As I mentioned in last week's blog, our Solar team arrived on Saturday. They faced the challenge of setting up, connecting, and running a full solar system in a week's time. Well "it's Haiti" and things don't always go as smoothly as hoped or expected. By Wednesday, the crew had all of the panels installed and everything wired. I learned a lot of electrical terms this week that I don't think I will necessarily remember, but it was interesting to learn about how all of this will work. On Thursday night we were able to celebrate that everything was up and running, only to be let down a short while later that we were in darkness. So the generator went back on and the crew worked through more glitches on Friday. Again everything was running smoothly, but as Friday night rolled around, no power again. So 3 members of the team decided to stay and work through the glitches on Saturday, so far we are ok. But we do need more batteries in order to maintain the power in our building. So that will be a return trip for our crew! We can't thank the members of this group enough! A huge thank you goes out to Mark, Rick, Greg, Ed, Josh, Ben, and Keith for all of their hard work this past week. Their relentless efforts to get us off the grid are appreciated more than they know!!!
We have also been working very hard on the construction of the athletic field. This past week, Len obtained the last piece of property needed to complete the field at Be Like Brit. I mentioned last week that it was finally starting to actually look like something, but I spoke too soon! This week it was incredible! It really is a field!! We took the kids out to the field one night this week, although it might still be dirt, to let them run. They were so excited to finally get to run on the cleared land that they see each day when they return from school. Their excitement was unbelievable. I wish we'd taken video to share, but it was one of those moments that you realized afterward the value of the camera. I walked back over to the building and looked from the roof at how excited the children were to run around, walk with Len and Petit Bruno on their field of dirt. We are working on making this a "Field of Dreams" for our children! A place where they can learn, work, and grow.
As most of you have been following, Jonathan has been away for a month. Each day I have come to appreciate more and more the work that he does on a daily basis. With my taking on most of what he is responsible for, I have learned so much. We were very happy on Thursday night to welcome Jonathan back home to Be Like Brit. He got in a little later than expected, but the children were looking forward to his return so much that I decided they could stay up a little late that night. (Not usual for a school night!) I think both the children and Jonathan were glad with that decision. So when Jonathan was attacked by a group of 55 running and screaming children at 8:30 at night, I think everyone was equally as happy. Jonathan even braced himself and sat against a wall so he wouldn't be knocked over! It was exciting to see how truly happy the kids were to see him. Joy in it's purest form.
With everyone back to school, we are beginning to settle back into some sort of normal routine. The children are ready each and every day for school and are behaving so well. They are getting used to our new lunchtime routine and when they are expected to rest and relax, play and learn. All of which are extremely important in the lives of children and setting that routine for 55 of them is imperative. We are still taking the children to the beach, but only on the weekends now as completing homework is our new afternoon priority. And just like any child, we occasionally get one or two who don't want to do their homework at night! But our fantastic teaching staff will sit with them and explain why they need to learn in order to become great leaders and become successful in society when they are adults! We have also started to have a special physical education teacher come in. Yesterday, he came for the first time as a trial to see if our children would like it and they LOVED his activities. Len brought a volleyball net with him on his return to Haiti that we have set up in one of our courtyards. The children got to play with the net and learn volleyball skills with this new P.E. teacher. We are excited for his return and look forward to his future work with all of our children. We can't forget the never ending excitement of ABCmouse!!! The children are thriving with this program and can't wait to use it each and every day. The English that I have started to hear them be more confident with is fantastic! I can't wait to see how successful they will be with this program and the skills that it will provide them with for their future!
So with 55 children, a dog and settling into a back to school routine we are quite busy!
We also got to welcome in a women's group yesterday to Be Like Brit. We have Susan Wornick here from news channel 5 Boston WCVB who is a Be Like Brit board member as well as several friends of the Be Like Brit family. Cherylann, Kristin and Melissa led the group in and we look forward to seeing what they will be doing with the children and the community in the next few days.
As always thank you for your continued support of Be Like Brit and helping us continue to keep alive the Faith, Hope and Love for Haiti!!!
