Some neat news here and some updates....and some suggestions for giving
I spoke with Sister Fidelis this morning. She and Sister Jo are doing well and were heading up the mountains in Pestel today until we arrive in early November.
For the past couple of years "we" (meaning, a family in our church) have been sponsoring 4 children (Alfred's kids) in Pestel through school. The oldest, Jessica, recently took the national exam as she finished up 6th grade. She passed! Beyond that, she also applied to a specific high school in Port-au-Prince which required her to take another entrance exam. She passed that as well and was accepted into the school! This is a true highlight for us because without the financial support Jessica (and her siblings) would not have continued in school because their father (Alfred) was severely burned on the job, thus disabling him. I've attached a photo of the 4 kids.
There is no high school opportunity in Pestel so those who succeed must then go to the city, which reduces their chances of returning to the rural areas. A high school will need to be started in Pestel at some point. There is a trade school, and we hope for a possible agricultural training center.
With current funds in the account from folks like yourself we will be doing the following:
1. $3555 will go to support 14 teachers throughout Pestel for this school year. That will impact about 300 kids!!
2. We will use money to fix the floor in one of the schoolrooms in the village of Thomas Elie (see photo). This is the same place that we were able to hep with the school benches. The way the floor is currently they have not been able to use it.
3. We will be purchasing several more Chateau Deaus (water catchment system through Dr. John Leininger's organization). We just installed 6 of them. I believe we can set up another 4 ($1000 a piece). The ones we had installed last year are still working quite well.
4. Some money will be going to help with medical vouchers and medical emergency needs
I will offer some specific giving opportunities that Sister Fidelis mentioned. If any of these particularly are items that you would like to support, just let me know:
Copy Machine--any copies have to be done at the nearest city (Jeremie) which is about 3-4 hours away. Teachers have to copy sheets by hand, for example. This would benefit the school primarily. Small fees could be charged to others as a way to provide revenue for the school (i.e. purchase replacement parts etc).
($750) Diagnostic tools and equipment for the new medical clinic in the village in Abriko. This would include some things like chairs, tables
($500) Play therapy in school for post-traumatic stress. Sister Jo is a registered therapist and uses art therapy as a way to bring about healing. Some of the children in the area are from PAP and were traumatized by the earthquake. I think this is a fantastic way to utilize the gifts God has given Sister Jo. She would purchase materials with the funds
($1000) Lease space in town for a sewing school. I believe an Eagle Scouts project in Toledo Ohio was able to secure 17 working sewing machines which should be arriving in Haiti fairly soon. This would provide an important trade for Pestel.
($1000) Lease space in the mountains for a sewing center. The young women would be trained down in town, but they would work up in the mountains. The idea is to produce goods that would be sold in the US. Right now they are planning to work with a parish in Toledo Ohio.
($1000) Support for a classroom. Tuition costs about $50US per child per year. $50 x 20 = $1000
Ben
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