami late Sunday night for my last week of class.
Now, I am finishing a paper, preparing for a presentation, and have a final exam to study for, while taking care of a few last minute things, as I prepare to leave on Saturday.
I will write more later. Know that I am grateful for the support of so many. Please be patient with me if you are awaiting an email response or a thank you note.
Many Blessings!
-Kathleen

2010-07-27T16:16:00.001-05:00

Time is going quickly.   I had a great a weekend, the highlight was seeing manatees! We had a test yesterday, and have a paper due on Thursday.

The unexpected conversation about specific expectations with the executive director of the parish twinning program did leave me feeling a bit confused. I have since communicated with Sr. Mary who actually works in Haiti at the hospitality house. I believe that there will be a way that the skills I have will be used well in Haiti.

Thank you to many people who have emailed. I have gotten behind in responding, but I do enjoy reading them and appreciate the support of so many and I intend to catch up soon.

This coming weekend I will be in Philly for Ana's perpetual profession and a missioning for my ministry in Haiti.   I look forward to seeing my community, as well as some family and friends this weekend.
Take care,
Kathleen

Bookkeeping???

2010-07-23T18:37:00.000-05:00

Two weeks from tomorrow, I will arrive in Haiti, si Dye vle.

Today, I had a voice mail message stating that someone who I was going to be working for in Haiti, was trying to reach me. All of my communication before today has been with Sister Mary; and that was not the name of the person trying to reach me now. Fortunately, as I mentioned earlier Anne who is in class with me has been to Matthew 25, and is much more familiar with the program there than I am. She recognized the name and confirmed that the person trying to reach me is in charge of the entire parish twinning program, which includes Matthew 25.

I called the person during my lunch break from class.    She wanted to touch base with me and talk about the expectations they have for what I will do at the hospitality house. She was very nice and provided me with some basic information about the parish twinning program and history of the hospitality house. Of course, I expected that I would have some responsibility at the house where I am planning to stay, but that the focus of my ministry would be with people in need, thinking especially of those living in tents in the soccer field. While all along I have assumed that I won't really know exactly how ministry will work out until I am there, and have felt a need to be open to possabilies, and let it unfold, I did not really consider that I would be expected to do a couple of the things mentioned during this phone conversation, especially the bookkeeping for the hospitality house. For any readers who may not know me well, while I think I do a pretty good job of managing my $80 personal monthly stipend, I have very limited experience and did not inherit my mother's genes in this area (she is an accountant and always loved math.)

I reread many of the emails to and from Sister Mary; I think I was clear about my desire to use my social work skills, to serve those in need and never falsely indicated that I had desire, aptitude, nor felt called to bookkeeping.

I went for a walk after class to try to make sense of this. I am puzzled by a few things, which I am seeking clarification about, but I am confident that things will work out, because they always do, although often in unexpected ways. Life is interesting!

Yes, two weeks from tomorrow, I will be arriving in Haiti, si Dye vle!

2010-07-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

Hello! I hope that you are doing well.
I think I mentioned in a previous post that the campus here is quite beautiful. In order to share with you a glimpse of the beauty, I took a few pictures last weekend.

I am learning a lot, although it is not easy, and I don't think I did well on the midterm. It does not really matter what kind of a grade I get, since I am not taking this program for credit, I just want to learn kreyol so that I can communicate with people in Haiti. The program is a little more academic than I would have liked. Up until now I have been doing fine, although I have yet to receive the grade on the midterm, paper or presentation from last week.
My struggle to learn the language is quickly put into perspective as I learn more about the history and conditions in Haiti and how it got to this point. It causes me to feel angry when I learn of the role that the United States has played in Haiti's history, often maintaining, exacerbating, and at times causing problems there.

On Friday we had a class trip to the Little Haiti section of Miami. We visited a social service agency, a book store, a Botanica, a cultural center, Haitian restaurant, art gallery, and Catholic church. We had a knowledgeable tour guide, an lawyer and activist originally from Haiti, who helped us to understand the plight of Haitian immigrants, their reasons for leaving and experiences once they arrived. Below is a picture of a stained glass window of the church, and one of a mural at the Haitian cultural center.

I spent much of Saturday, studying, walked, swam went to the library. I am trying to find social work materials that might have information that will help me to better understand Haitian culture, and how to help people especially children who have experienced disasters such as earthquakes.

