Saturday afternoon at the beach.

I'm writing from my home in Boca, visiting for one week.  I need dental work, a root canal!  Ugh!  I miss Bondeau and the kids at Kay Timoun.  Can't wait to get back. 

                                Here we are at the beach last Saturday, a very special treat.

Here's Benjami buried in the sand.

                                    

I reflect on the difference that we are making in the lives of children at Kay Timoun.  The first and greatest difference is that the children at Kay Timoun don't have to worry about whether they will eat today.  They eat three healthful meals a day.  They never go to bed hungry.  Children of poor families in Bondeau wake in the morning not knowing if they will have anything to eat that day.  Some kids on their own go out hunting for crabs or to a favorite mango tree in search of fruit.  The school "canteen" is sometimes the only food a child eats in a day.  Children who are hungry cannot develop intellectually.  They can't concentrate on learning.  Whether they know their school work isn't priority, satisfying their hunger is.  When children get enough to eat they are then free and able to concentrate on study.  South Florida Haiti Project provides food to hungry children every school day. 

Children at Kay Timoun feel secure in knowing that they have a safe place to live, regular meals, are showered with love, and have fun things to do.  They know that they must study and are expected to do their best.  I wish we were able to provide the opportunity of Kay Timoun to all the children in Bondeau.

I'm looking forward to returning to Bondeau on Monday morning.

Kay Timoun is back on line!

July 19, 2012

Kay Timoun is back!

Kay Timoun is back in the world after having no Internet for over a week.  Summer is in full swing.  The children are into the summer schedule, going to special class three mornings a week and learning math, science, and language arts.  I work with the kids who need extra help in math and reading.  Estemi, although he is 13 years old, reads like a very young child.  He is excellent in math but hasn’t learned to read.  The teacher has given him special reading assignments and I’ve been helping him along, but he really needs a professional tutor for one on one instruction.  Wonald and I work with the younger children in math, helping them to understand numbers.  The older kids are on their own, doing math worksheets.  And then there is homework that is assigned by their teacher.  Our purpose at Kay Timoun is not only custodial care.  It is raising children to live into their highest potential, giving them opportunities that they would not otherwise have.

The children here at Kay Timoun take at least three showers or baths a day!   The girls shower four at a time in their bathroom; the younger boys like to bathe outside.  And each time they bathe they put on clean clothes, so that the laundry here is tremendous!  And all is washed by hand!  The girls wash their own clothes but Naomi has most of the burden of the laundry.  (I can hardly believe the amount of bath soap and laundry detergent we use.) When clothes are washed and chores are done, the kids usually break up into groups of four to play their favorite game, Dominoes.   And marbles!  It’s too hot for soccer until early evening when the sun is setting.  They completely wore out their ball.  It’s thread bare but they still manage to kick it around.  After dark the kids play games or dance throughout the evening up until bedtime.  So, after the last bath of the day, they put on clean clothes and go to bed.  No PJ’s here.

On line again!

July 19, 2012

We have been without Internet for over a week because the bill wasn’t paid.  Pere Kesner called me today with good news that he paid for three months, July, August, September.  I haven’t written blogs while Internet was suspended, but will bring you up to date on what is happening at Ste. Marie Madeleine Parish.  The big excitement is that the parish is preparing for the feast day celebration of St. Mary Magdalene.  Every year there is a grand party, usually with guests from the United States.  This year there are no out of country guests. 

The feeding program, funded by South Florida Haiti Project, continued through today.  Each day it seems that more and more people show up for a meal.  Today there was hardly enough food to go around.  Food is a big problem here in Bondeau.  People are so poor that they can’t afford to buy food for their family.  They depend on their children receiving a nourishing meal at the “canteen”.  Many of us can’t imagine not having food to feed the family.  In the U.S. there are many churches and social agencies that distribute food to the poor.  Here there is nothing.

We at Kay Timoun have been preparing food for the infant twins every day.  The family was given a safe and secure home to live in.  They have nothing; no bed, no table, nothing!  I talked to the children at Kay Timoun about Jesus’ teaching to share your food with those in need and together we decided that we would provide food for the twins.

