Bonne annee, everyone!

Abel (the student we sponsored for auto ecole) started working full time here at Lakay Fondasyon last week. He is looking after visitor intake at the security gate (portail), record keeping, tutoring, food purchase, packaging and distribution.

This means that Starthrower Foundation is now able to continue distributing weekly food packages even when I am in Canada. And, when we purchase our truck, we will have Abel as a chauffeur. He is a great help, since I am a blan (foreigner), I am at greater risk of harm when I use public transport. Abel is also tutoring Jocelyn, our laundress (lesivye), who is learning to read and write. In the process, we discovered that we have an incorrect last name for her, but do not know how to spell the correct one, as she has no birth, baptismal or marriage certificates.

Starthrower also covered the burial costs for Joseph's family and added the names of all his siblings to our list of those eligible for medical help at the clinic in Sen Rafayel. Unfortunately, the clinic closed this week so our 80 or so kids in the village are without medical care.

Mme Joseph continues to cook for the students in Sen Rafayel (St. Raphael), although it is not possible to provide her with food sacks due to often violent civil unrest and we cannot offer any security. Elorge and Deles came down the mountain from Sen Rafayel last week for supplies. The high price of gas has raised the price of a return bus fare. It is now $40 Haitian (about $5 USD) for a round trip. Three years ago, it cost $5 Haitian (less than $1USD). [The average daily wage in Haiti is $2USD.]

The country was closed Monday for a general strike (grev), and because of the increasing violence leading up to the nnational elections (now due to be held on February 7, the original inauguration date), the schools have remained closed for an extra week. They might reopen next Monday, January 16.

Plumber (Bos Plombye) came on Tuesday and changed our bathroom tap. We now have running cold water as opposed to dripping cold water. No, that's not true -- the tap still drips as well.

We have 50 people on the list for weekly food sacks. We also provide a sandwich, some fruit and a drink for everyone who comes to the house. We also need more multivitamins. Everyone is taking them faithfully, and I think it will make a difference. We are making peanut butter (mamba) this week. We try to give to each person a jar to supplement the rice and beans.

My time at the internet cafe is almost up. Good to have the opportunity to touch base.

Kenbe, Sharon

Hello Everyone,

When I left the internet cafe last week, I turned the corner on 12th Street and nearly walked into a riot (manifestation). It had gathered in front of Comcel (the phone company). Because the new owners are changing over one of the exchanges (431, the one we use), those who recently purchased phones are up in arms. Each day, 500-1000 people are packed in the street for 2 blocks in front of Comcel's small shop. Rocks are thrown, cars are overturned and people are beaten. I am going to wait out this mess and quietly purchase a new phone in the new year. Apparently ours will not work after March 31.

One of our girls on the waiting list for school died yesterday. Flaudna Joseph was 15. Her mom and dad are both dead. Her older brother, Williamson, is one of the students we sponsor. He has been trying to keep the rest of his family together, and we have been feeding them all, but it wasn't enough. He needed $1200 Haitian dollars (about $170 US) to pay for the funeral. Unfortunately, I only had $350 Haitian (about $50 US) at the house. I will send the rest in January.

If you remember, Benjamin Cadeau died last July in the same situation. I am going to put together something more substantial for these two families of orphans, but it is difficult to do 'long distance' -- I am still unable to travel to San Rafayel for safety reasons.

There are so many young people knocking on our door each day asking for support to attend school that I am going to hire Abel Auguste to work in the office with me. He is the young man who came last spring asking for help to attend Philo (school). We were unable to send him there, but we did sponsor him to Auto École. As he has now completed his certificate, we now have a chauffeur, although no truck or car.

Two of our cats have disappeared: Lucy, our fierce mother cat, and Charlie Brown, our big cuddly father cat.

Last week, when we had the first hydro since I have been here this month, I made my way into town via taptap to purchase an iron I had seen in a little store. When I arrived home, the hydro had gone out again, but it was back on two hours later. Jack and Dieugrand came in from the yard, Carmen stopped work, and Rosenie, Micheline and Marlene came in from the gallery to watch me iron (pase). Only Rosenie wanted to try it -- the others were afraid of the steam. I now feel quite unrumpled, although I had to iron at 2 a.m. yesterday when we had hydro for an hour.

I am by myself until Tuesday (December 27). It's the Christmas holiday for our staff.

Wishing everyone joy and peace.

Blessings

Sharon

Hello all

I arrived on Saturday, December 3, and began to clean, as the house has been vacant for several months. One of our kids, Dieugrand, showed up about 10 minutes later. He's so thin. He had been ill, and of course, not eating.

The house was overrun with mice. Jack arrived shortly after and began to clean kitchen drawers. A mouse ran up his arm, and then up the stairs. Upon closer scrutiny, we found a nest with three baby mice (ti sourit), and we dispatched them and their parents to the jungle behind the house.

All the kids are writing exams (yo kompoze), so we have turned Lakay Fondasyon compound into a study centre. There are kids on the roof, on the gallery, on the lawn. We almost have grass. It is patchy but coming along. Everybody takes a 15 minute break and eats a meal.

We have introduced the concept of physical exercise and have already distributed several large sack of rice, and one of beans, and three gallons of oil.

It is the rainy season, so we expect lots of mold and mildew, and we have it.

Thanks very much for sending along the emails from friends in Canada. I will try to respond but on this computer, it takes half an hour to get into my email account.

My time here at the internet cafe is almost up. I will try again when I get the chance. The hydro has been off since Monday morning, and even when the battery has a charge, there's been no phone service.

Kenbe,

Sharon

(by cell phone)


Hello everyone,

The hydro and phone service continue to be sporadic and virtually non-existant, so it is hard to keep in touch.

This is a very busy time as we are trying to get all the kids ready for, and enrolled in, school.

Last week the Haitian government announced it will be subsidizing the cost of textbooks, which is good news. Also, the principal at one of the schools has agreed to lower the tuition costs for our students, and I have been in contact with a group here that ships containers from Canada.

I will be able to explain more when I return to Canada in two weeks. See you then!

Kenbe, Sharon

Hello! The students and Pat [Materiuk] have come, and gone -- they should all be home in Ontario today. We've had no hydro or phone most of the time they have been here [since August 3]. When the hydro would come on, we'd put the phone on to charge, then by the time it was charged, the phones would be out. And so it went. There was no internet either.

It was great to have Pat here, to 'job shadow' and see what we need to do here. I think she has a good understanding of just what is entailed now.

There have been manifestations (demonstrations) for the past two days, and a general strike, so no taxis etc. We've stayed in the compound, but got out yesterday to make it to the airport so they could catch there flight home. The manfestations continue, so I will stay in for two more days before going out.

The way it's been going this summer with the manifestations and the hydro, I may not be able to contact you again for quite a while. Don't worry, I just wanted to let you know I was all right.

Kenbe, Sharon (by phone)