Today, I had visitors! I will say this in kreyol (just because I can do this whole sentence without having to look up any of the words; even if it is wrong most of you will never know.) Manman mwen ak, Papa mwen te vizite mwen! Yes, my parents who are spending a few days in Florida came down for the day. We went to a park, to the beach, and went out to dinner. It was great to see them! Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Thank you for reading this!
Take care,
Kathleen

Busy Week

2010-07-13T12:50:00.001-05:00

The final draft of my autobiography was due this morning. Tomorrow I need to talk about it (but not read it) for five minutes and then answer questions that my classmates pose, all in kreyol of course. On Thursday we have a mid term exam. My lunch break is almost over. I hope you are all having a good day. Take care.

Sometimes

2010-07-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, I feel like I am learning a lot, and surprise myself when I recall the precise Creole word I need to use, or accurately string together several Creole words forming full sentences to express myself.

Sometimes, I feel lost during class, occasionally, even clueless. I hear a word and know that I have heard it before, I may even remember that it was on a cd that I listened to when trying to learn Creole while driving back and forth to work a few months ago, but don't remember what the word means, even if I can tell you what street I was driving on when I heard it. At times, I want to say or write something, but lack the vocabulary to make my point, even if it is a simple one. Today was a more difficult day for me, but reality is I am learning, and know a lot more than I did a couple of weeks ago.

Sometimes, it is hotter up north in places like Philadelphia and Rhode Island than it is down south in places like Miami. It is warm here, but usually there is a pleasant breeze and the humidity is not too bad, also it seems everything is well air conditioned (sometimes it actually feels good to go outside and warm up!) Seriously, I hope all of you affected by the heat wave are keeping cool enough; you are in my thoughts and prayers.

One Month

2010-07-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

One month from now I will be in Haiti! Si Dye vle.

Other Updates and Information

2010-07-05T06:30:00.000-05:00

We received an email yesterday afternoon saying that class would be canceled for today after all. Apparently there was uncertainty as to whether or not the building where class is held would actually be accessible since the university is essentially closed today in observance of Independence Day. So, if you were feeling badly that I was in class taking a test while most everyone was have a day off, don't. I am actually ambivalent about the cancellation because while it is nice to have the day off, I need all the help I can get to learn this language. After spending a few hour working on writing my autobiography in Haitian Creole yesterday, it suddenly feels quite easy to write in English. As I write this, I realize how much I depend on spell check when writing in English and how helpful it would be when writing in Creole.

I hope all of you enjoyed the fourth of July yesterday. For a couple of hours yesterday morning, Anne and I went to a garden call Fairchild Tropical Botanic garden. She found it on the internet and although they normally charge admission, yesterday was free. There were amazing plants there, beautiful flowers, lots of butterflies and lizards. http://www.fairchildgarden.org/

I spent most of the rest of the day doing school work. I was glad to talk with some of my relatives on the phone as they were gathered at my parents' house for a cook out and to watch the fireworks by the bay. I could see lots of fireworks from my window here at FIU. My room is on the tenth floor, probably one of the taller buildings around which allowed me to see multiple firework displays, most quite distant.

Last Wednesday night some of us in the Haitian Creole program went to a program which was essentially a promotion for a local public radio program that will air in a few weeks about how the earth quake in Haiti has impacted the lives of people living in south Florida. There was music, art, a variety of speakers. It was interesting. http://wlrnunderthesun.org/2010/07/recap-an-evening-under-the-sun-in-little-haiti/
On the way home, we missed a turn. We ended up being at the very end of route 95; I thought this was rather exciting since it is such a long highway and I have spent a lot of time driving on it, but usually towards the other end.

On Thursday afternoon, instead of our regular class we went to the art museum on campus for a special presentation about an exhibit of Haitian art currently being displayed. It was fascinating. http://thefrost.fiu.edu/exhibitions.htm The art chosen for the exhibit was colorful and reflected the hope and joy of the Haitian culture. Most of the class went to a restaurant that evening which serves Haitian food. The vegetable medley, beans and rice I ordered were delicious.

