Today and Tent

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.   

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

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. 

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.    

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

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

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!

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

Mesi Anpil!

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