We’ve been busy (understatement) and thought it was about time to let our friends know what has been going on here since our last update. Those of you that are Facebook friends have a bit of an idea. It’s much easier to post a picture and write a few sentences at the end of the day than to write a few paragraphs, and I confess to taking the easy road when possible since even the mundane day to day things here are hard. But that is not your fault and I know you are anxious for more…
Kokosing has arrived!
Our friends at Kokosing sent the first of 56 volunteers the week of March 21st to start construction on the new orphanage. CEO Bill Burgett himself came to layout the foundation and supervise the initial cement pour. It was great to watch as Haitian laborers worked with the Kokosing guys (Tom Tenney and John Kelley) to start the building. CSI was also hosting a group from the Rochester, IN area who worked to pour the floor of the church and spent HOURS bending and tying rebar cages and posts for HOPE. It was an exciting afternoon on Friday March 26th as the first wheelbarrow full of cement was emptied into the open ground. Since it was Rose-Myrlande’s birthday, she was happy to toss a few big rocks into the cement to help stabilize the column. Since then, the perimeter wall has been completed and a number of support columns have been poured. The foundation is the most important part of the building and this has been serious business.
Repairs at the former facility continue and the Bensons have moved into our old apartment. We hope to have the downstairs ready for the girls the first week of April when we will move back there temporarily while construction continues for the next several months. Staff that had been living in the HOPE depot have received new homes in cooperation with FonMax. Five houses are in progress with more to come for some folks that have been displaced. The community relief program is off and running with 12 families participating right now. After 3 months in the program, they will graduate and 12 new families will be invited to participate.
The girls have been offered a ballet scholarship from a dance academy here. The academy believes it is important for the children affected by the EQ to have something special to look forward to and our girls are so delighted. They begin April 12th.
In the meantime, we are helping where we can in the 4 tent cities within a mile of us. More than ten thousand Haitians are living in temporary tents right here. We have been able to direct some aid in their direction. Wells, doctors, food, and tarps have been sent and we are pleased to see how organized they are and how they are coming together as communities, caring for one another. The latest program has been led by Terri Bucci at The Ohio State University. She came with a small group of educators and worked with the leaders and teachers of these new communities to help them establish schools for the children there.
Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti as the rainy season is upon us, for the projects we have initiated, for the ministries we are blessed to be a part of, and for the girls at HOPE as they learn to navigate life AE (after earthquake). And, as always, we pray that you would continue to be a part of making a difference in the lives of the people of Haiti.