This is my last full week of Creole class. I had understood that it was just for the month of January, but this was not so. On Tuesday of this week, I learned that the class was supposed to continue for two more weeks; I am not sure how I missed this information, although no one in the class was sure of the date it was scheduled to end until I asked the other day. Since I had told the children that I would resume the scheduled groups the first week of February, I have decided that beginning next week, I will only go on Tuesday which is the day I don't have any groups scheduled. The times when I am able to work one on one with the assistant teacher are very helpful. When I am in the classroom with the others, it is not quite as helpful, although certainly I do learn. I find the lists of vocabulary words that they give us interesting, although, I don't think they are concentrating on the most commonly used words, not even for the others in the class who are learning Creole for the first time. If were a veterinarian or a farmer, I might need to know the words for a baby female pig, and a baby male cat, however I am a clinical social worker, and to do my work well, I really do need to make sure I have the vocabulary to do a decent suicide assessment in case the situation would arise and to discuss difficult traumatic experiences that children may have had, including sexual abuse. I have had to be assertive in asking to learn what I need to learn and when working individually the assistant teacher has kindly obliged, especially in terms of vocabulary. The class has helped me, I believe that my Creole is getting better. Sometimes I still struggle with listening comprehension and have to ask people to repeat or explain. Of course I need to remember that sometimes even when people speak same language fluently, misunderstandings occur. I have been grateful for the class and also am looking forward resuming more consistent groups with the children.
All is well here. It has been raining on and off the past couple of days, but not too heavily (no flooding here.) I hope that all is well with you, especially those of you in the north eastern part of the US who are inundated with snow; stay warm. Take care.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Visit, liv Priye, fèt Pè Mourea
M te visite NPH.
On Sunday I took an air conditioned tour bus to Port-a-Prince. The ride was quite pleasant.
On the bus someone asked me in English, if I speak Spanish. I replied in Creole that I speak English. This suddenly struck me as comical when I thought about it later in the day.
I spent that afternoon visiting with people at NPH. A friend, who I had lived and worked with had come to Haiti for the anniversary of the earth quake and of the anniversary of the beginning of the Father Wasson Angel of Lights program. It was wonderful to see her and other friends from various places in the world, who work with NPH.
I had a chance to visit with the children at both Kay Ste. Ann and Kay Ste. Louie. I was so happy to see the children, many seemed happy to see me. Some of the older children asked for "ti toti," the turtle puppet that I used when I did some psycho-educational groups at the FWAL. While at Kay Ste. Ann, one of the children who has a disability emerged from the bathroom, lifting his hands up over his head smiling broadly, proclaiming, "Sè Kathleen, m lave men mwen!" (Sister Kathleen, I washed my hands!) I often say that I spent more time there encouraging hand washing than I did doing clinical social work, because that seemed to be the more immediate need, especially when Cholera arrived. A smile came across my face, "bravo," I said. When I was there in September, I did not take the time to walk around the grounds of the hospital; I did on Sunday. Where the tents for the temporary volunteers once stood there is now a small forest of banana trees! Volunteers are now housed at a nearby but separate location in newly constructed permanent buildings. There are some amazing changes on the grounds of St. Damien, including pools of tilapia, coops of chickens and a restaurant.
That evening we had mass in the little chapel by the hospital. Most of the people who attend this liturgy are volunteers, long and short term from various places. The beautiful, simple liturgy was prayed in a mixture of English and Haitian Creole. Afterwards several of us went to the house of a friend who lives on the grounds of the hospital and we talked, interesting, stimulating conversation (in English.)
Early the next morning I took the bus back to Okap feeling grateful for friends, for the health and growth of the children at FWAL, for the connections made, and for experience of the visit and for the experiences that I had when working and living there. Mesi!
Liv Priye
Tuesday morning, there were only two of us present for morning prayer. The other sister was kind enough to pull out the Haitian Creole liturgy of the hour prayer books that had recently appeared in our little chapel at the convent. We were able to pray the entire morning pray in a language we both understood. In the cover of the book I was using, was written a name that I recognized as the name of a French Marianite sister who I know previously worked in Haiti. There are four such prayer books, two of them have the name of a nearby Holy Cross convent written in them and the other two, have the first names of Marianite sisters who once worked in Haiti. I was happy to discover this! This helped me to feel connected my own congregation and also gave me an increased sense of belonging. In general, the sisters I live with seem to prefer to pray in French although for all but one of them Creole is their first language. The fact that Marianites who came from France would have had prayer books in the language of the people of Haiti while they were here, I find affirming since I too, am a Marianite, and believe in the importance of using the primary language of the common person in the country/culture where one is missioned.
