Learn more About Kim's Adventures in Haiti

Since deciding to return to Haiti, I have begun to tell my friends, family, and colleagues about my plans at varying times. Now, I can't remember who I told and what details I have given. So, in order to eliminate my confusion, and to elaborate on my plans for next year, I am organizing an information night this month. Here are the details.
Date: Saturday, June 6, 2009
Location: Leaside Bible Chapel, 826 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto, ON M4G 2L1
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Light refreshments will be provided.
I would love to see you there if you are able to attend.

Goodbye Oriole Parkway?

Since moving out of my parent's house at the age of 19, I have only twice lived in a place for longer than 12 months. Oriole Parkway is a record, almost 3 years now! It's been a great place to live, I love the neighbourhood, my neighbours are friendly, and it's the first place I've ever owned. It's been a good three years, but I'm ready to go. On to bigger and better things. I put it up for sale on Tuesday. So far, no amazing offers have come in that would make me rich for life, but there's been a lot of showings. It's tiring to keep the place looking clean all the time and vacating it at odd times. Now it's just a waiting game. I'd love to have all the loose ends tied up before I leave for Sierra Leone on July 2nd. I have to admit I find the whole experience quite stressful. I like to be "in charge" and right now I'm not. I know that if it's the Lord's will that I go to Haiti then the details will work themselves out. Perhaps not the way that I want them to, but they will be worked out:) So, here I am trusting in the Lord.

Mission Fest 2009

Today for the first time I attended Mission Fest here in Toronto. It is one of those events that I always think about attending but it comes and goes without me remembering and then I vow that I will attend next year... and on and on it goes.
So this morning bright and early we headed out to check it out. It was worth the while. I attended three workshops about getting ready to engage in missions and ran into a few people I knew.
The first workshop I attended really got me thinking. The workshop's purpose was to tell you all the things you will wish you knew before you go and I went with the idea that it would answer all my questions. Instead it left me with a lot of questions, but good questions, things to think about. I realize that each culture is so different it would be impossible to have a workshop that prepared people to work in any given culture. The emphasis was on being culturally sensitive and carefully observing those around you and following their lead. As I was listening I reflected on the summer I spent in Sierra Leone and the year I spent in Haiti. I was reminded of many times when I refused to follow the cultural norm because it made me uncomfortable or I just felt too inconvenienced by it. Most of the time I tried to be culturally sensitive but when I was tired, or in a rush or felt out of my comfort zone I naturally reverted back to the comfort of Canadian norms. For example, when I was in Sierra Leone we were in a very small village in the North of the country. We spent all day teaching at the local school and the house we were staying at was about a 5 min. walk from the school. The school only had a communal washroom which I was not comfortable with using so whenever I had to use the washroom I walked back to the house. This in and of itself was not a problem, the problem was that I had to walk quickly and I had to walk by many people and many houses between the school and the house. Our breaks were short so I had to walk quickly back and forth between the school and the house. This is not the norm in Sierra Leone. First of all you don't walk quickly, secondly you do not pass by that many people and not stop and "greet" them (this takes anywhere from 2 -10 min/person). I did not have the time, so I would try to avoid making eye contact and quickly walk by, sometimes saying a general greeting to a group of people. I'm sure this single act did not undo all that was accomplished in the workshops but sometimes cultural insensitivity does much more damage. Needless to say, I resolved to be more informed and more culturally sensitive this time.

Side bar - Sierra Leone

Shortly after joining the Toronto District School Board I heard about an opportunity called "Project Overseas". This project is completely funded by the Canadian Teachers Federation and it involves teachers volunteering to go overseas and teach workshops for teachers with little or no teacher training. I was immediately interested but quickly learned that I could not apply until I had 5 years of teaching experience. This year was the first year I was eligible to apply, so in the fall I put my application together, had an interview, and was selected to work in Sierra Leone (where I've been once before). I found out I was selected at around the same time as I found out I was accepted by CDIA to work once again in Haiti. There was a moment when I thought that perhaps I couldn't do both, but the moment passed and I agreed to do both.
Therefore, July 3rd I'll be flying to Ottawa for a weekend of training and then I'm off to Sierra Leone for one month. On my way home I will be delaying my stop over in Belgium by 3 days so I can visit my cousins in the south of Holland as well as return to Amsterdam for one day to revisit my favourites places from the 3 months I lived there.
Needless to say, I will be busy in the near future, finishing off the school year, preparing my workshops for this summer, sorting and packing all my stuff, and generally tying up lose ends. I will use this blog during my time in Sierra Leone to keep family and friends posted on my adventures there.