So, as you can see, I am doing quite well, having wonderful experiences, learning a great deal and enjoying it. Hopefully you are doing well too. I changed the settings to make it easier for people to leave a comment on this blog. If you have thoughts, questions, or your own story to tell feel free to do so. I do hope that you are doing well. Know that all of you in my community, my family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers. Take care,
Kathleen

Si Dye Vle

2010-07-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

One of the first things we learned about the culture of Haiti is that people will frequently say, "si Dye vle," meaning "if God wants." We were told that when people come from other countries and announce plans for a project no matter how good and needed it is people may be reluctant to trust those with good intentions if when announcing their plan they neglect to follow it with the words, "si Dye vle." It will be good to know this for cultural reasons when I go to Haiti, but even more importantly it is a reminder to keep my own life in perspective, and the challenge to do my best to always be about what God desires regardless of where I am. I can practice now:
I am going to Haiti next month, si Dye vle; if God wants.
I will probably be there for two years, si Dye vle.
I intened to use my social work skills and hope to somehow be a healing presence to those affected by the earth quake, si Dye vle.

I am living on campus in the dorms at Florida International University. At first, I was very reluctant to stay in the dorms. I imagined that they would be noisy, unpleasant, and that I might somehow feel out of place. Prior to coming, I made some efforts to find an alternative. When nothing worked out, I got more information about the dorms and learned that they are all single rooms and the people in the program would be in the same area. My initial concerns were unfounded. The dorms are quiet, and quite pleasant. There are four bedrooms in a suite, but I am the only one in my suite. I have my own bedroom and since the other rooms are empty my own bathroom, living space and kitchen as well. The suite next door, houses four women also in the program, including Anne, who I mentioned in a previous entry. Across the hall from their suite four men who are also in the program are housed. Those of us staying in the dorms are of various ages (not all college freshman like I imagined.) If I feel lonely I can always go to the suite next door for a visit. The campus is beautiful. The building where we have class is nearby. It really is working out quite well. Since what I initially thought I would prefer, did not work out, this is probably what Dye vle.

I went with Anne to a nearby beach this morning. Now it is time to study and do homework. Even though most of this university is closed on Monday, the Haitian Creole Summer Institute will still be in session. In fact we have a quiz, which if it is anything like the first one, will seem more like a test to me. On Tuesday our first drafts of our Kreyol autobiogrphies are due. So, although I have a couple of other things I wanted to include in this entry, I really need to get back to studying. Maybe, I'll write more later, si Dye vle!

Take care. Enjoy this holiday weekend.
-Kathleen

Don't Say Do Something!

2010-07-02T04:51:00.000-05:00

In Creole, Fe' means to do or to make. It is an extremely common word in Kreyo'l Ayisyen (Haitian Creole.) Another very common word that is also used with great frequency is bagay, meaning something. In English I often put the two words together. Yesterday during class, we were talking about what we would do for the fourth of July weekend, in order to practice Creole conversation. I used these two very common words together when talking to the entire class.
The professor responded, "no, we don't say that in Creole. It means something NASTY."
I suppose as a sister and a social worker, it could become a problem perhaps even scandalous, in certain situations, if I mistakenly put these two basic, useful, common words together. So, now when speaking Creole, I need to remember not to use these two words together. I wonder if I can do something to help me remember?

Week One Completed!

2010-06-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, I arrived at the room where orientation for the Haitian Creole Summer Institute was to take place in a particular building on the campus of Florida International University. A woman sat down next to me and we began to chat. After initial introductions, I told her I would be going to Haiti to work as soon as the program ends. She asked where in Haiti, I responded, "Port a Prince." She asked, "where in Port a Prince?" I said, "At a hospitality house." She said, "Matthew 25? Sister Mary told me you would be here, but she didn't tell me your name." Anne a woman in my class volunteers a couple of times a year to go to Haiti; she is involved with the parish twinning program and has often stayed at Matthew 25, and therefore knows Mary, the sister I will be staying with. Anne is a recently retired nurse and midwife, who was in religious life at some point in her life. She worked for years in Tanzania. It seems people everywhere know Mary (when I was on vacation in New Orleans earlier this month, I learned that Fr. Tony the pastor of the parish where I attended liturgy when I volunteered in NOLA also knows Mary!)

The group of students who are here to study Creole is quite diverse. Some students are academics for whom learning Creole will help them with thesis or dissertations. Some are interested in the arts, others in linguistics. Other students have connections to Haiti, like a young woman who was born there but adopted at a young age and raised in Canada. A couple of students are studying law and hope to reach out the Haitian community in Miami. Others of course are interested in doing humanitarian work of one kind or another in Haiti. I am the only social worker. The ages, backgrounds and experiences of the students is quite varied. It is a great group of people; I find that I really like my classmates.

