The children are always happy when Papi and Manmi Len are in Haiti! This past Sunday, they arrived at Brit's Orphanage just after the children returned from church. They had just changed their clothes and run outside for some time on the playground when they showed up. What a wonderful way to return ~ seeing the children on the playground with their own eyes for the first time! The children were very eager to show them all of their skills and talents. Loobens (above) is our house expert on the monkey bars and climbing!
Len and Cherylann also had the opportunity to meet two of our most recent additions to Be Like Brit, Sandiana and her brother Kervens! Len scooped them right up as he entered the playground area and even though the pair are still adjusting to their new home and family, they warmed up to him rather quickly! Kervens is a happy, playful boy who talks a lot and seems very comfortable here. Sandiana is more shy and reserved, though I know when she's in her room at night she's quite content with her BLB sisters and caregiver staff, as I can hear how much she talks and plays, too!
On the day of Len and Cherylann's arrival, we were happy to host a group of friends from Sterling, MA! The Reverend Shantia Wright-Gray and her group came by and spent a few hours visiting the children, touring the orphanage, and a good meal with us. We always look forward to visits from people, and especially appreciate it when people from "home" seek us out and find us down here in Haiti! The Reverend heads up mission work and travel opportunities for local churches, and we were grateful to have her bring the group by to visit!
They also just so happened to bring us boxes and boxes of girl scout cookies, which were a huge hit! Trying to explain that to a group of children in Haiti is not exactly the easiest thing, but I think the children were more concerned about the boxes of Tagalongs than they were anything else!
It always amazes us when people who drop in for a visit once can become such great friends and supporters of our work. This is the case with Shelly and Bruce from Helping to Heal Haiti. Shelly and Bruce are from Pennsylvania, and they lead several groups per year in to Haiti. One one of those trips last year, they decided to stop by Be Like Brit and introduce themselves. What was going to be a 30 minute tour and visit turned in to a few hours of conversation and dinner, ending on the roof while sitting under the stars.
Who would have known that months later, while continuing to bring groups by and bringing with them special activities for the children, Shelly would call and say they have for our children official, proper, formal soccer uniforms! What a wonderful gift! Not only did they purchase the uniforms for the 14 children who are on our 8 years old and up team, they also have Adidas brand soccer shirts for all of our other children, too! Complete with goalkeeper jerseys, gloves, and maybe even some shin guards, we can't get over this incredible gesture of generosity and love. We are glad to call Shelly and Bruce friends and always look forward to their visits to Haiti and for the day or two they invariably spend with us here in Grand-Goâve! Be sure to extend them a proper Thank You!
We also received a visit from Father Gabriel Louis Blot who runs, through the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince and Caritas Germany, a professional and vocational school in Leogane, about 45 minutes to our East. We were happy to learn that Fr. Blot studied in Montreal and that his own family attends the same church that Cherylann attended growing up! What a small world! We so enjoyed our visit with Father that we decided to pay him and his school a visit the following day!
This vocational school located is the first of its kind in the area, and they offer a range of training courses: Masonry, carpentry, auto mechanics, mechanical-fitting, electrical and plumbing. Len being a builder and having the experience he has was especially interested in the work Father Blot is doing. The facility is massive and impressive, and we want to thank Father Blot for the warm welcome and the extensive tour!
Len explaining how plumbing is set up in Be Like Brit
The block machine!
A you likely saw on facebook we had a busy week with birthdays! Three of our children celebrated this week, and as a result, we had lots of cake, ice cream, singing, dancing, and yes, pretty new dresses and toys! Love Na celebrated her 4th birthday, and we have a hard time believing this is the second time she's had a birthday at Be Like Brit! Our newest girl Sandiana also turned 4, and Marie Cassandre turned 7! What a busy week for the cake makers!
Sandiana's first birthday celebrated at Be Like Brit (and we suspect ever!) - while she was a bit unsure of what was going on, she certainly enjoyed that cake!
Love Na!
Marie Cassandre, front and center with a group of her BLB sisters (and Ephesiens, too!)
Celebrating these life events is important to us, as we believe it's these traditions that will foster a sense of family, belonging, feeling loved, and being important. Each of these children is equally precious and loved, and we want to be sure they feel that without question. As we grow as a family, sometimes we have issues that need to be addressed, too. While I handle much of the discipline, sometimes it's Papi Len who steps in to talk to a child about what we expect from them, the difference between right and wrong. So while it's usually fun and smiles, like any home, we do have the occasional challenge. They usually result in me hiding in the office trying to hold back laughter while Len has a serious chat with them. When Len speaks, the children listen - there's no doubt about that!
Medlens recovered just fine from this chat!
It's in these instances where I notice some of the differences in cultural norms. Growing up, I was always taught to look my parents, teachers, adults, etc. in the eye when they were talking to me. It was considered disrespectful to look away while they were speaking. That's not the case here, it seems, as even when dealing with adults in employee situations where we have to intervene, the cultural norm appears to be to look away, as though those who are being "corrected" aren't worthy of looking the "corrector" in the eye. I'm not sure if I am making that up or not, but it definitely seems to ring true. No matter how many times I ask the children to look at me when I'm speaking to them, they almost always drift away and stare down or off to one side. It's the same with staff when dealing with an issue. It's just another challenge to navigate in this whole process, and an interesting one at that!
I had another interesting experience on Friday. We brought Len back to the airport, and I had some business to conduct at the Immigration office in Port-au-Prince. I have been to this office at least six times in the past year or so, and have always gone in wearing sandals and shorts, along with a polo. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at 8am sharp on Friday and was told that I could not enter the building because I was wearing shorts! At first, I laughed. I said to the agent, imploring the mon cher (which seems to be the equivalent of - hey, let's be reasonable about this pal) "you're kidding, right? I've been here many, many times, and never been told there is a dress code."
Not amused by my feeble efforts to convince him otherwise, the agent simply looked down and ignored me.
I left, feeling utterly defeated and somewhat insulted. My driver and friend Francky suggested we go buy a pair of jeans and return. On principle alone, I vehemently refused. The heck with them, anyway. So, it seems I'll be adorning some trousers and heading back to Port this coming week...grumble, grumble. Indeed, it appears that the rules are changing. That, or the agent simply wanted to flex his muscle. I'm more convinced of the latter.
All in a day's work. After all, as we say all the time - It's Haiti.
Thanks for Helping us Help the Children of Haiti at Be Like Brit!
JHL