Haiti once again....

It's true. I'm moving back to Haiti once again. Since leaving Haiti in July 2006 rarely a day goes by that I don't think about Haiti. Each time I've been back I've told myself that this will be my last visit, I'm moving on, but something keeps pulling me back. A friend of mine asked me what is it about Haiti that draws me back? I had a hard time answering the question. Mostly I think it's the people, or perhaps it's the mosquitoes, the vicious dogs or the lack of electricity? Just kidding, those things I do not miss:) To be honest, all the things I love about Haiti are also the things I don't love (my niece told me "hate" is a bad word) about Haiti. It's often said that love and hate are very closely related.
So, how did I end up going back? Well, as I said I can't seem to get Haiti out of my mind. In the fall, friends of mine came back to Canada after travelling much of the world. Looking through their photo albums and hearing their stories made me long to live elsewhere once again. Shortly after, I had breakfast with a friend who is a fellow traveller and we spent the whole time talking about where to go next.
So I started spending a lot of time searching the Internet to find an organization that I could work overseas. If I want to teach overseas, I could go almost anywhere, make a good salary and work with the children of the elite or missionary kids. This has never appealed to me but I tried to convince myself that this would be great, but I couldn't do it. I found a few interesting positions in various countries but there was always something "wrong" with them and so I never applied. Then I heard that Randy and Karen (the couple who replaced me when I left last time) were expecting a baby. I thought that perhaps the organization would consider hiring another person for the time that Karen would be on Maternity leave. I approached the board of Coram Deo and the rest is history.
So I'll be going back to the same school that I was at before, doing the same job. I will not be teaching but will be working with the teachers to develop a strong education program that will enable the students to prepare for their government exams. In addition to that, I will assist with the starting of a special education class. In Haiti little is available in the way of education for students with intellectual disabilities. If parents can only afford to send some of their children to school they most often do not choose those with intellectual disabilities. If they do choose to send them to school, they often do not pass the class they are in so they stay in the same class for several years, not receiving the support they need.
I won't be leaving for Haiti until the beginning of September but until then I will be updating my blog to let you know how my preparations are going.

HOME

Hello all. I arrived at the Toronto Airport on July 18th at 11:30pm and was back at my parents just after 1:00am. It is great to be home and I'm still basking in the beauty of Southern Ontario. It hasn't really hit me yet that I'm back and I'm sure it will take a few more weeks until it really sinks in. I am taking it easy for a few days and just adjusting to being back. It was difficult to say goodbye to everyone at Coram Deo. I only cried when I gave Manman Manise and St. Marie a hug goodbye. I think my excitement about coming home helped to make the whole experience a bit less painful. I think the hardest thing is that I don't know if or when I will be back and how difficult it is to stay in touch.
Well, my adventure is done and seeing that my life in Toronto is not near as exciting, this will be my last blog entry. Thanks for taking the journey with me and also keeping me updated on your lives via e-mail. For someone who had never even heard of a blog before this year, I have to admit that I'm thankful for the way technology helped me stay in touch with so many of you over the past year. May the Lord bless you and keep you in His precious arms.
Kim

