We're Still here

It has probably been the worst summer I can remember in the 18 years I have been here - deaths, the mutilation of one of our pups with a machete, having to let a staff member go over the incident resulting in death threats against my staff, soaring temperatures, insufficient items for purchase, being targeted for an extortion attempt by the family selling the house to us and on and on.

So I could use a good laugh. We could all probably use a good laugh from time to time.  Here's the joke. We have been without electricity for 9 weeks, with temperatures somewhere between 36 and 43 c. TODAY thanks to the generosity of Jasmine Foundation 4 new solar panels (giving us 8), 4 new batteries (giving us 16), space age regulator and a super charging inverter were installed. What a treat - the possibilities - COLD WATER, ICE CUBES, FOOD NOT SPOILING, being able to leave the fridge plugged in. The joke - not a minute of sunshine all day due to the offshore presence of Hurricane Joaquin, so batteries not charging.  And according to the weather channel, there will be no sun until next Tuesday. Now where did I put my sense of humor? It must be with my glasses. I can't find them either.

Sunday we traveled up Granjil mountain to Sen Rafayel. We owed 22 home visits to new admissions between Cap and Sen Rafayel . We managed to pack in 13. The first 5 visits were posted on Facebook. This is a continuation. The rest will be first on the agenda when I return. The staff problem we had to deal with was very distressing and took more time than expected but the kids are always patient. Monday morning (after a thrilling view of the eclipse from my second floor gallery) we waited while the next group of 'visitees' ate breakfast. 

Breakfast - egg, kasav with peanut butter or
cream cheese, a banana and potable water

I can't say enough about the passion these young people put into their school work. While others ate, Estepha worked in the library, saying he would eat later. We left him in peace and headed out for the next group of visits.

The library is always in use - the morning sunlight is great
and there is no competition for space.

We thought we were off but the truck apparently did not have a good night and needed coaxing. 

Thank you volunteers. Everyone likes to be involved.

First visit to Jackenson who has been sitting out for 2 years. His dad died 8 years ago and he had been doing odd jobs for very little money to put himself through school but the work dried up. Thanks to Kim, the staff of Euphoria and everyone who has purchased her world famous Haiti Dirt Cookies, he has the opportunity to complete the last 2 years of high school. What we didn't know was the distance from the parked truck to the tikay he shares with his manman and younger sibling - a 4 to 5 kilometer walk. 

Following Jackenson 

 Talking with Manman. She owns the house and

land.

One room for everything

The room was wallpapered with dozens of posters for the upcoming elections (Oct). I jokingly asked if the candidate was a relative. No. Somebody came around giving them out and he took them all. There is no latrine but a makeshift tent provides cooking space.

The kitchen was being used so we didn't intrude.

Jackenson points out the location of their water
supply - a  spring on the mountain top. 

On to visit Laurence, who has also been sitting out for 2 years. Her mother was ill so we sent potable water, Allimax, Vit. C and B complex. Laurence and her siblings sleep on the floor beside manman's bed.

Laurence opens the door for us.

Manman was not able to get up.

No kitchen but a latrine perched on stilts and rocks.
It needs to be emptied.

Like most families in the village (bouk la) they have been using the village water supply which is provided by the state free of charge. However while we were there, the pipes delivering the water were enclosed in a tin and cement block hut with razor wire wound round it. It is no longer free, being held for ransom like many things in the country. Adding to misery which is already too much to bear.

Moving on to our next visit, we are now in the village. 12 yr old Daiska was orphaned 2 years ago when she was about to start high school. She was taken in by her mother's sister who does commerce in the marketplace but doesn't make enough to pay for school.

Following 12 yr old orphaned Daiska

Auguste talks with 'matant' while Daiska and ti kouzin look on.

A place to bathe but no privacy

The 'bouret' (wheelbarrow) used for komes
(commerce) has a place of honor in the only room.

Privacy is non existent if one is poor. Personal space means nothing. Onward we go, to our last visit of the morning. Then we can try and find potable bottled water for the center.

