On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday the plan was to allow a small group of children to go into the city to see what was going on for Carnival. The children who went really seemed to enjoy it. I think the children, especially the younger ones whose school is located on the property are happy to go anywhere, since they don't leave site very often. They came back talking about the "Madi Gra," referring specifically to people in the street wearing "ugly" masks. My name was on the list to be an adult going with them on Tuesday, but in an attempt to practice better self-care, I decided to take what is supposed to be my weekly day off, which meant forfeiting my chance to go with the children into the city. As it turns out all major Mardi Gras activities that had been planned in the country for Tuesday were cancelled. There was a terrible tragic accident in Port-au-Prince during the very early morning hours on Tuesday when a float came into contact with power-lines, electrocuting at least 15-20 people (the number varies deepening upon which article you read or radio station you listen to.) The next time I am at a parade in New Orleans, and watch the big electric company truck that precedes each and every parade checking that power-lines and tree branches are not in the path of the large floats, I will have a deeper appreciation and understand that such a practice really does prevent accidents and premature death. We are praying for all those who died, those who lost loved ones, and those who witnessed this traumatic event.
I am grateful that I had a chance to pray and read and take two long walks yesterday. I do love the work that I am doing here, and also know that taking a break, a day off and not spending it in the place where one works, is important especially when working with people.
Be assured of my prayers as we enter into this season of lent. During these days may we all be transformed into the people God has created us to be, people of love, compassion, mercy, justice, peace and hope so that we can work towards the transformation of the world into God's vision.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Madi
Tuesday was supposed to be my day off. Last Tuesday it seemed complicated to plan to go somewhere else in the morning and still go to Creole class in the afternoon, since Tuesday is the only day I was going to class. I tried to take some quiet time that morning, but then there was a child who had not gone to school, and well it was not a morning off from work by any means.... So I decided that this Tuesday I would spend the morning at a nearby convent, which is located in a neighborhood where I have been told it is safe to go for a walk. I made arrangements so that I could spend a restful morning walking near another convent and still go the Creole class for the last time in the afternoon. It is really no wonder that people here often use the expression "si Dye vle" after saying what they plan to do, because plans are often changed by circumstances beyond one's control. Everything I thought I need for that morning and for the afternoon class was in my back pack, I was ready to go. On Tuesday there were protests here in Cap-Haitian, because many people want to government to lower the price of gasoline. So, I was informed that it was not wise to leave the lakou (yard) on Tuesday. I attempted to go for a long leisurely walk within the confines of the walls surrounding the property here; since the children did not have school and wanted to walk with me, my walk was different than I had been imagining. I decided that I would close the wooden door to my room, often I leave it open if I am in my room during the day, since there is a decent screen door that keeps out mosquitoes but allows the breeze and sun light to enter. After a little while I was startled when someone was at my bedroom window calling my name. A child was peering in the window to tell me that another child wanted assistance with English homework. So, my morning off was just not going to happen. When I heard that there would not be any Creole class because of the manifestations, I choose to follow Wednesday's schedule on Tuesday so that I could go to Creole class on Wednesday without skipping any of the children's group therapy sessions for the week. Hopefully next week, I will be able to take the day off, and spend it off site; at this point instead of saying "Si Dye vle", I want to say, "Please God", which is what my Irish grandmother would use in pretty much the same way Haitians tend to use "Si Dye vle."
On Wednesday the truck broke down on the way to the high school where we have Creole Class. So we took a tap-tap, which is a pick up truck with seats in the back. Usually they are very crowded but since we were going into the city at time when most people were leaving, this was not the case. It is cheaper to take a tap-tap a longer distance here than it was for me to take the tap-tap in Tabarre four years ago (half the price actually.) We had a small party during class. I am grateful for the class and all that I learned.
On Thursday I started teaching English classes to a young adult who used to live at the orphanage who is now in a training program to prepare her to work at a hotel.
On Friday the Mardi Gras celebrations began; the children had a party at school. Their faces were painted and many had on hats or headbands, and glitter in their hair before they left. They were very excited. It was wonderful to see them so happy as they left for school! There may be a few photos on the Mary Gate of Heaven Facebook page if you are interested.
Bon Fèt Madi Gra! Many Blessings!
On Wednesday the truck broke down on the way to the high school where we have Creole Class. So we took a tap-tap, which is a pick up truck with seats in the back. Usually they are very crowded but since we were going into the city at time when most people were leaving, this was not the case. It is cheaper to take a tap-tap a longer distance here than it was for me to take the tap-tap in Tabarre four years ago (half the price actually.) We had a small party during class. I am grateful for the class and all that I learned.
On Thursday I started teaching English classes to a young adult who used to live at the orphanage who is now in a training program to prepare her to work at a hotel.
On Friday the Mardi Gras celebrations began; the children had a party at school. Their faces were painted and many had on hats or headbands, and glitter in their hair before they left. They were very excited. It was wonderful to see them so happy as they left for school! There may be a few photos on the Mary Gate of Heaven Facebook page if you are interested.
Bon Fèt Madi Gra! Many Blessings!