Last Day Thoughts

Today is July 17th, the day before I leave my home of one year, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. My parents called yesterday and told me not to leave my house until tomorrow morning so they can be sure I will arrive home safe and sound:) Yesterday I walked through the neighborhoud saying my goodbyes to various people.
As I sit at my computer, I wonder... I wonder if I have accomplished all I set out to do. I wonder if I have done and seen all that I wanted to do and see here in Haiti. I wonder how long before my ties and friendships here begin to fade and are replaced with newer ones. I wonder if I'll ever be back. I wonder how long before Haiti becomes a distant memory and I once again take electricity, running water, and peace and quiet for granted. I wonder how much I'll miss little boys waking me up in the morning and asking me to read with them. I wonder how long before Sammy stops asking where I am:) Only time will tell....
I am surprisingly not very emotional these days. Maybe my intense excitement about going home has shadowed the sadness of leaving this place called home and these people I have come to love so dearly. I don't think it will really hit me until a few weeks after I have arrived at home and I start to really notice their absence.
As I put an end to my adventures in Haiti, I will also put an end to this blog. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to check it out every once in a while and especially those who took the time to say a short (or long) prayer for me!!!! I know this year was possible because of all those prayers. Thank you also to all those who took the time to write me a short (or long) e-mail. These e-mails boosted my spirits in ways you may never know and helped me carry on through the tough times.
I hope to run into a lot of you this summer and if not this summer some time in the fall.
Thank you again for your love and support. God is good and I look forward to continuing to serve Him back on my home front.
Kim

Apologies

Hello all, my apologies for not writing more often. It has been a very busy few weeks since school ended. The teachers from Canada; Marg, Carina and Joyce arrived safely on July 29th. We had a wonderful week of seminars which were a learning experience for all involved. They were packed with great information and pratical ideas to be used in the classroom. We had a great week together and we will all be praying that the ideas learned will become part of the teaching process next school year.
On the weekend we also packed in quite a few events. On Sat. we took the residents of Coram Deo out to the countryside to play soccer and have a picnic lunch. Sunday we went to visit Ysmaille's sisters house in the mountains and Monday we tagged along with Dr. Ed to the countryside again to help with his clinic. Although we had a great time we might have overdone it because now Joyce and Carina are both a bit under the weather. Thankfully they will be going home in one day so they will be able to recooperate at home.
Security has been a bit up and down these days. We are taking precautions and not venturing too far from the house. There has been a lot of shootings and we can hear them from our house. Many civilians have been caught in the crossfire. Please keep all of us at Coram Deo in your prayers and we will do our best not to put ourselves in any dangerous situations.
In less than one week I will be home!!!!!!

No more homework, no more books...

School is done for the year!!! The last day of school was Thursday and we had our last big event on Sunday afternoon. The teachers were amazing both these days. The last day of school they organized a little program to say goodbye to me and to remember the year. We had a small party for the kids and one of the teachers brought his "sound equipment" and so we listened to music for a while as we ate. Unfortunately, I foolishly planned the last day of school to be 2 days before we passed out report cards, so I was crazy busy proofreading and photocopying all the report cards. Sunday was the last parent-teacher meeting and we had a good turn out. We also had a sort of graduation ceremony for the students who passed Grade 5 and will therefore be attending a different school in the fall. Overall it was a great day and I was really proud of the teachers and was reminded of how far we've come this year.
So, what am I doing now?? Well, funny enough I'm busier than I was before. We have 3 teachers visiting on Thursday for 2 weeks. They will be doing a week long seminar with the teachers of Coram Deo. So I've tried to organize and arrange all the stuff from this year so I can show them what we've done this year. Also, I want to finish a lot of the end of year stuff before they come so that when they are here I can be of service to them and also be able to enjoy their company.
Other than that. All is going well. I am going to be moving back to Coram Deo on Thursday as it's becoming a bit complicated to get a ride back and forth to work every day and I would like to spend as much time with the visitors as possible. I will be sad to leave Jenny and the quiet of our house. I, however, will not be sad to say goodbye to Max!!!
I'm sorry this is so factual and not very entertaining to read but I'm feeling uninspired and I have to get back to packing up my stuff. Who knew I could accumulate so much stuff in only one year!!! I may have to leave some stuff behind!!!! I'm sure I will find someone who wants it:)