Evenel has also been sitting out due to death of his parents.The house he shares with relatives is new, built by his uncle. What a positive note. Built for multiple families, it is functional and clean.

We talk construction

The only table in the house covered with textbooks
a kerosene lamp and a battery operated boom
box that lacks batteries.

There is a latrine and shower stall but no kitchen. If one has a latrine, no one  has the luxury  toilet paper.

Morning visits over, we drove around to every place in the village where potable water could be purchased but no luck. So back to the center, Lakay Jasmine and a little time to catch up with some kids I haven't seen for a few months. They had dropped in for lunch and were heading back to school.

Ralph, Sterlin and Dieuner model the new Lycee uniforms for
Secondaire 4 (Philo) the final year of high school.

It was 40 degrees and they were wearing undershirts, long sleeved shirts and ties which they are not allowed to take off, nor can sleeves be rolled up. There is no electricity therefore no air conditioning in the school and no drinking fountains. So 8 hours of classes in the sweltering heat with no re-hydration.

Marc-Arios, Isaac and John-Steevenson had dropped in. Each was at least a foot taller.

Wilnise, Tamara and Ema also arrived for lunch as did the new admissions who had afternoon visits coming up. It was  gratifying to see the way in which new admissions fit in, being welcomed by 'seniors'  who have been around a few years.

In addition to the new admissions, there are still 260 young people who wrote letters and did not receive an interview. I knew funds were limited and false hope is worse than no hope. So we do what we can for those we can accommodate.

A very heartfelt thank-you to sponsors and Jasmine foundation for coming to the rescue during the uniform crisis. Now we work on getting text books and back packs.

Patience as one of my first students here told me many years ago when I became impatient over something not worth high blood pressure. Patience.

Thank you for your patience. This blog is long overdue but no electricity and no internet have conspired to keep me offline. It has been amazing to sit here for 5 or 6 hours and have the electricity to persist. The internet connection has been lost 5 times but our solar batteries are doing the job.

I can't wait to get a solar panel/inverter system in Sen Rafayel. Yes I can so wait. I have patience.

Namaste

Sharon

Urgent need

We have a problem and we need your help.

For the 18 years I've worked in Haiti school has begun in October. We pay registration fees in August, have uniforms for new admissions made in September and pay scolarite and first trimmest fees first day of school.

This year everything changed. Sept. 1 the ministry of education informed everyone school would begin Sept. 7. Not much notice. The ministry also informed us that they were changing all uniforms in state schools. Other schools followed suit and changed uniforms.

So we have 110 kids with last year's uniforms which they can't wear. The other 50 can get by with last year's uniform but need shoes and underwear. This means the 110 can't go to school although registration and first term fees have been paid.
Cost of uniform, underwear and good shoes for 1 student $75. US( $100 CAN), cost of good shoes and underwear $30. US.($40 CAN)

If you can help us with a one time donation or pass this on to someone who can, I know 160 young people who will be very grateful.

Mil mesi
Sharon

Please click the link below to make a donation

https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/864

New home, new faces

Not being a writer, I don't have the discipline to get up and write x number of hours a day. I prefer procrastination. Even Facebook, which is forgiving with regard to length and content, is onerous. And there is so much content - there are not enough hours in the day to take in all the words of wisdom and follow all the links. Occasionally however a post will jump out, hold up a stop sign, flash a red light and demand that I spend some time in mindful contemplation. So it was this morning with Monica's repost from True Activist,  as seen below. Having worked in Haiti for the last 17 years, I am not only familiar with but a strong supporter of the work and writings of Dr. Paul Farmer.  Monica came to stay with us a few years ago and still has a heart for Haiti.