Friday, February 6, 2015
Mental Health Treatment in Haiti
I recently read an article the following article http://woymagazine.com/2015/01/22/whispers-i-am-haitian-and-i-suffer-from-depression-2/ which tells the story of a Haitian suffering from depression. At the end of the article it states that the editors of the magazine were unable to find resources to help people suffering from depression and/or suicidal thoughts in Haiti. Someone left a comment about a counseling program near the capital, which looks interesting but is far from here and in terms of treatment of individuals seems to offer essentially the same level of care that I am able to provide.
If I were working with a client here, who needed more than I am capable and qualified to offer as an experienced clinical social worker, what could I do? If I felt that a child were possible danger to him/herself or to others, where could I refer the child? It does not seem that there aremany options. What if I thought someone may need even a brief in-patient stay for the sake of his/her safety? What are the prospects for people who don't get the help that they need? I don't want to think about the answer to that question. When working in the United States, especially while in Louisiana, I frequently felt that the needs of those I worked with who were experiencing poverty, homelessness, and serious mental health conditions were in many cases not adequately met by the existing mental health system there; young people were often falling through the cracks. Here the analogy of falling through the cracks doesn't even fit because to fall through the cracks would imply that there is at least some kind of structure that catches some people, but that does not appear to be the case here at this time. Even when I search the internet for information on mental health treatment for Haitians, the google search consists of more information for Haitians who have immigrated to the United States than it does for those living here in Haiti currently.
This week, I began participating in an on-line international play therapy supervision group that meets monthly. The others in the group presented very interesting cases. It was very helpful for me to be able to connect with other professionals who are also working with children. It is actually amazing to me that four people in four different countries can have a meeting! Here is the link to the organization providing the supervision. http://www.fptcenter.com/
Take care!
If I were working with a client here, who needed more than I am capable and qualified to offer as an experienced clinical social worker, what could I do? If I felt that a child were possible danger to him/herself or to others, where could I refer the child? It does not seem that there are
This week, I began participating in an on-line international play therapy supervision group that meets monthly. The others in the group presented very interesting cases. It was very helpful for me to be able to connect with other professionals who are also working with children. It is actually amazing to me that four people in four different countries can have a meeting! Here is the link to the organization providing the supervision. http://www.fptcenter.com/
Take care!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Creole class
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.
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 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!
Monday, December 29, 2014
I am in Rhode Island grateful to be able to spend time with family. At the moment Haiti feels worlds away, yet my mind wanders back there from time to time. When I think of the number of relatives, I have and spent time with during these past several days, and I juxtapose that with thoughts of the children at the orphanage especially those who went to spent the holiday with a worker since their families were too far away and could not come for them, I feel amazingly grateful for what I have and sad for those who either lack the means to visit their extended family or don't have family connections. It is wonderful to be here at Christmas time, and also at moments somehow challenging to be surrounded by relative abundance. I hope that you had a blessed Christmas and that your New Year will be filled with joy, and peace.
I just came across this on-line about educating children in Haiti in Haitian Creole. These are the ideas that make sense to me as an educator and a social worker. I wish I could find the same information presented as well as it is here in either Haitian Creole or in French so that I could share it with my co-workers and community members in Haiti. Enjoy! http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-12-22/village-school-haiti-started-national-movement-teach-kids-language-they-speak
Bon ane! Happy New Year!
I just came across this on-line about educating children in Haiti in Haitian Creole. These are the ideas that make sense to me as an educator and a social worker. I wish I could find the same information presented as well as it is here in either Haitian Creole or in French so that I could share it with my co-workers and community members in Haiti. Enjoy! http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-12-22/village-school-haiti-started-national-movement-teach-kids-language-they-speak
Bon ane! Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Updates, Citadel and Merry Christmas!
On Friday the last child left the orphanage for the Christmas holiday. There were some whose only family members lived too far away or for whatever reason could not go "home." Arrangements were made for these children to stay with someone, such as an orphanage worker who already knows the child well. It got very quiet towards the end of the week.
Also, in my previous entry I had mentioned that there were training for all of the workers and the sisters taking place last week. Well, I was partially wrong; the training were for the workers but not for the sisters. The interesting thing about assumptions I make based on my previous experiences is that sometimes I don't really even realize at first that I am making an assumption.
On Saturday, I a Holy Cross sister who works at the high school and two young lay women from Canada, went with a large group of high school girls went to the Citadel. It was a great trip. We walked for about three full hours, up the mountain, taking breaks along the way. The views were spectacular as you can see. Although when I first boarded the large yellow former american school bus, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the noise level, I must say, I truly enjoyed walking the journey up and down the mountain with some very delightful young women. The history is fascinating; here is a link to learn more: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/180
On Sunday I flew from O'Kap to Miami and from Miami to New Orleans. It has been good to spend a couple of days in New Orleans connecting with the sisters, and friends. Soon I will be connecting with family and friends in Rhode Island, si Dye vle. I am grateful to, that the sisters took care of fulfilling my wish list of play therapy supplies that I had emailed several weeks ago. Thank you! Mesi Anpil! I truly am grateful to be able to spend some time in the US, even though the sudden change in culture, schedule and environment cause me to feel mildly disoriented and slightly disorganized.
