Hurricane Kim

Hurricane Kim (the only preseason force of nature to be named) blew into Haiti with me for an all too brief visit. Although we set off in good health and high spirits, within 72 hours we had both been felled by a nasty chest infection - viral or bacterial unknown. Time line suggests it was something picked up on one of the airplanes. But being a force of nature, Kim shouldered on.

She embraced Haitian coffee...

the neighborhood dogs we feed...

our daily chores, and our incomparable staff.

Our days are busy, our nights are long when there is no electricity. We actually had a few hours of EDH every day that Kim was with us. Haiti put her best foot forward.

We visited Inea to make certain the rain water
had dried up. Although her tikay was neat as a pin,
mold and mildew were everywhere --vinegar!

You can take the boss out of the business but...
here she creates the very first Haitian Euphoria smoothie.
What was in it you ask?

Having electricity one day, Kim, always the creator, whipped up the first ever Haitian Smoothie - Euphoria style of course. As the owner and chief cook and bottle washer of Euphoria in Orangeville, I got to witness what makes her restaurant so successful -- creativity and confidence.That smoothie had everything under the sun in it including avocado, pineapple, coconut water, our very last apple , Chia seeds, grapefruit icecubes.......ad infinitum

Laundry - labor intensive and not fun.

Being a yogi and a dog lover, she put her passions together and trained at least one of the puppies (Shoset) to do a proper downward dog on a yoga mat. Na, she didn't this picture was an accident.

Shoset and the beginning of the end for my favorite
and irreplaceable sandals.

A week goes by in the blink of an eye and all too soon we're at the airport saying goodbye.  Having another set of hands and eyes as well as another heart provides perspective, easy to lose when on your own. 

Thanks to Kim and all the brave, courageous visitors who have taken the time and expended the energy - both physical and emotional - to share the journey.

Namaste
Sharon

In Kim's own words:

A couple of weeks ago I had the most amazing opportunity to accompany Sharon to Haiti. We divided our time between Cap-Haitian and San Raphael, a small rural village up Granjil Mountain. The distance of approximately 20 miles took well over 2 hours to drive....enduro bike racers may have loved the road but it was a tough one by truck! This was not a beach vacation, no running water or hydro for most of the week, I don't think there is ever a moment of quiet in Cap-Haitian, it was hot (really hot!) and up Granjil Mountain the wind never stopped blowing and every gust of wind carried handfuls of dust and dirt but despite all this I had one of the most inspiring experiences ever!! The students receiving support from Starthrower are tenacious, enthusiastic, hardworking and full of optimism, the world is made better by these young people! Thank you Sharon, August, Joclyn and the rest of the staff and students for welcoming me into your hearts and homes, I'll be back!! 

Thanks

Kim