MERCI to Wai'alae Elementary 3rd Grade Classes!

                                                      

  The 3rd graders at Wai'alae Elementary School in Honolulu, HI created these beautiful pieces of artwork especially for the children in Haiti!  Thanks to Mr. Nakamura and Mrs. Hendricks for teaching their students about Haiti and for inspiring their students to make these colorful creations!  These will show the children of Haiti that we have not forgotten about them. 

Would your school/class/organization like to make artwork for a school in Haiti?  Please send us an email for details on how you can participate: ProjectEnglishCurriculumHaiti@gmail.com

 

 

Spread the word!  In Haiti, one person can indeed make a difference!

 

Thank you to:

Merci beaucoup for the outpouring of generosity for the PECH Haiti project!  Collectively, this list of generous people and organizations donated more than $13,700 to rebuild Gentille Hirondelle elementary school in Haiti.  You donated from the United States, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and Germany!  Thank you so much to the following people and organizations:

Roy and Margarete Harmon

Shahrzad Nouraini

Valerie and Derek Poag

Julie and Geoff Akey

Gabi Miyashiro

Terri Tymn

Lisa Akey

Jamie and David Moore

Joanne Jeremie

Jean and Rick Isip Schneider

Mi Young Park and Se Kim

Hao and Marcia Doan Skiff

Jerry Lynch, Bay West Properties

Rich and Dianne Peters

Reba and Henry Otero

Tom Hujik

Yukiko Shimizu, JAPAN

Maggie and Steve Zygo

Dave and Mary Hartman

Junior Vincent

Beth and Ben Blake

Jessica Turpin and Alex Gachet, SWITZERLAND

Justin, SWITZERLAND

Cindy and Andy Stevenson

Sam

Theo

Children and teachers of Montessori Community School, 6-9, room 1 class

Children and teachers of Montessori Community School, 6-9, room 2 class

Children and teachers of Montessori Community School, 9-12 class

Robyn and Tony Hugar

Tristan and Isabel

Michelle and Cory Thompson

Bud and Sandy Hartman

Lisa Nakata

Ann Akey

Kenneth Cook

Deniece Tukafu

Catherine Sajna and Jon Goss

Nicole and Julia

Christine Etzkom, GERMANY

John and Holly Wheeler

Esperanza Villares

Kris Darlington and Matt Hansen

Jane and Rick Duncan

Liam

Amy Rice

Michelle and Tod Bartell

Lisa Browning

members of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church

members of Joy of Christ Lutheran Church

Kay Kooker

Carolyn Bauer, art teacher, Wai'alae Public Charter School

4th grade art classes at Wai'alae Public Charter School

5th grade art classes at Wai'alae Public Charter School

Susan Whitacre

Adella Okuda

Alison Kougios

Roberto Elizondo

Laura Williams

class B-9, Wai'alae Public Charter School

class B-11, Wai'alae Public Charter School

Lizzie

Lorraine and Louie Colon

Glenisse and JC Torres Dapena

Sage

Jill Ernst

Mrs. Polakovic's 2nd grade class at Wai'alae Public Charter School

Monique Chyba and family

Tetine Sentell and Craig McHenry

Amy and Joe Malone

Fire Dragon Tae Kwon Do, CANADA

Mother Nature's Preschool, CANADA

Grip family, CANADA

Parkway Mall Dental Office, CANADA

Azita Alflatouni and Mohammad Jahandardoost, CANADA

Maria Pilar and Gary Salazar Stair

Miora and Demitri Zamfir, CANADA

Dr. Alvin Villanueva, CANADA

Joelle

Jenny Lundahl and Jeff Lewendowski

And thank you to the following for your help with the PECH project:

Jean Isip Schneider

Azita Alflatouni, CANADA

Gabi Miyashiro

Jamie Moore

Jean Kirschenmann, MATESOL program, Hawaii Pacific University

Pastor Ruth Peterson

Montessori Community School

Beth Blake

Carolyn Bauer, art teacher, Wai'alae Public Charter School

Lloyd Nakamura, 3rd grade teacher, Wai'alae Public Charter School

Lisa Hendricks, 3rd grade teacher, Wai'alae Public Charter School

Saba Polakovic, 2nd grade teacher, Wai'alae Public Charter School

Thanks to your help, I've raised over $13,700!  Thank you!  Mesi anpil ("thank you very much" in Kreyol)

