When I arrived in Haiti in September of 2009, I came to work at Adoration Christian School with a two year contract in hand with a possible one year extention. I had applied for a leave of absence from the Toronto District School Board for one year and was approved, and after my first year in Haiti, they granted me another year's leave.
I am such a planner that the minute I set my foot on Haitian soil I started to think about when I would be leaving. I have a real problem living in the moment I know. In fact I think I often miss out on life's greatest moments because I'm always looking forward, ignoring all that is around me. However, in January 2011 I had to really start getting serious about the length of my stay in Haiti, the board of ACS and the TDSB wanted to know my plans.
After much prayerful consideration, I have decided to return back to Canada and back to the TDSB. In some ways it was an easy decision in other ways it was a hard decision. I feel that my work is almost done here at ACS. I am currently working alongside and mentoring Alix to take over the role of school director. He is learning quickly and each month takes on more and more responsibility. I have no doubt he will do a great job and it's such a relief to leave the staff and students in such capable hands. There will always be more work, there will always be more needs, but for me, for now, I am ready to return to Canada, to my friends, my family and my job. I will miss the people here in Haiti A LOT and therefore I am trying really hard to live in the moment over the next few months. I will leave Haiti sometime in July and therefore my time here is quickly coming to an end. I'm trying to visit all the places I haven't yet been, I'm trying to send quality time with all my loved ones, I'm trying to enjoy the sunny days the warm breeze, my beautiful apartment... I'm trying.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Back to Boring!
After almost four weeks straight of visitors, the last few days have been a bit quiet! I have to admit that this past weekend I had to rest up a bit, I LOVE having visitors here but they are always so high energy that after they leave it takes me a few days to recover:) I must be getting old.
After my sister Amy left, we had three board members, Steve, Carina and Hilary come for a visit and Steve's son, Cam, came along to take some pictures. As always my favourite part of having visitors is seeing things fresh, with new eyes. Carina has been coming to Haiti for many years, and therefore, she more than anyone can see the progress that has taken place within our organization. She pointed out the growth of the teachers and how strong a team we have to work with. She noticed little things, like more posters on the teachers walls and more discussion during staff meetings. Steve as always was full of energy and encouragement. For Hilary, it was her first time. She does the bulk of the work for our sponsorship program and it was great that she could finally meet some of our students face to face, instead of only seeing their faces on her computer screen. Cam took a lot of great pics (as you can see on the previous post) and through his lens you can see so much of Haiti.
Elections happened Sunday with very few incidents. We closed school today (Monday) because there is NEVER school the day after elections (so we were told). Although we hate to give in to the fear that governs so much of this country, we gave in this time and decided to tackle a few projects that are hard to complete when school is open.
The next few weeks we will be on edge a little bit, waiting to see how things play out politically. The results should (key word here) be announced at the end of the month. Overall it'll be busines as usual for us, but we'll make an effort to keep extra food and water in the house and our gas tanks nice and full.
After my sister Amy left, we had three board members, Steve, Carina and Hilary come for a visit and Steve's son, Cam, came along to take some pictures. As always my favourite part of having visitors is seeing things fresh, with new eyes. Carina has been coming to Haiti for many years, and therefore, she more than anyone can see the progress that has taken place within our organization. She pointed out the growth of the teachers and how strong a team we have to work with. She noticed little things, like more posters on the teachers walls and more discussion during staff meetings. Steve as always was full of energy and encouragement. For Hilary, it was her first time. She does the bulk of the work for our sponsorship program and it was great that she could finally meet some of our students face to face, instead of only seeing their faces on her computer screen. Cam took a lot of great pics (as you can see on the previous post) and through his lens you can see so much of Haiti.
Elections happened Sunday with very few incidents. We closed school today (Monday) because there is NEVER school the day after elections (so we were told). Although we hate to give in to the fear that governs so much of this country, we gave in this time and decided to tackle a few projects that are hard to complete when school is open.
The next few weeks we will be on edge a little bit, waiting to see how things play out politically. The results should (key word here) be announced at the end of the month. Overall it'll be busines as usual for us, but we'll make an effort to keep extra food and water in the house and our gas tanks nice and full.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Ile a Vache
When Amy was here we were able to visit a small island near by Les Cayes, called Ile a Vache. It was a nice time of relaxation, sun and sand.