Medical clinic

Yesterday was a holiday so I was able to tag along with a doctor to a medical clinic in a small village near the Dominican border. I had heard that it was sooo beautiful, with a natural spring feeding the lake nearby. It was an interesting day. I witnessed a minor surgery. A young lady (17 years old?) came in with a growth on her neck just below her ear. Dr. Ed was a bit apprehensive because he was worried that it had grown into other parts of her neck, most importantly a main artery. But he agreed to open it up, take a look around and then if necessary sew it up again. Thankfully, he was able to remove it and the girl was very happy. I tried to watch the surgery but have to admit that I felt a bit weak and had to sit down on the other side of the room. After that I sat right beside her but where I couldn't see the operation and tried to encourage her. The rest of the day was pretty quiet with colds, fevers and sore stomaches. But then this guy walked in with his foot all wrapped in a bloody cloth and said he has just cut his foot with a machete. Because of the amount of blood I was worried that he had cut a chunk off his foot, but actually when all the blood was cleaned up it was just a little cut (only needing 3 stitches). It had so much blood because of where the cut was. So that was my exciting day out of PAP. We went to see the spring and I could see the potential for beauty but was saddened by the garbage and the evidence of human beings everywhere. Ah... the story of Haiti.

Argentina or Brazil???

I already mentioned that Haiti is a little football crazy right now but I forgot to mention that their loyalties are divided between Argentina and Brazil. There are more fans for Brazil than Argentina but regardless the streets and stores are decorated with the colours of both teams and when either team is playing the streets are EMPTY!!! which is very rare in PAP. I of course am loyal to my home country Canada, just kidding, I know they don't have a team, I just thought I'd throw that in there for all those friends of mine who have endless fun with my lack of sports knowledge:) Go Orville!!!
We have a visitor staying with Jenny and I right now. She is a Calvin student who is volunteering at the CRWRC office right now. It's fun to have another person around and we have been going out more to try and make it fun for her, which is also good for us. I tagged along when she received an "official" tour of the city and went to a few places I'd never been before.
Tomorrow there's no school since it's "The Birthday of God" (I didn't know He had a birthday!) and so I will be leaving the city for the day. I've been invited to tag along with Dr. Ed to some small town (whose name escapes me right now) to help out with a clinic. I'm excited to leave the city and see a place I've never been before. Apparently it has amazing natural springs so that will be interesting.
The mouse situation has taken a turn for the worse and they seem to be getting bigger and mutliplying like crazy. We have found several mouse nests in the last little while. I remove myself from the situation until it's been "taken care of".
Other than that, things are well and I'm still staying busy and staying out of trouble.

World Cup Craze

So, Haiti is crazy for football(soccer) these days. Things seem to have come to a halt as people are more interested in watching the games than anything else. It is not uncommon to see a television set up outside an office or church with a large gathering of people (or shall I say guys) sitting around watching the game. The good news is that we have much more electricity than normal, which of course is always welcome. We've had so much some days, we sit around and wonder what possible appliance we can use before they take it again.
So I have some news to share, the good news is that Coram Deo has found a couple to fill the School Director role as well as a new position of Development Director. The bad news is that they can not start until March due to previous commitments. So I am very busy finishing off the school year as well as starting to prepare for the following school year. Needless to say I'm very busy.
The first week of July there are 3 teachers coming from Canada to teach a week of seminars for the teachers of Coram Deo. I am very excited about this and believe it will be beneficial for all involved. So I am preparing for that as well. The good news is that I'm too busy to get into any trouble!!!
So that's all the news from here. Oh, I almost forgot. I bought my ticket to return home. I will be returning to home sweet home on July 18th and I'm counting down the days until I see my family and friends again!!!

Random pics of PAP

Comments

I forgot to respond to the comments on my last entry. Nicole, I knew you'd be very happy with my new "nurse" position. Maybe I'll follow in your footsteps and become a real nurse when I come home:) And to my dear Leaside friends. I'm glad you are so eager for my return. I too look forward to my return. I have to admit that sometimes I daydream about what I will do first when I'm home. I think it may just be to eat a huge bowl of icecream and drink a really cold drink. (I do that here but it's quite the treat!)