 

Financial things

Thanks to all of you, I've collected $13,727.03 in donations as of May 20, 2011!  I spent $10,000 for the roof (actually estimate was over $11,000) and I am using the remaining funds to purchase things for the school that are not easily used up, that are long-lasting, and that benefit many, as I spelled out in my project summary. I want all of my donors to see exactly where their donations are going so here is a breakdown of expenditures on this entry.  As a reminder, my husband and I are financing my trip and expenses so none of your donations are going toward volunteer expenses.
TOTAL DONATIONS-$13,727.03

EXPENSES PRIOR TO TRIP

Paypal commissions for electronic donations-$77.48
English as a Second Language books for teaching-$93.98
USB memory sticks for Celebrate! ESL curriculum-$26.41
postage-$9.15
laminating pouches-$21.82
inflatable world globes-$27.97

EXPENSES IN HAITI (note there are 3 currencies mentioned:  $=US dollars, 40 Gourdes (the actual currency)=$1US, 8 Haitian Dollars (not a physical currency, just one used to quote prices-it’s really confusing!) = 1$US

roof materials and labor (see earlier entry with the roof estimate and material costs)-$10,000.00
(I sent $5300 in February 2011 to purchase materials to begin roof construction. I paid the balance when I arrived in Haiti)

Kreyol-English book (250 Gourde)-$6

notebook, dry erase markers (262.40 Gourdes)-$6.40

copies of Word by Word and Celebrate textbook for Aloha English($696.20 Haitian dollars)-$87.25

2000 flyers advertising Aloha English (2000 Gourdes)-$50

case of notebooks, 3 bottles glue, 2 packs index cards, 200 envelopes ($328 Haitian dollars)-$40

184 copies for students (184 Gourdes)-$4.60

copies of Word by Word for students ($417.80 Haitian dollars)-$52.23

100 envelopes, 2 packs index cards, transportation-$3.20

Locking, custom made, book shelf for library-$230

benches/desks for students, 12 benches for 60 students-$1000

copies of lesson-$2

library box, chalk board eraser ($55.40 Haitian dollars)-$8

wood for cabinets ($160 Haitian dollars)-$20

copies of Oxford teaching techniques books (354 Gourdes)-$8.85

wood for cabinets ($336 Haitian dollars)-$42

nails-$7

Aloha English petty cash-$200

plywood for cabinets, PVC pipes for water system-$107.50

PVC joints, valves, tees for water system, locks for cabinets, saw-$138

10 chairs for teachers-$250

5 bags of cement-$36.25
finishing and painting a mural on the front wall of school-$240 
flag and flag pole-$143
sign with donor names-$117
ESL picture dictionary-$22.79
labor and materials build inside wall-$140
stamp, ID badge, supplies Aloha English director-$41.54
CD player and extension cord Aloha English program-$87.50
paint, math materials, nails, dictionaries -$179.11
Aloha English teacher salary-$200

TOTAL EXPENDITURES: $13,727.03

Please contact me if you have any questions about the PECH financials.  Sorry, I can't find a way to put a spread sheet on the blog.  Does anyone know how?

More art from Sol Spanish School students

                                           

PECH sends another GRACIAS to Spanish teacher Gabi Miyashiro of Sol Spanish School for inspiring her Spanish students from Kahala Elementary School to create more colorful artwork for the school in Haiti.  Gracias amigos!

Thanks for helping me reach my goal!

I reached my goal of raising $10,000 to roof and start an English program at Gentille Hirondelle elementary school in Tabarre, Port-au-Prince, Haiti!  Thanks to so many giving people, I collected over $11,000 for Haiti!  I am so touched by the outpouring of support for this project!  This journey has been truly amazing!  I am so honored by the encouragement and donations from some of the most unexpected places. For a comprehensive list of all the donors, please scroll to the very beginning of this blog to the entry labeled "thank you to".  Let me share some of these touching gifts with you:

