Dear Friends,
A year in Haiti! How fast that time went. As I contemplate the year I can’t believe everything I have seen and done and live with on a daily basis. It took me a bit to get used to the heat and the rhythm in Haiti. Although I’m not sure if rhythm is the right word because that indicates a nice flow and there is definitely no flow to things. It is a constant adjustment to what is going on around us, people showing up at the door that need help, medical emergencies, groups visiting as well as getting the day to day responsibilities taken care of.
One of my responsibilities is getting 32 girls up at 5am, dressed, fed and to school for 7:15am.
I have learned an advantage to getting up at 5am is that not only do I get a lot done before 10am but I am able to work on the gardens and grounds before it gets unbearably hot. A great deal of my focus has been developing gardens and teaching the children how to grow their own food. I have a roof top garden growing at the girl’s house where we have tomatoes, herbs, oranges, tangerines, limes, avocado, grapefruit, cherries, mangoes, bread fruit, passion fruit and more. I am hoping down the road to be able to buy a piece of land to begin growing food for the orphanage. We have a handful of kids interested and they have started their own little plots behind the school! Beans, corn, okra and squash are growing well! Next up – a chicken coop! Just before I came home to rest I was able to start composting! We use only leaves and ashes right now but it is a great start to rejuvenating our soil and teaching the kids.
Helping the boy’s soccer team has been a huge joy for me this past year. I developed their warm- up routine and had them working hard. They weren’t always happy about that J but did it and now see improvement. We have been very fortunate to have a Kenyan family arrive that will be developing soccer fields in our town and Christian played professionally in Kenya so he is coaching the boys now which is fantastic! I get to take pictures and cheer now!
There have been a number of times over the last year where I have asked myself “did that really just happen, am I really seeing this?” Anyone that has read my blog www.jeninhaiti.blogspot.com can look at posts to know that I am not a nurse nor will I ever be a nurse. Sweet little Givensky who is blind and fell into the fire at his home and had to have the toothpaste scraped off that his mother had put on before he could be treated or Julien who got pneumonia and spent 5 days in the hospital receiving over 30 needles. And precious Jean who has CP, is blind and deaf but we just got him a feeding tube to improve his life. I definitely find the medical issues the toughest deal with. We have lost some dear staff this past year as well as members of the community and it is so hard to not know why or not be able to get them the help we know is available elsewhere but not where we are. We are just months away from completing our pediatric medical centre which will have teams of doctors and nurses coming down to help. Every day we have a reason to say “I can’t wait for the medical centre to be ready.” Life is very intense in Haiti.
The joy of being with the kids out weighs all the difficulties combined. Seeing them learn, watching the kindergarten graduation ceremonies, having the soccer team win a big game, watching a family of five travelling on a motorcycle, the excitement of the kids starting to grow their own gardens and organizing our 1st annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament are just some of the things that I am blessed to be a part of!
As I rest up for my next year in Haiti I reflect on all the people who have helped make it happen. I am so very fortunate to have so many people backing me and helping me every step of the way down there. It is comforting and encouraging. Especially on the tough days. So I say THANK YOU to all of you for being a part of my work in Haiti. If you are willing/able to continue to be a part of my work in Haiti please see the information below. I will be home over the next few weeks and hope to see as many of you as possible! If you are available Saturday, July 23rd I will be having an Open House in Tsawwassen @ 4985 Weaver Dr. 1 – 5pm. Come hear about my year in Haiti. RSVP to jen@jeninhaiti.org Phone: 778-906-0621
JEN
Cheques payable to:
ISM Canada – Memo line Danita’s Children – Jen Wride 3466 150th St Surrey, BC V4M 1R5
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