Wednesday, September 14, 2011

We are going to Build!!!






The first day I was back at work I cruised through the ER and one of my nurse friends said, “Thank God you are here, we had no idea if you were caught in a hurricane and could not get out of Haiti”. Little did I know that my blog is like a soap opera and I left my followers hanging. The storm lasted about 4 hours and that was it. The next day we drove to the airport before the traffic, the streets were so clean I was amazed. I thought someone finally came and picked up the trash, then Asha pointed out that the rain had just washed it down hill to who knows where.

The night before we left Haiti there was no power so we were packing in the dark. At one point the curious girls are crammed into a ball at our door watching everything we do. Wanting to help in any way they could. At one point they burst into song and I snapped their picture.

There has been a shift in the group attitude of our girls. It is so typical for 12 year old children to change and begin to see themselves as individuals separate from their parents, (teen age angst). Well it can become a mob rule kind of attitude if you have 20 girls living together. The girls sometimes refuse to participate in singing, dancing and group activities. The younger ones follow their example. Our work is going to get harder, we have come just in time to help our lovely children through their transformation to womanhood (HELP!).

Santania and her sister Pierrelande have only been with us for a few months. They have had a very hard life. We had a birthday celebration for Santania, the first time in her 9 years that she has been honored. She sat there in frozen awe. She could not speak or move, a slight grin and otherwise a statue. Wislande broke the ice by getting up to sing her heart out for Santania and the girls joined in.

We are buying the land. The most beautiful land in Haiti, at least to me. We now have an official building fund and I am reaching out to raise $30,000 as soon as possible so we can finalize the purchase. We have to come up with the down payment of $10,000 this week. God help us pace ourselves and see this village built for the girls. Sustainable, affordable, safe, with housing for the staff and a place for our future boys. We are hoping for 30 people (or groups) to donate $1000 each. Of course any amount will be great. The checks will be written to RMOF (Reveil Matinal Orphanage Foundation) and be placed in the separate building fund account. Thank you, Thank you for your support and for reaching out to your communities to find new supporters. Please help us make a lasting difference for children in Haiti. Mail Checks to: RMOF Building Fund c/o Charlucie Jaboin, 131-15 241 St., Rosedale NY 11422.

Remember that we also have teams going to Haiti every month. If you go, brace yourself for an experience that will, “change your life forever... for the better”, a quote from Laura Wedderburn after her first trip to volunteer in Haiti. We need teachers, construction workers, health and social workers, musicians, gardeners, artists, cooks............ we are going to build!!!!!

We have our biggest benefit of the year coming up on October 2. Come celebrate!

Pictures: Girls serenading us as we pack, Santania's first birthday party, Our land!, Asha at the entrance to our land, Taste of Autumn

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