While this post is for everyone, it will have special meaning for those who have visited us over the years. Ashley, Shannon, Adrienne, Tanya, David, Kathleen, Mark, Pat, Amy, Laura, Alex, Marisa and on and on came before we had a home in Sen Rafayel and traveled up and down Granjil Mountain in an unsafe, dirty, overloaded bus, bearing the travel with patience, while fending off the chickens and goats that longed to be outside and free. Daniel came to visit while we were in a rented mud hut. Nico, Robin, Alice, Yvonne, Marjorie, Marilyn, Kathy  and Monica.... lived through various stages of building Lakay Jasmine and had the pleasure of riding in our first vehicle, a decrepit Mitsubishi truck with the heart of a lion. Everyone stayed in our rental home in Cap-Haitien, sharing space with staff and students who invade the place daily. Thanks to our most recent visitor Kim who toured the pink house (kay woz) and gave it 2 thumbs up before we began the negotiating process.

Thanks to Jasmine Foundation the Mitsubishi is now enjoying retirement at the home of mechanic Max in Sen Rafayel, replaced by a spiffy Nissan pickup.  And after 17 years, Starthrower has a home of it's own as of Tuesday. We have been looking for 3 years for land or house that would meet our growing needs. Before I left Haiti we met with the notary and owner of the property we had chosen. After making a healthy deposit to the owner, and many weeks of  legal surprises both good and bad, Auguste closed the deal Tuesday and had the keys in his hand by late afternoon.

I wanted to give you a mini tour but Blogger is not cooperating today.  That's another story. Welcome to Lakay Jasmine Okap ( or  Lakay Fondasyon as she is our flagship).  Yes it is pink - woz in Kreyol. There has been a great deal of discussion among friends, family, staff as to the colour. Keep it and freshen up or change? Without doubt it will be changed. But everything will happen in its own time. We will move from our rental which has given us a roof and security for 11 years to a new chapter. 

Resettlement will take place in July - Auguste is already changing locks and meeting with kontremets to level the lot and pave 3/4 of it with interlocking blocks. The other quarter will be garden. Two floors means the complete first floor for programs, staff and drop in center and the second floor for visitors, me and the dogs. As we have been in a furnished rental, it needs the basics - tables, chairs, appliances, beds, dressers...

This trip was very brief because of the work waiting. In Sen Rafayel, a small notice inside the center indicating that we would accept letters of request for admission for those who had been unable to attend school for at least a year resulted in 203 letters arriving in the first 3 weeks of May. We moved the cutoff date up due to the volume of letters and the knowledge that we just don't have the funds. Did I mention that I really dislike waiting lists?  In Cap-Haitien we did not post the information because of the upcoming move and still word spread down the mountain. We  received hundreds of requests and accepted 99  from those who qualified . We stopped counting at both locations after receiving more than 500 requests from those in school this year.

Meet a few of those waiting for admission: 

Kervensly

Emave

Yvrose

Nerlie

Jacqueline

Benchilove

Aniel

Daiska

Gasline

Evenel

Martin

Walky

Miliode

Marieline

Doudeline

Laurence

If any of these faces speak to you, please contact me through our website for more information. If you would like to sponsor a student, or would like to form a group to sponsor a student and none of these speak to you, I have another 281 requests from this year. There are also approximately 125 left from last year. I used to say Welcome to my world -- making major  decisions which will affect these young people for the rest of their lives is monumental --  who gets a chance and who doesn't. I have revised that - now it's  Welcome to my work -  work that stays with me wherever and whenever I am. I consciously made the change because it's our world -  yours, mine  and theirs. Paul Farmer said it succinctly 

"The idea that some lives matter

less is the root of all that is wrong

with this world."

So lets think and work ecologically to pull up those roots - one at a time if necessary. Demonstrate by our actions that every life matters. We can do that by saying yes to everyone who qualifies for support and by continuing to grow.  All we need is money.

Thanks to returning sponsor Kathy for taking on Youseline,  new sponsors Ingrid for sponsoring Eveline,   Frank and Daniela for picking up Macline and Nikki for sponsoring Marckenson.

Thanks to Cindy Storey for her Shake your Soul fundraiser - a joyful night of movement and dance and I suspect the start of something bigger. Thanks to Kim Webb, owner of Euphoria for her 'Dirt Cookie' fundraiser which is sponsoring Jackenson for the final 2 years of high school. 

