Haiti Happenings

Fun in Cite Soleil

Bill & Dorothy — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:35:05 +0000

The team from Emmanuel A/G in Livermore, ME spent time with the students at Cite Soleil today after delivering 12 benches they had made. There were balloons, balls, jump ropes, laughs, hugs, nails polished, bracelets, and the list goes on. Going from the new church building (to be completed next week) to the old building showed the difference in the heat. The new one is warm and the old one is an oven.

New Seating for Students

Bill & Dorothy — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:41:30 +0000

Students at the LACC school in Cite Cadet help carry the newly made benches to the classrooms. These are the benches that the Tulane University Chi Alpha team made this past week. When I called the director and asked how many benches he needed, he responded, “I will settle for 24 but I really need more.” He got eight. The need is great.

Tulane University Chi Alpha Rocks!

Bill & Dorothy — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:20:32 +0000

The Chi Alpha team exhibited true servanthood as they built school benches after hours and ministered to children during the day. They provided a memorable day for the children at Vaudreuil as they provided crafts, a Bible lesson and physical activities on the field. They even spent one day pouring the footer of a new church/school building in Croix des Bouquets.

We are anxious to finalize the purchase of the land at Vaudreuil so we can build the new church and construct the desperately needed school for kids like this:

Haiti Drum Art

Bill & Dorothy — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:09:07 +0000

One of the unique forms of art in Haiti is drum art. Fifty-five gallon drums are opened, flattened and objects are cut out with hammer/chisel by hand. Here is the latest one that I just received today. This piece shows H A I T I being held up by children as they also hold hands. This has immediately become one of my favorites. Our house is filled with so many choice pieces that we have found over the years or have been give to us as gifts. I love the creativity of the Haitian people. This is just one more example of their incredible art.

Sidewalk Chalk

Bill & Dorothy — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:17:07 +0000

This young boy was totally engrossed in drawing with sidewalk chalk. He and his brother attended a recent VBS for our neighborhood kids and they were the best at coloring. I liked this photo as a black and white.

Mr. First Aid

Bill & Dorothy — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:05:23 +0000

It seems the folks in the neighborhood think I run a clinic. Today I worked on a young man with a large boil on his neck followed by a young boy who had a nasty cut on his foot…in need of 2-3 stitches but I don’t do that. I recommended a real clinic but the family will not do that. Tomorrow I will check and re-do bandages. Hydrogen Peroxide is one of my best friends, followed by triple antibiotic ointment.

School Expansion

Bill & Dorothy — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:25:56 +0000

The school at Delmas 33 has been in desperate need of expansion while waiting on the new school to be constructed. The folks from Christ Chapel in Kentucky recently built a ‘lean-to’ onto the church, allowing for 3-4 new classes to be taught on the new property next door. This will make a major difference in the quality of education the children receive since they will not be so crowded and the teacher/student ration will be significantly reduced.

Can’t Believe It!

Bill & Dorothy — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:07:41 +0000

I absolutely thought this blog was lost. I lost my smithhaiti.com address and had tried to get back in to this blog but, after being unable to do so, I gave up and considered it lost. Today I am wandering around in wordpress.com and decided to try once again and, lo and behold, it opened. I just have to use the word ‘wordpress’ in the address. I am so techie it hurts! Anyone with half a brain could have figured this out long ago…or been more persistent. Get ready for some new photos and posts!!!

Special Treat

Bill & Dorothy — Sun, 09 May 2010 01:55:14 +0000

Two dozen KK doughnuts!! Our team members just brought us in LOTS of food supplies, but the KK doughnuts & bags of Starbucks coffee beans were over the top! Did I mention a pound of See’s Candy? I feel a sugar rush comin’ on.

Creative Players

Bill & Dorothy — Thu, 06 May 2010 23:04:05 +0000

This young man was playing with a box in front of our house. I happened to be standing in the street watching the younger ones play soccer and snapping a few photos. The box became a hat, a gun, a goal marker, and several other things as he used his imagination in his play. No SPS, no Nintendo, no Xbox…just a cardboard box and an imagination. That’s what it’s all about in our street.