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.
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