Fèt Pè Moreau
For the 10 days between the death of our founder, Fr. Moreau and the death of the first congregational leader of the Marianites of Holy Cross we celebrate a decade of days with special prayers. For all of you who support me is some many different ways, be assured of my prayers for you at this time. Mèsi anpil!
On Sunday I took an air conditioned tour bus to Port-a-Prince. The ride was quite pleasant.
On the bus someone asked me in English, if I speak Spanish. I replied in Creole that I speak English. This suddenly struck me as comical when I thought about it later in the day.
I spent that afternoon visiting with people at NPH. A friend, who I had lived and worked with had come to Haiti for the anniversary of the earth quake and of the anniversary of the beginning of the Father Wasson Angel of Lights program. It was wonderful to see her and other friends from various places in the world, who work with NPH.
I had a chance to visit with the children at both Kay Ste. Ann and Kay Ste. Louie. I was so happy to see the children, many seemed happy to see me. Some of the older children asked for "ti toti," the turtle puppet that I used when I did some psycho-educational groups at the FWAL. While at Kay Ste. Ann, one of the children who has a disability emerged from the bathroom, lifting his hands up over his head smiling broadly, proclaiming, "Sè Kathleen, m lave men mwen!" (Sister Kathleen, I washed my hands!) I often say that I spent more time there encouraging hand washing than I did doing clinical social work, because that seemed to be the more immediate need, especially when Cholera arrived. A smile came across my face, "bravo," I said. When I was there in September, I did not take the time to walk around the grounds of the hospital; I did on Sunday. Where the tents for the temporary volunteers once stood there is now a small forest of banana trees! Volunteers are now housed at a nearby but separate location in newly constructed permanent buildings. There are some amazing changes on the grounds of St. Damien, including pools of tilapia, coops of chickens and a restaurant.
That evening we had mass in the little chapel by the hospital. Most of the people who attend this liturgy are volunteers, long and short term from various places. The beautiful, simple liturgy was prayed in a mixture of English and Haitian Creole. Afterwards several of us went to the house of a friend who lives on the grounds of the hospital and we talked, interesting, stimulating conversation (in English.)
Early the next morning I took the bus back to Okap feeling grateful for friends, for the health and growth of the children at FWAL, for the connections made, and for experience of the visit and for the experiences that I had when working and living there. Mesi!
Liv Priye
Tuesday morning, there were only two of us present for morning prayer. The other sister was kind enough to pull out the Haitian Creole liturgy of the hour prayer books that had recently appeared in our little chapel at the convent. We were able to pray the entire morning pray in a language we both understood. In the cover of the book I was using, was written a name that I recognized as the name of a French Marianite sister who I know previously worked in Haiti. There are four such prayer books, two of them have the name of a nearby Holy Cross convent written in them and the other two, have the first names of Marianite sisters who once worked in Haiti. I was happy to discover this! This helped me to feel connected my own congregation and also gave me an increased sense of belonging. In general, the sisters I live with seem to prefer to pray in French although for all but one of them Creole is their first language. The fact that Marianites who came from France would have had prayer books in the language of the people of Haiti while they were here, I find affirming since I too, am a Marianite, and believe in the importance of using the primary language of the common person in the country/culture where one is missioned.
Fèt Pè Moreau
For the 10 days between the death of our founder, Fr. Moreau and the death of the first congregational leader of the Marianites of Holy Cross we celebrate a decade of days with special prayers. For all of you who support me is some many different ways, be assured of my prayers for you at this time. Mèsi anpil!
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Anniversary of the Earthquake, and Creole Class
Monday was the 5th anniversary of the earthquake. The children did not have school as the government declared it a day for reflection and for remembering those who died. We had a prayer service in the chapel here, which the older children planned. It was prayerful and well planned, without being too lengthy. Apparently here in Cap-Haitian people felt tremors but there was not really any earthquake damage.
NPH, the organization I worked with previously, did more to mark the anniversary of the earthquake since they were so directly impacted by it and increased and started programs as a result. Here are some links if you are interested in reading more about NPH since the earthquake: https://www.nph.org/ws/page.php?path=news%2Farchive%2F2015%2Fhaiti%2Fearthquakepositive.php&lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUd1nZFAu0k&feature=youtu.be
https://www.nph.org/ws/page.php?lang=en&path=homes%2Fhaiti%2Fchildren%2Fjeanfrancois.php
https://www.nph.org/ws/page.php?path=homes%2Fhaiti%2Femployees%2Fsrjudy.php&lang=en
On Monday evening I started attending a Haitian Creole class that was organized for those of us newly working in Haiti with the Sisters of Holy Cross. This includes two young lay women from Canada, a sister from Burkina Faso, and me. The first class helped me to realize how much I have actually learned during the nearly five years since I first began studying Creole. All of the other students are taking their very first Creole class and all of them are fluent French speakers, one knowing no English at all. There are two assistant teachers, one of whom can speak English fairly well. Now, I am primarily working individually with the assistant who knows basic English. This is very helpful because I need someone to help me with pronunciation and point out the mistakes that I am making, and to improve my listening comprehension. Working individually, I can ask for help with the vocabulary I most need for doing therapy with children and adolescents, which may not be the words that the others learning Creole for the first time would most need to know. I am grateful for the class and hope that it is improving my ability to communicate and will therefore improve my effectiveness as a social worker, and enable me to express myself and understand others better in community. The class meets four afternoons a week and will be finished at the end of January. The hardest part is that I have been able to do less clinical work with the children since the course meets after school when I would normally work with them. Also, we always have homework, which is one of the reasons I have not gotten around to updating this blog sooner.