Sunday Eucharist service continues to be standing room only.  Two Evening Prayer services are well attended, usually the same people at both services.  The children and staff at Kay Timoun are at every service, singing and thanking God for all their blessings. 

Kay Timoun kids have special bible study and spirituality classes two times a week.  I don’t sit in on the class but I have heard all positive comments from the children.  Gastina said she loves it!

I will be returning to Boca on Monday and staying thru till July 30.  Hope to see you in church!

Summer sewing

Summer sewing

This morning we continued our sewing class, which actually began last week.  Ana, Rachelle, Gastina, and Wozlo are the sewing students.   Junior worked with the younger children on Math, while I showed the older girls basics in sewing.  I was again amazed at the creativity of these children.  They designed exotic costumes but had to settle on simple “A” line skirts with elastic waist, a simple first-time sew project.

In the meantime, the twin babies, Momma, and 2 year old brother spent the day on the patio area.  I’m perplexed!  This young mother needs food for her twin babies, herself, and her young son…Papa, too!  We prepared baby food again today for the twins, gave the 2 year old peanut butter sandwich,  Mamma again had kids’ left over lunch, and they stayed on.  I don’t have the heart to send them away.  I called Pere Kesner and explained the situation.  With approval from the church board, they can have a secure home to live in, but they still need food for the twins, and for themselves.  Papa has a job of some sort, I’m not sure what he does. 

The “canteen”, Ste. Marie Madeleine’s feeding program served up a hearty lunch for all the children who showed up to eat, about 70.  Our kids also had lunch from the “canteen”.  It’s so great that South Florida Haiti Project provides food for so many children, even when school is out.  Thanks to all who support SFHP.

Twin babies on Kay Timoun doorstep

July 10, 2012

This morning I returned to the house after using the Internet in the Guest House and found two infant babies on a blanket on the floor at the entrance of Kay Timoun.  One was asleep, the other awake.  I looked over at Naomi who was washing clothes.  She caught my eye and simply laughed.  She said the mother had come and lay the babies on the floor and went away.  Thoughts raced in my head.  Could we take care of two infants?  I guess we could but it would take a lot of time away from our mission here at Kay Timoun.  I looked at the babies carefully and saw that they are very tiny.  Cawol said it’s because they don’t have anything to eat.  I thought about what we had on hand that an infant could eat.  I remember years ago giving my babies ripe bananas when they could take solid food.  So, I mashed a banana into a thick liquid, added a little condensed milk, and Cawol fed it to the baby that was awake.  When Wozlo returned from Bible class, she fed the second baby, who by this time was awake.

Momma returned, looked at me with pleading eyes and I knew she wanted me to keep the babies.  I told her that she could bring the babies for food.  We would feed them but then she is to take them home.  A problem is that she hardly has a home.  She and her husband live in a broken stick house on the mountain.  They are so poor!  Poor, poor, poor! 

Momma sat on the floor and was breast feeding the babies.  I bought her a chair to sit on, the most I could do for her at the moment.  Later, she ate the children’s left over lunch and a piece of watermelon.  After Momma breast fed the babies, Cawol gave them a bath.  As I write this, the twins are sleeping on the floor and Momma is sitting close by.

Lambi, squash soup, and school promotion

July 8, 2012

Our local “lambi” marchands are back with their fresh catch.  Children earn a few dollars selling conch.   

“Canet”  School Promotion

July 9, 2012

This morning we began the day, and the week, with the best Haitian yellow squash soup made with fresh home grown squash, fresh potatoes, carrots, spring onion, spaghetti, and macaroni.  What a healthy way for the kids to begin their day.  A little too many carbs for me but it was so good that I couldn’t resist.  Today was the official day for grade promotion at the school.  Each student in encouraged to bring along their parents so I was proud to be parent of the kids from Kay Timoun.  The school director talked about how important education is for children in Bondeau, and recognized that parents had to make great sacrifices to be able to pay the small tuition fee, plus buy books, uniform, and shoes.  He stressed that Ste. Marie Madeleine School follows government guidelines for school, using government standards.  He presented each child with their report card, commenting on each individual student.  Gastina, Ana, and Christian received high honors and special recognition.