-the 9-12 year old students at Montessori Community School earned and donated a whopping $376.68 to buy school supplies for the children in Haiti
-a family in Switzerland donated $500 toward the English program at the new school in Haiti
-The art teacher at Wai'alae Public Charter School inspired her 4th and 5th grade art classes to create posters to adorn the bare walls in the new school in Haiti
-several students earned money for Haiti by washing their parent's cars and doing extra chores
-a military coworker of mine who served in Haiti with me donated an amazing $500 to this Haiti project
-another child donated more than $50 from her saved allowance money
-a friend in Canada received over $500 in donations for Haiti from her friends and organizations in the city of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
-a woman in Germany donated $200
-a student and very good friend of mine contributed the largest donation to date-without her, I never would have reached my goal
-a teacher and students from Sol Spanish School made beautiful artwork for the classes at the new school
-one child purchased school supplies and 6 books for the children at Gentille Hirondelle school using her own money
-several students gave me watercolor paintings, clay flowers, and sketches to share with the Haitian children
-three members of the Akey family EACH generously donated $500 to the PECH project
-teachers at Wai'alae Public Charter School opened their classrooms to me to teach the children about Haiti and to create artwork to decorate the new school in Haiti
-a boy in Switzerland donated his own saved money for school supplies for the Haitian children
-children at Wai'alae and Montessori created original artwork to bring smiles to the children of Haiti
-several teachers captured the teaching moment by teaching math and geography lessons about Haiti
-a classroom created beautiful world maps to use in the new classrooms in Haiti
-numerous children donated more than 200 of their own books to begin a library in Haiti
-members of two Honolulu churches decorated fish and donated several hundred dollars toward the new school in Haiti
-a big-hearted neighbor donated $500 to help the children in Haiti
-most importantly, my wonderful husband and children gave me their love, support, and encouragement so that this could all be possible

    THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

  Julie Peters Akey

Fish for Haiti: 2 churches help PECH

Thank you to the members of Joy of Christ  Lutheran Church and St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, both of Honolulu, Hawaii, for jointly participating in the PECH Haiti project.  Members of both congregations collected over $800 for the PECH project.  They also decorated these colorful fish with messages of hope (some even wrote in French!) to encourage Gentille Hirondelle elementary school children in Haiti.

 The fish is very symbolic for my Haiti project- "PECH" is the Kreyol word for "fish" and the name of my project.  It also reminds me of the quote "If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime" which summarizes my plan for Haiti: education is the key to helping Haiti and help should be long-lasting and benefit many.  Furthermore, the fish is an important symbol in the Bible (fishers of men, the acronym for the Greek word for fish, the multiplication of the bread and fish for the crowd, etc...)

Additionally, both congregations have generously given financial gifts to my project.  Thank you so much to all of you for helping Haiti!  

   

Montessori 9-12 children sell homemade K-9 Krunchies for Haiti

Gracias!  Merci!  Mesi!  Thank you to the children and teachers of Montessori Community School's elementary 9-12 class for raising money for Gentille Hirondelle elementary school in Haiti!  The children baked and sold all natural, homemade dog biscuits creatively called "K-9 Krunchies" to raise money for the PECH Haiti project.  The Montessori children have earned over $150 to date and I will bring these funds to Haiti to purchase school supplies for the Haitian children who were affected by the January 2010 earthquake. 

The 9-12 class has also donated over $100 in cash and coins for the school.  Their money will go toward the roof construction and to purchasing school supplies.

Thank you also to the 9-12 children for donating more than 100 of their own books for beginning a library at the Haitian school.

Additionally, the 9-12 year class at Montessori Community School created and published this amazing book for Gentille Hirondelle school in Haiti.  The personalized book shares peace and aloha between the islands of Haiti and Hawaii and brought tears to my eyes when the children showed it to me.

 

Sol Spanish School students share their artwork with Haiti

A huge GRACIAS to Gabi Miyashiro and the students of Sol Spanish School  in Honolulu, Hawaii for the creative, colorful, and inspiring art they created for the children their age at Gentille Hirondelle elementary school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  The Haitian children's original school was destroyed in the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake.  Unfortunately, the original school was damaged beyond repair so a new school is slowly being built.  Their new school is made of simple, bare, unpainted cement block walls.  Thanks to these wonderful creations and the sweet messages written in Spanish from Gabi's Spanish students, the Haitian children will have cheerful colors and messages decorating those bare walls of their new school.

And thanks to your generous donations, the roof of the school is currently being built, and the children soon will be able to learn under a roof instead of under the blue tarps that have been their ceiling for the past year.

Gracias Senora Gabi y alumnos! 

Are you inspired by the children and their artwork?  Please consider donating to our project and sharing what we are doing to help Haiti.