We are in class from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm, and again from 2:00pm until 4:00, Monday through Friday. We have homework to do every night at well. There is a professor who teachers in the morning, and an assistant professor who teaches in the afternoon. Both are native speakers of Creole. The classes are for the most part enjoyable and interesting. The teacher in the afternoon uses almost no English at all when he teaches. I understand that this will help us learn, but sometimes it is frustrating too; I don't remember the last time (if ever)I consciously thought about whether or not I was using a definite article in English, and yet I am supposed to understand an explanation of where to place a definite article in a Creole sentence, when the entire explanation is given in Creole! I am so glad that I took that free Haiti Hub on-line class; otherwise I would probably be really lost. By the end of the afternoon class, I find that I am mentally exhausted and physically restless. Not to worry though, there is the perfect treatment for such a state, and it is very near the dorm where I am staying, a swimming pool!

I hope that you are doing well. If you have any questions or comments or updates to share with me, feel free to post a comment on this blog, or email me if you have my email address and would prefer. I did get behind on responding to emails, but am using this weekend hopefully to catch up. Take care.   Many Blessings!
-Kathleen

A thank you note and brief update.

2010-06-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

IThank you to so many people for big and litle things recenlty. Thanks for prayers, cards, thoughts, etc.

Thank you for all who have sent emails, I know I have gotten behind in replying to them, but I do appreciate the support of so many.

Thank you to my congregtion for your support, for allowing me to study Creole in Miami, for your prayers and love.

Thank you to Marie and all of the provincilate kitchen staff who prepared the delicious Haitian meal on Friday. It was a wonderful surprise! Thanks too, to all the people who came to the celebration.

Thank you for all who assisted me with my preparations for Miami in any way. Thank you Angelus Community. I will certainly miss you. Thank you Linda for the ride to the airport; I did make it to the gate with plenty of time to spare.

Thank you to my family for your loving support. Thanks dad for looking up information on the computer for me this morning.

I am filled with a sense of gratitude. It feels like a privlege to have this time to learn the creole language and culture. Thanks to so many of you and Thanks be to God!

I arrived safely in Miami yesterday. Today the Haitian Summer Institute started with orientation. I am settling in and looking forward to classes starting tomorrow. I have more I want to say but it is getting late.

With Gratitude,
Kathleen

Seek Other Shores

2010-06-22T20:37:00.002-05:00

There are Sisters of the Holy Redeemer visiting our provincilate from Tanzania and Germany for meetings this week and last week. Most evenings last week I attended the evening prayer there, so that I could be with our sisters before I go away. Last week, at one such evening prayer, when we began to sing an opening hymn, the fact that I was leaving suddenly felt real. The song we sang was "Lord You Have Come to the Seashore." This song has had a lot of meaning for me ever since my first year in Redeemer Ministry Corps (our volunteer program lay,) when it was sort of a theme song during orientation. At that time the words that resonated most with me were "Lord You Have Come to the Seashore" probably because I grew up by the ocean. Since then it has had a lot of meaning for me, and was sung during liturgy on occasions such as when I entered, made first and final vows. During my retreat last month I repeatedly sang the song to myself and to my God as I walked along the beach. Now the words "at your side I will seek other shores" feel more real than ever; the words, "Be the resting Place of my restless heart" touch a cord as well.

I happened to tell the person who choose the song that it touched me and disclosed that I cried a few tears during that evening prayer. The same person chose the music for Sunday liturgy and decided to play it again. I mentioned to my local community that it had touched me during Tuesday evening prayer, and that I believed that the sister intentionally chose it again on Sunday, knowing that doing so could possibly lead me to cry. That evening we when we prayed in our local community, the sister leading vespers decided that we would sing "Lord You Have Come to the Seashore" in Spanish. So, we did, but not very well, (so not well that I did not cry, because I was trying not to laugh.)

Yesterday morning, I brought the car that I drove, and some of my belongings to be stored to the provincilate. The sisters in the international meetings took a break to say good-bye and participate in our province farewell ritual of standing on the steps waving tissues at the car containing the person going on a trip, while the car circles the parking lot. The presence of sisters from Tanzania and Germany really gave me a sense that I am being sent not only by our American Province but by the entire congregation. As we circled the parkinglot the sisters sang (in English):
"Lord You have come to the seashore, seeking neither the rich nor the wise, desiring only that I shall follow, oh Lord with your eyes set upon me, gently smiling you have spoken my name, all I long for I have found by the water, at your side I will seek other shores."

