We are so blessed to have so many committed friends and supporters of our mission here at Be Like Brit. This week, we were fortunate to host one of those friends here in Haiti. Peter Catanese, of the Christopher Catanese Children's Foundation flew down to see what Be Like Brit is all about! While Peter's stay with us was short, we are sure that what he saw in just two days here had a profound impact on him. Peter and his family are staunch supporters of Be Like Brit, and we were so happy that he had the chance and the desire to come down and meet the children who he helps with his generous spirit and see how our day to day operations go! We look forward to the next trip Peter makes, and can't thank him enough for all he has done for the children of Haiti!
Our good friend and Program Committee Member Rev. Dr. Debbie Pallato-Fontaine is back with us in Haiti, and always brings with her wonderful professional development training workshops for our staff and caregivers, as well as fun new activities for the children to take part in. While she just arrived Friday night, Debbie was busy Saturday morning with a 3-part activity, including a children's Bible story, followed by an activity where the children took turns being the shepherd who had to find his lost sheep! It was a great game of "hide and seek" if you will, tied in to the Parable of the Lost Sheep! The children have one more activity related to that today and will be making sheep out of marshmallows, pretzels, and toothpicks - a creative (and delicious!) way to learn this important word!
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| Davidson, the Shepherd, looks for his lost sheep as the children cheer him on! |
We also have on hand with us our friend and Program Committee member and Medical Director Susan Johnson on site for the month! Susan comes down several times a year and works on important medical services for the children. Our goals this week are to get all of the children and staff tested for TB, finish their vaccinations (so the children will be made at her, not me!) and visiting several medical facilities around the Haiti Southwest zone in order to build relationships with local providers.
We also have two of our children who need to have umbilical hernia repair surgeries, and the recovery can be at least two nights in hospital, and a week or so at home. Having Susan on hand to oversee that recovery is very reassuring! She will also be working extensively with our Medical Britsionary, Sarai, who is a Haitian American and here in Haiti with the latest Britsionary group! They have many important health educational programs to give to give, with both staff and children. While here, they will be covering HIV101, Food Safety and Sanitation Procedures, Basic First Aid, Rescue Breathing, using a Defibrilator Machine, and a training on how to administer medications and log properly for our records. They are sure to be busy and all that they plan to do is invaluable in continuing to keep our children and staff healthy and safe!
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| Susan, reunited with a mother and child she helped years ago! |
Our newest Britsionary Group is here, and ready to get to work! We have a great group of women and men from the States here with us! They arrived last night after a very long day of travel, settled in, got the standard Be Like Brit tour, and their first taste of Haitian cooking: Rice, beans, and fried chicken! After a brief orientation, the group went to bed early, and were able to set off for church this morning with our children! It's always nice to have extra hands on deck for keeping our group of children in order! Our children love the extra attention, too!
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| Some of Brit's Children with our Team! |
After church, the group got a tour of the Pierre Marie Fishing Village, a Project of Food for The Poor Inc., which is the destination Britney was supposed to have traveled to the day after the earthquake. This plaque at the fishing village depicts the Lynn University 6 who lost their lives at the Montana on January 12, 2010, and Food for The Poor's commitment to Be Like Brit in terms of supplying rice, beans, and other food and necessities for the orphanage is much appreciated. The beauty and simplicity of the sea side, on the Bay of Gonvaive, brings a bit of comfort and calm to those who visit it. As our Team literally walks the path that Britney was supposed to have followed, we know that this gives them a better sense and understanding as to why Brit so fell in love with Haiti and Her people.
Len was able to do something in Haiti that he hasn't been able to do for a while: Spend two full weeks with us! With his and Cherylann's schedule for speaking engagements and fundraisers being so busy, it's not often we get to have him on hand for this extended length of time! The children just love it when Papi Len is here, and especially love it when he spoils them (just a bit!) It was a wonderful two weeks where, for the first time perhaps, we were able to cover all the business that we needed to cover and then actually enjoy each other's time and company in a more relaxed way. We'll miss both he and Cherylann and always look forward to their next visit!
Our Tulane Interns continue to do important work for us, and I am excited to see how they pair up with Debbie and Susan from our Program Committee. I've asked the interns to shadow each of these women who are such a valuable wealth of information - and in Haiti, you can never have too much help! Indeed, this is a great chance for interns Lauren and Zakiyyah to use Debbie and Susan's professional experience and backgrounds to work in tandem with them on their points of programming which they are helping to develop for the children at Be Like Brit! As the time nears for their Professor to come down in the next few weeks, we are excited to have Tulane visit us and learn about all the exciting and hard work that Lauren and Zakiyyah have done for Be Like Brit! We can't thank these two ladies enough - it really can be a tough environment and they have both done so very well, been so very flexible and easy to work with, and are delivering great results! They are indeed a blessing and I'm so glad this relationship worked out!
With school back in session, the children are busier than ever! Long days with great payoffs, they are all thriving and we really can't say it enough - we are incredibly blessed to have the support from so many people! We ask you to continue to spread the word and share Brit's Dream with your friends and family! As we challenge others to do their part and to give back to those in need, we get to experience first-hand the joys of selflessness and generosity. God Bless you all, and have a wonderful week!