While walking down the mountain on Saturday I cam across a large poinsettia plant in full bloom right on schedule for the holiday!
I wish each of you a joyous Christmas filled with peace! Many Blessings!
Also, in my previous entry I had mentioned that there were training for all of the workers and the sisters taking place last week. Well, I was partially wrong; the training were for the workers but not for the sisters. The interesting thing about assumptions I make based on my previous experiences is that sometimes I don't really even realize at first that I am making an assumption.
On Saturday, I a Holy Cross sister who works at the high school and two young lay women from Canada, went with a large group of high school girls went to the Citadel. It was a great trip. We walked for about three full hours, up the mountain, taking breaks along the way. The views were spectacular as you can see. Although when I first boarded the large yellow former american school bus, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the noise level, I must say, I truly enjoyed walking the journey up and down the mountain with some very delightful young women. The history is fascinating; here is a link to learn more: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/180
On Sunday I flew from O'Kap to Miami and from Miami to New Orleans. It has been good to spend a couple of days in New Orleans connecting with the sisters, and friends. Soon I will be connecting with family and friends in Rhode Island, si Dye vle. I am grateful to, that the sisters took care of fulfilling my wish list of play therapy supplies that I had emailed several weeks ago. Thank you! Mesi Anpil! I truly am grateful to be able to spend some time in the US, even though the sudden change in culture, schedule and environment cause me to feel mildly disoriented and slightly disorganized.
While walking down the mountain on Saturday I cam across a large poinsettia plant in full bloom right on schedule for the holiday!
I wish each of you a joyous Christmas filled with peace! Many Blessings!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Lekòl, Maladi, Fèt Nwèl, Orevwa timoun, Politik
Lekòl
Last week the children finished their
exams at school. Even very young
children have exams in Haiti; the school system here uses very different
methods and is based on a philosophy that seems almost contradictory to what I
was taught under-grad as an elementary and special education major at Rhode Island College
in the 1990s.
Maladi
Several of the children have
gotten sick lately. At first we were
told it was the measles, but now we have been informed that it was not the measles
after all, which is a good thing. When we
believed that several children were coming down with the measles, I looked up
information on various seemingly trustworthy medical websites to educate myself
about the measles. I found myself
reflecting on disease and vaccinations, and who is offered vaccinations in our
world and who is not. When preparing to
come to Haiti, the travel specialist suggested I get a booster to protect
against measles, mumps and rubella, just in case the antibodies from earlier
vaccinations were no longer active. My
life and health is no more valuable in the eyes of God than a child born into
poverty in a country where poverty is the norm. Some people in our world are offered
more protection against disease than others as if some lives are of greater
value and in general certain factors influence a person’s chances of being
offered vaccinations and proper health care in general such as nationality,
education level, social status, and race.
Learning of how dangerous measles can be I am very grateful that it is
not the illness our children have and that there are vaccinations available;
hopefully in the not too distant future these vaccines will be given to all
children on our planet regardless of where they are born, and how much money
their families have and then when children anywhere become sick it will not be because of the measles or any other serious illness for which there are safe and effective vaccinations.
Fèt Nwèl
Yesterday we had a Christmas party for all of the children
and employees. While preparing for the
party on Saturday a young woman from Canada and I were given the recipe (in
French) and the task for making rum punch, a Haitian specialty, which our
employees enjoyed; although I did find it rather funny that this was the task
of the newest blahs(foreigners/white people)
in the lakou (yard/property.) The
celebration started with a lively liturgy in our little chapel; I liked the way
the priest interacted with the children and at least the homily was in Creole
this time. The mass was followed by a wonderful
fèt that included music, dancing, great Haitian food, ice cream and gifts. The children and employees really seemed to
enjoy themselves. Although the intermittent
rain was inconvenient, we did not allow it to detract from the great fun. I even tasted the rum punch and it was not
bad at all!
Orevwa timoun
Most of the children left today to spend school vacation and
celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Day, which is also Independence Day with relatives. Most of the children were happy to see their
relative come through the gate of the orphanage. Some came long distances, but not one family
member arrived at our gate in a car. It is suddenly quiet around here, I miss the children already. This week there will be some educational sessions for all staff and
sisters who work with the children.
Early next week, I will be leaving for a visit with my community and then
my family.
Politik
There is a lot happening in
Haiti politically these days with the recent resignation of the prime minister. Sometimes we talk about what is happening at
the dinner table, but in general to know what is going on I read articles on
the internet, because despite some modest improvements, I still understand
English better than Creole. I will attach a link to one article, for your
convenience, although it sometimes helps to read a few to get different
perspectives. Despite the political
chaos in the country we are very safe here in our yard and in this neighborhood
which on the outskirts of Cap Haitian. I
hope and pray that the recent resignation of the prime minister will somehow help
the situation.
May this third week of Advent be a time of joy for each of
you. Thanks for taking the time to read
this blog. Many blessings!
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