Take care!
NPH, the organization I worked with previously, did more to mark the anniversary of the earthquake since they were so directly impacted by it and increased and started programs as a result. Here are some links if you are interested in reading more about NPH since the earthquake: https://www.nph.org/ws/page.php?path=news%2Farchive%2F2015%2Fhaiti%2Fearthquakepositive.php&lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUd1nZFAu0k&feature=youtu.be
https://www.nph.org/ws/page.php?lang=en&path=homes%2Fhaiti%2Fchildren%2Fjeanfrancois.php
https://www.nph.org/ws/page.php?path=homes%2Fhaiti%2Femployees%2Fsrjudy.php&lang=en
On Monday evening I started attending a Haitian Creole class that was organized for those of us newly working in Haiti with the Sisters of Holy Cross. This includes two young lay women from Canada, a sister from Burkina Faso, and me. The first class helped me to realize how much I have actually learned during the nearly five years since I first began studying Creole. All of the other students are taking their very first Creole class and all of them are fluent French speakers, one knowing no English at all. There are two assistant teachers, one of whom can speak English fairly well. Now, I am primarily working individually with the assistant who knows basic English. This is very helpful because I need someone to help me with pronunciation and point out the mistakes that I am making, and to improve my listening comprehension. Working individually, I can ask for help with the vocabulary I most need for doing therapy with children and adolescents, which may not be the words that the others learning Creole for the first time would most need to know. I am grateful for the class and hope that it is improving my ability to communicate and will therefore improve my effectiveness as a social worker, and enable me to express myself and understand others better in community. The class meets four afternoons a week and will be finished at the end of January. The hardest part is that I have been able to do less clinical work with the children since the course meets after school when I would normally work with them. Also, we always have homework, which is one of the reasons I have not gotten around to updating this blog sooner.
Take care!
Monday, January 5, 2015
Mwen te tounen
Originally, before I even arrived in Cap Haitian last September, I had thought I would want to come back to Haiti by January first, since that is an important holiday in Haiti, Independence Day. Since the children were not going to be back at the orphanage and the Haitian sisters spend the holiday with their families, and since I had not really had any time away from work during the first three months, I decided to stay in the US and spend the time with my family. On New Year's Eve I traveled with my mother, arriving by plane in Florida only moments before 2015 officially began. I spent a few relaxing days with my parents and uncle; weather wise it was a good transition too (much warmer than Rhode Island, but not quite as warm as Haiti.) Yesterday morning my parents dropped me off at the huge Miami airport and I arrived in Cap Haitian in time for Sunday dinner. Some of the older children came with the chauffeur and young lay-volunteer from Canada, to pick me up at the airport. When I saw the smiling faces of the children I truly felt happy to be here and the frustrating feeling related to the fact that one of my bags had not arrived melted away. The bag containing most of the toys, music, and art materials for play therapy arrived on the flight that came into Cap Haitian today.
Some of the children returned on Saturday. Most returned on Sunday; fewer than half had arrived before I did on Sunday afternoon. A few came today. When one child enters the yard after vacation, it is wonderful to hear the excitement of other children as they welcome their friend. Fortunately, most of the children seem happy to have visited their family and they also seem happy to have returned; perhaps I am projecting since this is how I feel too!
The government scheduled indicated that schools were to open today. When most of the children were already in their uniforms, we were told that they did not have school. At dinner tonight, a sister told me that the children were scheduled to have school, but since no children came to school, there was not any school. This apparently has to do with the fact that traditionally schools have started here after the Epiphany (January 6th), so families may have assumed that there was no school and since nobody came, classes did not take place. Some of the high school students did have school today. Apparently tomorrow the primary school here will be open; we were told that even if there is only one student in a class there will be school.
I feel like I have so many people I need to thank for their support, generosity, or simply for listening to my Haiti stories during the past few weeks. Thank you all! Mesi anpil!
Happy New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)