2010-06-13T19:55:00.000-05:00

Vacation was wonderful. Mostly I visited and walked, sometimes both at the same time. I was fortunate that I was able to visit with many friends and relatives in several different locations. I returned to Philadelphia on Thursday feeling rested, energized and grateful.

Now for the tasks of organizing, packing, preparing, while more importantly spending time with community and friends here. One of the things on my list of things to do is to send the link to this blog to those who might be interested. Once I am away, I will write more frequently and about more interesting things.

Quick Update

2010-05-29T06:41:00.000-05:00

I was accepted to the Haitian Creole program in Miami!
Since my last post, I had my last day of work at Project Rainbow, had a wonderful retreat by the Jersey Shore, drove to RI, met my baby cousin, and am enjoying vacation.
I'll write more later. Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Language learning destinations

2010-05-11T22:13:00.000-05:00

I just completed the eighth and final class of the free intro to creole course offered through Haiti Hub, via skype. The class was truly a great experience. I think it has been a good beginning to my learning.

Yet, I realize I have so much to learn. I attempted a couple of times in the past few days to start a conversation in Creole with a native speaker of the language. Both seemed to have difficulty understanding my simple sentences.

I am still hoping to participate in the intensive six week program in Miami, because speaking the language will increase my chances of effectively accompanying people healing from the earth quake. I have been more or less operating under the assumption that I will be participating, but before I book a flight it would be helpful to have some certainty. Why does it take so long for them to accept a non degree seeking student into a six week language undergraduate program? I must say, the free online class was much more efficiently organized in terms of the admissions process, but I need something more intense if I am going to practice any form of social work in Haiti.

There is something very humbling about learning a language as an adult. It is like starting over in a way, leaning numbers and colors, comparisons and contractions. I decided when trying to learn body parts to point to them as I said the words. I touch my head and say "tet." It reminds me of talking to a toddler and touching his nose and saying "nose" only I am doing it to myself, because it might increase my chances of remembering.

Speaking of toddlers, I am really going to miss the children of Project Rainbow and actually all of the families staff I have worked with over the past three years, or actually nearly eight years (minus the seven months I was in New Orleans.)

Only eight more days of work. Time is going so quickly.

I am in transition. Looking forward to retreat, vacation, community time and packing, hopefully followed by the Haitian summer institute in Miami (if of course they ever inform me of my acceptance.) It has yet to be decided if I will go straight from Miami to Haiti or return to Philadelphia briefly first. We shall see. Right now though my immediate detestation is bed. Good night!

Meeting Mary

2010-04-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Mary, the sister I will be staying with in Haiti celebrated her jubilee in Yardley PA. I went to her congregation's mother house this morning to meet her. She in an amazing woman! At 77 years of age she is doing great work in Haiti. At this point, when in Haiti she is still sleeping in a tent as she has since the January earth quake. Mary expects to be back in the house by the time I arrive; if not that is okay, after all I do have a tent.

I met a couple who worked with her in Haiti for a few years until they returned to the US in March. It was enjoyable to hear their perspectives on the situation there. Many of Mary's relatives were there as well; I enjoyed meeting them. It was nice to be with a bunch of New Englanders. Mary is originally from Massachusetts (the same town where my cousin Caroline lives.) Coincidentally, Mary had an identical twin sister.

Since meeting Mary, I am even more enthusiastic about going to Haiti, more certain that my skills can be used well there, but as unsure as ever as to exactly how.

Attempt to attend Creole liturgy

2010-04-18T19:05:00.000-05:00

There is a nearby parish, which according to the Archdiocesan Catholic Directory and the parish web-site has a liturgy in Creole on Sunday evening at 5:30. Coincidentally, it is the parish where I taught second grade for two years, ten years ago. I decided that one Sunday evening I would go there for liturgy, to familiarize myself with liturgy in the Haitian language. This seemed like a good Sunday to go, since this weekend was not busy. The only down side is that as a local community we eat together on Sunday evenings at 6:00. I let the sisters know I would not be home in time for dinner. I arrived at Incarnation, with minutes to spare. I walked to the doors to the upper church, they were locked. I checked the doors of the lower church, they were locked (many churches in Philadelphia have an upper and a lower church.) There were not very many people around. I wondered if I had the wrong time. I walked to the side of the church. The doors were locked and as far as I could tell the lights were off. Finally I saw a gentleman, whom I asked about the 5:30 pm mass. He said that this week the schedule is changed, next week regular schedule. I think he was Haitian. I am glad he knows more English than I know Creole, because despite listening to cds and mp3, using flashcards, a computer program, and participating in an online class, I would not have known how to ask about the 5:30 liturgy. I'll try again another time. At least I was home in time for a delicious dinner.