Youseline - sponsored

Eveline - sponsored

Macline - sponsored

Marckenson - sponsored

Jackenson - sponsored

Sponsors come in all ages and sizes, employed, retired, self employed, student.... Fundraising comes from ideas - an idea as creative as a night of Shake your Soul or a gourmet cookie called a 'Dirt Cookie', evoking the reality for many Haitiens of eating mud baked in the sun to ward off hunger. Any idea that raises awareness and educates is a good idea. If it also raises funds, it a bonus.

No life matter less than another. Everyone counts. Everyone deserves 'possibilite'.

Planning a trip? Think a new destination - Ayiti Cherie. Looking for a cause that is just and will change the world? Take on a Starthrower student.

Namaste

Sharon

Letters 2015

I will  remember this week as a turning point - so many changes have begun. It will take a while to implement them, perhaps years to see them bloom, but just as everything was new and unknown on my first trip to Haiti in 1998, and again when I made the decision to rent a house and set down roots in Cap-Haitien in 2004, now more  changes and a new set of challenges. But without challenges, we don't know what can be accomplished.

Wednesday Auguste and I met with the Notary in Sen Rafayel and the owners of the properties adjacent to our drop in center which we were purchasing. The purchases had been negotiated by our Bus. Admin grad, Danius and funded by Jasmine Foundation. Danius acted as our 'temwen' (witness) and helped verify the funds as both were cash transactions in Haitian gourdes.

First property purchase, Danius, yours truly, owner, notary
The 2nd floor of our center was an ideal meeting place.

Notaire, our neighbor the second seller, Auguste
Everyone signed the big book - a solemn occasion.

While we were meeting upstairs, staff members downstairs were busy feeding kids, facilitating study groups  and meeting with young people who were dropping by in a steady stream to deliver request for admission letters - those  had been sitting out at least this school year, many longer. We accept letters from May 4 - 29. Between the 2 centers we have received about 200 letters with 2 weeks to go. There are also hundreds looking for entry who made it through the school year, but do not have the means to continue. Those letters we accept in July after year end results are posted, if is seems there will be funds available.

Inside, coordinator Edeline accepts letters and
gives a quick read for necessary information.

If necessary information is missing, staff member
Elanie will ask for it to be added or return letter
is there is too much missing.

Outside our walls, the hopefuls wait with letters
in hand.

Reading the letters is a labor of love - as the students have taken the time to write and in many cases pour out their fears, hopes and dreams, we owe them an attentive read. First read through is for the story of their lives. Second read through we look for and highlight the information we need to move onto the next stage, the interview. Students who receive an interview (and we try to fit in everyone who writes) must bring their papers to the meeting - birth certificate, last report card or receipt from the Ministry of Education with necessary information. 

Each year we have limited funds, so a limited number of places. After admitting those we consider in crisis,  we generate a waiting list. It has been consistently approximately 300 students each year for whom there are insufficient funds. I carry those kids on the waiting list with me - their names, their stories. Each one is memorable - asking for the gift of education when it should be a right. Then the next year arrives and a new group.  Sometimes they write again, risking being turned down again but with enough courage to try.  Often I will be told that someone on our waiting list has died. We try to begin with those that seem in situations that are life threatening, but everyone of these young people is in jeopardy so it presents a challenge. We are getting better at non verbal cues during interviews.

In Sen Rafayel at Lakay
Jasmine

I haven't started on the Cap-Haitien letters yet. I have just finished the second highlight read for the first 100 letters. Yes - the first 100. With funds for about 30 admissions. Next the staff will read for information I have missed and use a different highlighter or write questions they have in pencil. We then enter everyone into a notebook and sit down together to generate lists for immediate interviews and those we feel can wait. There are never many on the second list.

In Cap-Haitien at Lakay  Fondasyon

I have no pictures yet - I've only seen these young people in front of our privacy wall talking to staff. So I'll share some of their words. 

