Home Again

Dianne and I arrived back in the US late Friday evening, after a full week in Haiti. During that time, we were both able to spend time at our schools, which seem to be doing very well. The students were out of school for a week after Hurricane Matthew. They are now trickling back. This year, St. Joseph's expects about 500 students, and St. Phillippe and St. Jacques expects about 300 students. Both schools will run through the 10th grade this year. This is the second year for the 10th grade at St. Joseph's. Unfortunately, the  leadership decided not to expand to the 11th grade because of the extra cost involved with adding another grade. Perhaps we can do that in 2017-18. There are 12 students in the 10th grade, one of whom has been in our school since she started as a 3 year old. The community completed the additional school building for the 9th and 10th grades over the summer break.

We were able to add two more computers to the school's computer lab thanks to the skills of Ed Fair at Christ Church and the generosity of those donating the computers. The Haiti curriculum requires a computer lab for 10th grade.  We are so blessed to be able to provide this for the students. 

The leadership in Jasmin, Nicholas, and St. Joseph's School chose 28 families to receive direct aid from Christ Church to help them recover from the impact of Hurricane Matthew. These families suffered the most, including loss of their homes, livestock, and gardens. They each received about $125 US. They did not know they were receiving this money at the meeting, but only thought they were coming to discuss what could be done. They were overwhelmed and very grateful for the help. These were all people we have come to know and love through our clinics over the past several years. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this effort. 

Stay tuned for the dates for the 2017 trips. Terry