Preparation continues

2010-04-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

Since I last wrote, I have:

Begun participating in a free on-line Haitian Creole class. It meets for an hour a for eight weeks via skype. Each week we independently study the vocabulary and concepts of two chapters of a book entiled, Creole Made Easy (by Wally Turnbull). It is very helpful and quite fun (even though I almost fell asleep one night; it meets from 9:30-10:30 pm). Here is the website for the class: http://www.haitihub.com

I called the program in Miami, to check on the status of my application. They do not turn many people away, however they do not send out an acceptance letters until May. So... I guess I can almost assume I will be accepted.

Completed Part II training of EMDR. Before going to Haiti I'll be able to participate in the required consultations via conference calls required for completing the training. The training was interesting and enjoyable. I believe that EMDR will really be useful in Haiti. The training took place in the Bronx NY. I am grateful that I was able to stay that weekend with my friend Helene and her community; she is an IHM sister who lives in Manhattan.

I contacted the pediatric rehab program at Holy Redeemer Health System, at the suggestions of Dr. Coletta who has been to Haiti. The hope is that the physical and occupational therapists there will be able to give me some basic suggestions on how to best work with children I'm likely to encounter who have amputations or other injuries for which they are not be receiving any rehabilitation services at all.

There is still much to do. What I dread is the process of packing everything up in my bedroom, and of getting everything in order before leaving work. It will all come together; it always does. I look forward to meeting Mary, the sister I will be staying with when I go to Haiti. She will be in the states later this month for her jubilee celebration.

Preparation: Learning Haitian Creole and EMDR

2010-03-20T10:57:00.000-05:00

If you pass me while I am driving and I appear to be talking to myself, what I am actually doing is repeating Haitian Creole phrases as prompted by a compact disc. I do not expect to be fluent when I arrive in Haiti, but am confident that at the very least I will be able to participate in very very basic simple conversations. Hopefully I will be accepted into the Haitian Creole Summer Institute at Florida International University in Miami; if that program does not work out then I may lower my expectation to simply being able to say very important phrases in Haitian Creole.   My application is in so hopefully I will hear soon, that way I can begin to make specific plans.

Last weekend I attended EMDR training part I offered by HAP (Humanitarian Assistance Programs.) EMDR is a therapy that can very successfully reduce symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Next weekend I will attend the part II EMDR training.

While I do not know exactly what I will be doing while in Haiti, it seems clear that having at least a basic understanding the language and having tools to assist people who are suffering from trauma will increase my ability to minister effectively.

I have added some links to this blog so that anyone who is interested can read more about: EMDR & HAP, the Haitian Creole Summer Institute, the hospitality house where I will most likely be staying, and the sister who I will be staying with.

The Spiritual Journey....... leading to Haiti

2010-03-04T20:34:00.000-05:00

The journey does not stop, it continues.
I try to listen, try to understand what God invites me to, and do my best to say "yes" to whatever I believe God is inviting me to.
I started a discernment process, sensing that there were unmet needs that God invited me to respond to. I was feeling somehow called beyond the geographical location and typical ministry options currently available to members of my community. I began a discernment process, wanting to understand, how my gifts could meet the needs of those most in need and wanting to most fully be the person God created me to be, not knowing where the process would lead, although at times I thought I knew, but then God surprised me. I was walking in the dark, I could only see the next step and even that was not perfectly clear much of the way.

Now, it seems clear that God is leading me to Haiti. This is the next step of my journey. Haiti is a place where hopefully my skills and experiences can be used to bring hope and healing to those who suffer greatly. Haiti is a place where God is likely to teach me and challenge me to grow in love.
In many ways I am still walking in the dark, and expect to be ~~even~~ especially once I arrive in Haiti.