The first letter we received in Sen Rafayel was from Edisson . He is 15 and has been sitting out of school since 2013. He could enter Nouvo Secondaire I, the 4th year of high school if we can find the funds. His letter and circumstance are not remarkable - they are like the other 99 I have become acquainted with over the last 3 or 4 days. 

"Rezon ki fe mwen ekri w' se paske papa m mouri lontan. Yon matant ki t'ap ede m' li mouri tou nan lane 2013...mwen pa konn ki sa pou m'fe se ki fe mwen ekri w pou mande w' koman w ka ede m' nan sitiyason sa."

"The reason I am writing you is because my papa has been dead a longtime. An aunt helped me but she died also in 2013...I don't know what  you can do , that's why I'm writing to ask how you can help me in this situation."

17 yr old Yslande writes "Mwen rive nan classe 7eme mwen fe 2015 lan chita agoz mwen pa gen moun k'ap ede m. Mwen pa gen manman ni papa toulede moun sayo vin mouri malerezman. Mwen anvi ale lekol. Mwen pa gen moun ki pou voye. Fanmiy mwen gen 4 fi 1 gason."

"I passed into high school, gr. 7 but I spent this year sitting because I did not have anyone to help me. I have neither mother nor father, sadly both of them arrived at death. I crave to go to school. I have no one to send me. My family has 4 girls and 1 boy."

In the first 100 letters, there are 21 students with both parents dead, 6 with mother dead, 51 with father dead and 13 with another significant family member dead. Of the remaining 9 students not one had a healthy, working parent. Two live parents does not equate to support,  in most cases, more responsibility for the young person forced to leave school.

18 yr old Marie's  mother is crippled and father is ill and been told by a doctor he cannot work. An uncle who helped her just died. She has been sitting out since 2013. "Mwen santim pa ka rete pal lekol paske mwen vle itil parann yo demen en sosyete ."

"I feel I just can't remain not going to school because I want to be a useful mentor in tomorrow's society".

17 yr old Miliode has been sitting out for 2 years because her papa died in 2012. "Mwen renmen lekol anpil. Pou mwen se pigwo sakrifis mwen te ka plenn tet mwen avek edikasyon. Mwen gen rev pou m rive yon moun demen pou m ka ede tet mwen, fanmiy mwen ak sosyete a. Gade let sa se tankou w'ap gade ke'm ak nan men. Mesi davans."

"I love school so much. For me it is a big sacrifice to not fill my head with education. I have a dream that tomorrow I will become someone who is able to help my family and society.

Hold /look at this letter as though you are holding my heart in your hands. Thank you in advance."

By now you're probably saying "Enough already!"  Although I read every one, you don't have to.  If you want to hear more, get in touch and I'll send you translations and copies.

In closing, the entire letter of 12 yr old Daiska. She will be 13 on Aug. 18 and has already been sitting out a year. Computer fonts are fine for getting out information, but a hand written letter tells so much more about the author. There is information to be gleaned from  the writing and the paper as well as the writing instrument.  On the paper, you can smell the pain, fear, dirt, hope, hopelessness ...

Translation: Good morning, madam

Today it with a sad (heavy, tight) heart I write this little letter to ask for help with school. I find myself in a very grave situation. It is a cousin who paid for school for me. She says she cannot continue.
I have neither manman nor papa.I do not remember them, they died when I was 4 leaving just me..
Please give me the grace to live in the situation I'm in as I know you are a mother who helps the young who cannot go to school.

Thank you in advance madam.

The author of this letter is 12 years old, just starting - there are those up to and including their early 20's asking for a chance to complete high school -- just a chance.  Education should not be just for the privileged. Please help us give these kids "the grace to live in the situation"

Please help us do more than generate a waiting list of 300 this year. Help us make the waiting list  a thing of the past.

Mesi davans

Namaste
Sharon

PS Corresponding letters for above quotes

                                                       Edisson

                                                 Yslande

 
                                              Marie

                                                        Miliode