Finishing up

 

the finished outside wall of the school

  

My Haitian family (including Christel visiting from Colorado Springs for Haiti)



Evangeline and I with artwork that her students made for Montessori Community School in Honolulu

It was with great sadness, but also great fulfillment, that I left Haiti a little over a month ago.  I have been reluctant to write this blog post because it signifies that my trip has come to an end and I really didn’t want it to ever finish!  My month in Haiti was life-changing.  I felt so much love and appreciation from the children at school and my host family.  I miss Haiti already, and especially my Haitian family!  And I love Haiti more than ever!  Mewn remen ou, Ayiti!

People have asked me if I felt I made a difference in Haiti and I feel I made a HUGE difference!  The month in Haiti was a complete success.  Thanks to your generosity, I received a total of $13,737.03 in donations!  If you are interested in specific financial details, I've posted all the expenditures further down on the blog and I have all hard copy receipts. 

Here are some of the things I was able to accomplish with your donations. 

-I spent $10,000 of the donated money for the new, sturdy, well-built roof for the school so now the children have a roof over their heads for class.

-I had more desks-benches-tables made.  These are long benches with an attached writing surface where 4 children can sit, work, and store their supplies.  Before, there weren’t enough seats for all the children to sit and they were completely cramped.

- I purchased a chair for each teacher. 

-I had a locking bookshelf made to store the books for the mini-library and purchased supplies to create the library. We used donated books to start the library.

-I purchased supplies and we built a locking, hanging, cabinet for each teacher for them to store their supplies, children’s notebooks, and books.

-The front wall of the school was finished and painted.  The name of the school was painted on the wall and a donor sign was created.

-We had a wall separating the classes and the administration office constructed.

-I purchased an inflatable globe for each class.

-We purchased materials and began construction on a water catchment system so that we can collect rainwater for the children to wash hands after going to the bathroom.

-We purchased textbooks, supplies, photo copies, blank CD’s, CD player, batteries, dictionaries, and administrative materials to begin the adult English school, Aloha English Institute.

-I paid the Aloha English Institute teacher/director salary for May and June.

-I purchased and installed a manual pencil sharpener for the children.

-I purchased protractors, compasses, and rulers for math classes.

-we decorated the school with more than 100 pieces of artwork created by Honolulu children

Thanks again to all of you who donated to this PECH Haiti project!  The children of Haiti and I send you a huge THANK YOU!

the completed roof overhead and children's art from Honolulu decorating the walls of the school

benches/desks that I had made

cabinets we made for each teacher

building a wall

I plan to return to Haiti next spring to work on some new projects.  I would greatly appreciate it if you would again consider donating!  Stay tuned for more details.  Thank you!  Merci!  Mesi!

my adult English students