No pictures, sorry

Well, the most exciting thing that has happened to me these days is that I have a HUGE swollen jaw. I have had a lot of problems with my skin in Haiti, I often have a lot of acne and I think it is from the air being so dirty and my pores getting clogged. However, right now I have 3 really infected pores and one is on my jaw so it is quite swollen and everyone looks at me quite strangely when they see me. At first I was hoping it would just go away by itself but I woke up Friday morning and it was horrible looking. I talked to a doctor who recommended an anitbiotic for me to take. Hopefully it works pretty quick, it's actually quite painful and it's difficult to sleep.
The temperature is rising and I'm find it hard to adjust to the heat. Usually I adjust quite quickly but these days I'm finding it hard to sleep. I've started to sleep in the living room hopefully to get a cross breeze but I'm afraid of the "crazy" cat coming in the house and cuddling up to me so I shut the sliding door and didn't find much of a cross breeze. Last night, I was so hot that I took the chance of cuddling up with a strange cat and left the door open. Thankfully the cat did not return. I think my coming after him with a large stick the last time he visited may have curbed his desire to visit our house:)
Other than that, things are calm. Jenny and I were chatting last night that we are actually quite boring. We spend almost every night at home reading. We sit with our little light one trying not to waste our invertor charge and read until it's time to go to bed. What crazy girls we are. Speaking of books, Jenny used to work for the Peace Corps and they just recently decided to pull all their personnel from Haiti and shut down their office. Jenny went by the office was able to take all the books in their library!!! So we have quite the selection of books at our house. It's like living at a library.

Nurse Kim

So these days I feel more like a nurse than a school director!!! There's a doctor that goes to my church (Dr. Ed for those of you who know him) who has agreed to stop by every week and take a look at the kids who have any medical problems. I am very excited about this as the kids often complain to me of the same things and I have no idea what to do. So every day I am dispensing medicine. Right now the thing that occupies a lot of my time is shampooing kids heads. I remember all too well being on "lice duty" at SMC and it feels a lot like the same thing. I have to put Selsan Blue on their heads and they have to keep it on for 24 hours and then I can wash it off and reapply it. So we have about 15 boys walking around with bright blue heads. I thought that they would be really embaressed about this but I think they are so thrilled to be getting rid of the scalp fungus that they dont' mind at all. In fact I think the idea is becoming quite popular because boys who don't have it have asked me to apply it to their heads as well!!!
So I'm keeping busy with that and all the other things that are involved with running a school. Jenny has been gone a lot lately helping out with a family up North. She'll be home for a while now and I'm glad as I don't love living by myself here.
I'm going to sign off quickly before they take hydro and I lose all that I've written.

Marie's Party

Marie's Graduation

So much to say, so little time

I'll keep this short because we don't have any hydro and I don't want to drain the invertor or use all the gas in the generator:) So much to talk about... we have three visitors here right who I never see because they are always working (they are nurses working at a clinic). Marie graduated from her 2 year course in sewing, floral arrangements etc. Went to her fashion show and her graduation. Had some strange personal space issues at the graduation, I think personal space is just not an option here. I threw a small party for Marie at the house afterwards, she was thrilled. Have a strange cat living in the house that scares the crap out of me and I end up hiding in my room in fear. (it's kind of freaky and I'm afraid it will bite me and seeing my history with animals in Haiti I will keep a safe distance). Jenny is gone for a week so I'm living by myself and the invertor is almost dead so I sit with a candle and try to read my book and not be scared!!! What an adventure living in Haiti is. Last night I was sooooooo happy because we got city water and I was able to put water in the cistern on the roof and have running water in the house but then I forgot all about it and it ended up filling the roof with water too.... I think by the time I figure everything out it will be time to leave. Speaking about leaving. I will be leaving in approximately 11 weeks. Isn't that crazy??? I am starting to feel really sad about leaving the people here. I guess that's part of life. I will try and post some pictures soon. Here's hoping...

Sad News

To those of you who are familar with the people who live at Coram Deo, I have some sad news to pass along. Wisley's Dad passed away on Saturday morning. He was crossing the street when he was hit by a truck. He was brought to the hospital but died shortly after. Of course Wisley was really shook up as this news came as a total surprise. He seems to be doing better and is able to talk about it with others. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.