Tablet computer lab

We've been working on setting up a computer lab for the children at the Haitian school, but it's been a long process. We've received donations of used laptops, but they are often quite old with numerous problems, and at 10 lbs or so each, we are only able to bring one or two with us each time we travel to Haiti.

Thanks to an extremely generous donation we received recently, we were able to purchase 15 Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computers, protective cases with keyboards for each tablet, screen protectors, extension cords, and surge protectors for the "computer lab". The tablets are perfect for small hands, are more indestructible than laptops, and the children LOVE them.

Our Haitian students with their new tablets

"Why do Haitian children need tablets?"you may ask. We see it as a technology leap. The children and school have few books or resources for research or learning, and most things are learned via memorizing. There is so much learning the children can do on the tablets. In addition to learning basic computer skills such as writing a Word document, the computer teacher will also teach them how to do Power Point presentations and send email. Each tablet has a built in camera so the children can learn to take and edit pictures and movies. We downloaded an English app for the children to learn English, a math app to practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as well as a typing app to learn to type. Each tablet has Wikipedia in French and host of other educational programs. We feel that the possibilities are endless with tablets and the multitude of free apps available for learning.

Have we convinced you? Please consider donating via the button below so we can purchase more tablets for the children. Thank you!

Haitian children learning how to use tablet computers

 

Gasses for Haiti

Thanks to the members of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Fairfax, VA, I collected over 50 pair of used eyeglass for Haiti. I shipped them off to a Haitian American optometrist who will be taking them with him to Haiti the next time he goes. Merci!

There's no such thing as too much love!

There's no such things as too much love

The children at Gentille Hirondelle school are bursting with love to share. Although they only seem me once or twice a year, they all seem to remember me and greet me with cheers of "Madame Julie!" They are always a bit shy at first, but once a couple children come over to hug me, they the floodgate opens and huge groups of adorable children compete to give me hugs or stand next to me in photos. A few chidren like to walk around hand and hand with me, or with their arm snugly around me. All the love sure is alright with me, and I wish I could just take them all home with me! When I am with the children in Haiti, I realize that there is no such thing as too much love.

 

Sharing the Love

We have been very fortunate to have received several large donations lately, so we decided to share the love with several other educational projects in Haiti.

The first project we did in December was to replace the roof on a small community school in Tabarre, Haiti called College de l'Avenir (it has nothing to do with a "college"-it's just the French name). The roof on the small school had a gazillion small holes in it, and although they were small, the rain poured in and down on the children. We were happy to be able to re-roof the school and keep the children in class instead of sent home during rain.  Here is a picture of the roof with it's many holes:



school roof with hundreds of holes

one of the school's humble classrooms

Hand delivery of the roofing materials

Next we visited an amazing project run by an American husband-wife team called Heartline Ministries. The projects has several elements including a maternity center, a job skills training center, and literacy classes for adults. In addition to delivering babies, the maternity center gives free Depo-Provera shots every three months to women for birth control, it gives pre-natal classes, and it gives parenting classes. The job skills classes teach sewing and crafting, and the creations are sold online and at their boutique in Haiti. Check out the beautiful merchandise here at Haitian Creations.  All proceeds are invested back into their projects. We believe in the mission and the great work this organization is doing and decided to contribute to their educational programs.

Lastly, we decided to support Prosjekt Haiti, another organization that we believe is making a real difference in Haiti. Prosjekt Haiti has a free school for 300 children, after-school classes for both children and adults, and many programs for women. They also create jobs by training Haitians to work in their bakery and hair salon, with the goal of all profits being re-invested into their projects.

We love these organizations and hope you will check them out and consider supporting them too! At a minimum, check out their boutiques the next time you need a gift!