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

July 5, 2012

Finally! It rained!

We’ve been waiting and waiting for rain for the last six weeks and today it poured down, filling buckets and barrels full of water, pouring under the doors of the house, flooding the floors, coming in the openings around the windows, dripping down the walls and then flooding the floor.  The upstairs hallway filled with water but not so much that it flowed into the bedrooms.  The kids all swept water, mopped water, and collected water in buckets.  We desperately need rain for the gardens.   This downpour lasted for only about half an hour, not nearly long enough for the farmer crops.

The farmers need a tropical storm to water their crops sufficiently, but then, tropical storms in Haiti add a whole other problem.   I can hardly imagine what would happen in the Presbytery/ Children’s Home during a tropical storm.  I think that the entire house will be flooded. 

                                                  And when the rain stopped, we danced!

"Gran's funeral

July 3, 2011

Today was “Gran’s” funeral.  All week long people walked the trail alongside the Presbytery/Children’s Home toward Gran’s family homes, continuing to offer their condolences.  Last night singing and chanting began at nightfall and continued all night long.  People cried and wailed loudly, dealing with their grief in the moment.  Early this morning the funeral procession formed and people walked toward the church to hold the funeral service.  (I don’t know why it wasn’t held here…the family all attends church here, but, perhaps Gran belonged to the church that held the service.)  I watched as the procession returned to the family homestead.  People in the procession were all dressed up in dark suits and white dresses.  A marching band followed the family.  They all had paraded from the church, about a mile and a half away.  Gran was in a white casket that was in a white Cadillac hearse that parked just in front of the Presbytery because that’s where the road stops.  Most of the people here at the Children’s Home attended the funeral.  Some had stayed up all night with the family.  Our girls dressed up in their finest…Gastina in a white and gold dress.  Christian wore a black double breasted suit, about 4 sizes too large for him.  The youngest children stayed home with Wonald and me. 

Summer studies

Monday morning.  Marci is off to the airport in Port au Prince and then on to Fort Lauderdale.  Having been here for ten days, she became a part of the children’s daily lives, mine as well.  We’ll all miss her and look forward to her return. 

This morning the summer study program began.  I hired a school teacher to teach three mornings a week.  He will focus on Math, Science, and Language arts.  The mission of Kay Timoun is to help children develop to their highest potential.  On Tuesday and Thursday a local lay leader, Merle, will come here, meet with the children in the chapel and teach Bible and Spirituality.  I have known Merle for five years.  She is the leader of the women’s group, and has been a faithful church leader.  An art teacher will teach here one afternoon a week and on Saturday we’ll have dance lessons.  Sunday afternoon is time to visit family, and then in the evening watch a movie on my laptop.   We watched National Geographic “Great Migrations” and then watched again, and then a third time.  

The children here have opportunities that are unheard of in this small country village, but Kay Timoun is not simply a custodial home.  Children here are encouraged to develop in mind, body, and spirit.  This is no easy undertaking.  The children here are the poorest of the poor.  They have had little or no direction.   Their discipline was a beating.  It took many time-outs for them to understand that they are not allowed to hit or kick one another.  They are so used to not having enough food that they were hiding food in their bed, or tucking a piece of bread into their pocket.  It has been challenging to have the children follow a schedule because they are used to going and coming as they please with no particular time for family meals, no particular bed time.  The younger ones crave attention and are quick to tattle on their peers.  

Summer time is relaxed and slow in Bondeau.  But the kids at Kay Timoun will continue to study, to read, to do math, to learn sewing and embroidery, and do fun things together like games and puzzles. 

You may feel a tug toward giving a child an opportunity to rise above.  If so, you may sponsor one or more children at Kay Timoun for only $50.00 a month per child.  Email me for more information.  Deaconanita312@gmail.com