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Amy enjoying some time on the bus |
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| Abaka Bay Resort |
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| Last night |
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| Port Morgan Resort |
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Baby Shower!!
My dear friends Lesley and Diego recently had a beautiful new baby named Julianna. Jenny, Amy and I hosted the baby shower for Lesley and little Julianna on Sunday afternoon.
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| Julianna and her aunt |
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| What a cutie!! |
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| We all took turns holding her |
Friday, March 04, 2011
Brush your teeth...
Randy and Karen have a friend who is a dentist. She volunteered to come by our school and provide some information for our students on how to care for their teeth, and as an added bonus she gave each student a new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. It must admit that it brought back some fond memories of "swish", I know all you country folk know what I'm talking about! I wonder if they still have "swish" at some schools? I hope they do, it was so pleasant to swish around some flouride in my mouth for exactly one minute and then listen to 30+ students spit into their cups all at the same time. Someone always spilled... oh those were the days! Anyways, I've gotten way off track. This morning I followed Paola and her assitant around to each class and was surprised at how well the students listened and how happy they were with their gift of toothbrush and paste.
Thanks Paola! We appreciate it!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Out on good behaviour
Friday and Saturday the team made more cupboards than I thought was possible...
this may not sound exciting, but when your sports equipment, school supplies, food and cleaning supplies look like this....
you may understand my excitement!
Since the team has been flying through the jobs on their work list we decided to let them out on good behaviour. Saturday afternoon we took them up the mountains to Baptist Haiti Mission for lunch. They loved the view, the clean, cool air and of course the company.
Sunday we were all able to worship together at The Presbyterian Reformed Church of Delmas. In the afternoon Randy took the team downtown and today is back to work! no rest for the weary...
Since the team has been flying through the jobs on their work list we decided to let them out on good behaviour. Saturday afternoon we took them up the mountains to Baptist Haiti Mission for lunch. They loved the view, the clean, cool air and of course the company.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Lean, mean, shelf building machines!
Well, I must say this team may be small in number but they are HUGE in the amount of work they can accomplish, and still find time to play soccer with the kids at recess.
The office building we are renting has some interesting alcoves and we are in need of some serious storage... so they have been enclosing some areas and building shelves. I can't believe how much they've gotten done in only 2 days! Today, I left the school early because I was kicked out of my office so they could install a new desk for myself and Alix, and I'm hoping tomorrow they will finish off the storage room for the school supplies. Things are starting to get organized around here and that makes me REALLY happy!
The office building we are renting has some interesting alcoves and we are in need of some serious storage... so they have been enclosing some areas and building shelves. I can't believe how much they've gotten done in only 2 days! Today, I left the school early because I was kicked out of my office so they could install a new desk for myself and Alix, and I'm hoping tomorrow they will finish off the storage room for the school supplies. Things are starting to get organized around here and that makes me REALLY happy!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Bored...?
I hate to admit this on my blog but.... I've been a bit bored lately! Can you believe it?? Things that once were so exciting and new are becoming routine and mundane. So thankfully we have some visitors here right now to liven things up a bit.
Yesterday we had a team of three guys from Southern Ontario arrive to help us with a few work projects around here. Frank, Derek and Marc got right to work this morning building a storage room with shelves for all our food supplies We have quite the long job list for them and they can't go home until it's done so they might not be sleeping, showering or eating...
Of course I'm kidding, we really try to emphasis with visitors that although we appreciate their help and hope they can complete some projects while they are here, we want this to be a time of learning, sharing and building relationships. Despite the language barrier, visitors in the past have established some great friendships with our staff and students here, many friendships continuing for years through e-mail, phone calls and repeat visits. Visitors also are provided with opportunities to expand their understanding of a different culture, what poverty truly is and what we are doing here in Haiti to address this poverty.
We would like to thank the two brave wives and mothers of young children who agreed to allow their husbands to leave them home alone for 9 days! We pray you survive without them and we will do our best to keep them safe and return them to you in one piece, most likely a bit more suntanned (or burned), probably a bit tired, but also with lots of stories and pictures to share with you.
Yesterday we had a team of three guys from Southern Ontario arrive to help us with a few work projects around here. Frank, Derek and Marc got right to work this morning building a storage room with shelves for all our food supplies We have quite the long job list for them and they can't go home until it's done so they might not be sleeping, showering or eating...
