The First Bags

We filled our first earthbags to test the soil to find the optimal combination of sand and clay. There is a lot of clay in the soil, which means that we have to bring sand in from the riverbed nearby.

Getting ready...

We've started buying a lot of the tools and supplies that we'll need to get started. One really cool thing about the building system that we're using is that everything that we need to do it is available locally.

This is my foreman, Watson. He came highly recommended to me from two of his former companions that I know from the states. He is such a stud.

It's always a pleasure to spend time with the Sustain Haiti volunteers. They needed some water filters delivered from Port au Prince to Leogane.

I helped take a load of ten volunteers to the airport the next morning and Rony's car ran out of gas! They almost had to all pile into the back of the truck to catch their flight...

Just happy to be in school

Jeremy gave me ten laptops to bring down and distribute where they could be put to best use. I miraculously was able to fit them all into my luggage and got them through customs without any problems other than sore muscles. I redistributed everything about five times and finally weighed in at 49 lbs with each of my checked suitcases plus two carry ons that were pushing the size and weight limits.

Here are five of the computers which we took to a school near Petion-ville. It's a good thing that they were laptops, because it is not a secure location and the teachers need to take them home at the end of the day. They are going to make sure that each student gets on a computer at least once a week. Computer literacy skills are among the most valuable to have in Haiti, and will give these kids a much better chance at being employable when they finish school.

There are 150 students in this school, all of which fit into one open room that is about the size of two of our classrooms put together. Notice the 1 X 6 that is used as their desk.

Old whiteboards are used to partition the classes.

Class clowns can be found anywhere...

The thing that amazes me most is how happy these kids are to be in school. They consider themselves very lucky to be able to study, since nearly half of the population is illiterate. Most of them go to school on an empty stomach and have nothing to eat at school, but they're all smiles nonetheless. 60% of the children at this school are sponsored by Haitian Roots, an outstanding organization that matches up sponsors from the U.S. with students whose families can't afford to pay for their education.

Children of Hope

Meet some of the children currently at L'Orphalinat l'Enfant de l'Espoir. How can you look into their eyes, knowing what they are up against, and not do everything in your power to help them out?

Alise
Irmelda
Marie France
Ritchy
Jackenson

Isaac
Antoine
Jerry
Roosvelt
Widelaire

Ivenson
Loovensky
Bedson

Djetly
Vania

Lovely

Estherline

Estherline Touissant
Wisene

Venise

Siguene

Derlie

Esther

Daphins

Juline

Jesula

Widena

Gregory

Jana

Christlove

Vladimir

Overda

Jean Marc

Meet Jean Marc. He's one of the most humble, kind men that I have met in Haiti. He is the director of L'orphelinat l'enfant de l'espoir. He was an orphan himself as a child. An orphanage director took him in under his wing when he was 8 years old and helped him get an education. He has always felt indebted to this man and felt an obligation and desire to help other children in Haiti that are up against the same things that he was as a kid.

When some members of his congregation (he is a pastor) died about nine years ago, he took in their children and began to care for them. When others saw how well he cared for the children- how well he taught them and how much he loved them- he continued to get more people that would ask him to take care of relatives or acquaintances that had been orphaned. Before long he had too many to take care of in his home.

A friend from his congregation rented out a larger home in Leogane where he could take care of the children, and before long, he had 69 children under his care. Another member of his congregation had moved to Canada and would send him money to pay for most of the children's school supplies so that they could attend school. His friend in Canada lost his job last year and hasn't been responding to Jean Marc's attempts to contact him, so the children have been unable to study since last September.

Then, on January 10th, tragedy struck when the earthquake hit Leogane and killed his friend that was paying the rent on the home in which Jean Marc cared for the orphans. Luckily, another member of his church offered him a piece of land to relocate the children. Jean Marc and most of the children have been on this beautiful piece of land for the last six months living in tents. There are no restrooms, electricity or running water. They are dependent on the surrounding community members for their sustenance (which consists of a tent city and some rural farmers.) Times have been so tough that Jean Marc has been forced to give about half of the children that he was caring for before the earthquake to friends and other orphanages. He misses them and hopes to get them back when he is able to take care of them again.

It is easy to see the love that Jean Marc and his wife have for the children under their care, and that love and respect is returned by the children. They also have two young children of their own. His dream is to build a safe place for the children to grow up and learn good things. He also would like to start a school that would be open to the children of the neighboring tent city that can't afford the bus ride into Leogane to attend school. We are working along side Jean Marc to reach these two goals.

Here are Rony and I meeting with Jean Marc to go over his plans for the orphanage/school. Notice the beautiful mountains in the background.

Orphanage #3- Children of Hope (L'enfant de l'espoir)

This is the third orphanage that I visited with Sustain Haiti. It's about a kilometer down a dirt road out in the country between Leogane and Gressier. There are 35 children here altogether plus about that many that have been given to other orphanages because they can't feed them. They have nothing more than a dirt floor inside a tent to sleep on. There are no bathrooms, no electricity, and no running water. But they smile and play and seem happier even though they are living in the worst living conditions of the three orphanages that we visited. The one thing that they have going for them here is that they live in the clean, fresh air surrounded by beauty and plenty of open space to play. Could this be an essential ingredient to a happy childhood?
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Dustin's heart is full.

Janae playing jumprope with the girls.

Stephanie playing "Red Light, Green Light"

Anyone remember how to play "Cat's Cradle?"

When you don't have string to fly your kite, you unravel a rice bag and tie the pieces of string together.

The Sustain Haiti volunteers brought them some pretty cool toys to play with including a mysterious flying disc.

Duck, duck, duck,duck.....Goose!

Jake (not pictured) shared his juggling skills and captivated them with his magic tricks.

Bree teaching them the colors in English.

The toddlers love to be held, but you have to be pretty brave to do this because diapers are a luxury and not a necessity here.

I've felt something special about "L'enfant de l'espoir" orphanage every time that I have visited. When I look in the children's eyes, my heart burns. Their countenances seem to shine to me, their eyes are full of light. Here is where my heart is in Haiti. It's where I long to be when I'm stuck in traffic, bogged down by the filthiness in the city, or overwhelmed by the human suffering that surrounds me. I can't wait to help make a difference in the lives of these children. This is why I came to Haiti.

We have plans underway to help these kids get permanent shelter and a school. Only six of them are attending school right now. Jean Marc (the orphanage director) has a design for a children's home and school that we are going to help him make a reality. See my first post to see some of the sustainable systems that we'll put in place at the school to save money and teach self reliance.