Of course I'm kidding, we really try to emphasis with visitors that although we appreciate their help and hope they can complete some projects while they are here, we want this to be a time of learning, sharing and building relationships. Despite the language barrier, visitors in the past have established some great friendships with our staff and students here, many friendships continuing for years through e-mail, phone calls and repeat visits. Visitors also are provided with opportunities to expand their understanding of a different culture, what poverty truly is and what we are doing here in Haiti to address this poverty.
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| Marc |
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| Frank |
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| Derek |
Monday, February 14, 2011
Oh where is my camera?? (sung to the tune of "Oh Where is my hairbrush")
So I haven't updated lately and to be honest it's because I don't have pictures to share. Several things have happened but I didn't have my camera with me!!! I know I should be fired from the blogging world.
So, for a quick update (without pictures), we closed the school on February 3rd, the day the CEP announced the results of the Nov. 28th election (we're quick like that here in Haiti) The results could have potentially caused rioting so we closed the school to avoid being stuck with 150 students at a school surrounded by road blocks preventing them from returning safely to their homes. Thankfully the results were received calmly and we were able to return to life as we know it on Friday. Of course, Thursday was the day we had planned our girl's seminar (second time we had to cancel in two years!) We rescheduled for Friday but were unable to contact many of the girls so we had less participants than we anticipated, however, our guest speakers did an amazing job and the girls were very appreciative of their words of wisdom and the small gifts they received! (Thanks Joanna, Anne, Deb and Jane!)
As well, these three lovely ladies along with 15 other visitors descended on our school and painted like mad! They were able to paint the entire inside of our school building! The hallways and classroom were in need of a facelift and the whole place is super cheerful now! What a blessing. I helped paint for a bit and when my hair was completed covered with paint (thanks Samuel) I headed out to prepare for a Girl's night which was also a fun time! (Thanks Karen) - again no pictures sorry!
Last and not least we had another day of meetings with the teachers to discuss future plans for Adoration Christian School and Centre. It is always interesting to 'pick their brains' and hear their ideas on a variety of topics. They really are our greatest assets and we are thankful for the input they provide us.
Apparently some of the staff found my camera the other day and did a photo shoot, so I do have some pictures to share!
So, for a quick update (without pictures), we closed the school on February 3rd, the day the CEP announced the results of the Nov. 28th election (we're quick like that here in Haiti) The results could have potentially caused rioting so we closed the school to avoid being stuck with 150 students at a school surrounded by road blocks preventing them from returning safely to their homes. Thankfully the results were received calmly and we were able to return to life as we know it on Friday. Of course, Thursday was the day we had planned our girl's seminar (second time we had to cancel in two years!) We rescheduled for Friday but were unable to contact many of the girls so we had less participants than we anticipated, however, our guest speakers did an amazing job and the girls were very appreciative of their words of wisdom and the small gifts they received! (Thanks Joanna, Anne, Deb and Jane!)
As well, these three lovely ladies along with 15 other visitors descended on our school and painted like mad! They were able to paint the entire inside of our school building! The hallways and classroom were in need of a facelift and the whole place is super cheerful now! What a blessing. I helped paint for a bit and when my hair was completed covered with paint (thanks Samuel) I headed out to prepare for a Girl's night which was also a fun time! (Thanks Karen) - again no pictures sorry!
Last and not least we had another day of meetings with the teachers to discuss future plans for Adoration Christian School and Centre. It is always interesting to 'pick their brains' and hear their ideas on a variety of topics. They really are our greatest assets and we are thankful for the input they provide us.
Apparently some of the staff found my camera the other day and did a photo shoot, so I do have some pictures to share!
Monday, February 07, 2011
Let the games begin!
I often write about the great staff we have been blessed with here at Adoration Christian School, and indeed they really are. We have a great team, but our team has one problem - TIME; we're all very busy and therefore we rarely have time to enjoy each others company. The teachers rarely spend time with the staff and vis versa. So we decided to have a team building day. Randy, Karen and I prepared some games/activities and we ordered in beans and rice so the cooks could participate as well. We had a GREAT day. We laughed, we fought over chairs, we made fools of ourselves and we bonded!
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| Bible Trivia |
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| The team that almost won:) |
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| Alyn is SERIOUS about games day |
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| Dodge Ball |
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| Huckle Buckle... |
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| Musical chairs |
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| Down to the last two - can you guess who won?? |
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