Good evening: A very productive day is about to come to a conclusion, once I finish typing this brief update. Most of it has been spent in discussions with Ron covering all aspects of the Lazarus Project/Village of Hope Inc. We feel good about the items we have tackled and know that the next two Board meetings with be full and very interesting. I took a two hour break to attend the partner coord. meeting with the Dr in charge of our UCS (unite communautaire de sante). Although we are not actively doing anything since the school is closed and we do not yet have the health center it is good to attend to keep abreast of what is going on and it also helps with networking. Today a fellow came representinga an org'n called Mipros who are working in Ganthier in community health. One of their projects is building communal latrines. They will be working in the areas that a lot of our students comes from. I said we would be happy to collaborate in any way we can, and would welcome any health teaching for our students etc. You never know where some of these brief contacts can take you. I have made some donations of drugs and supplies I managed to get my hands on, to the coord. office for their maternity center and other sites. It is good PR for us and shows we are ready to work in collaboration with the Ministry which will stand us in good stead as we move ahead with the health center.

Clovis joined us for lunch and following that had discussions with him about the school..where we are today and future activities. No official word yet on when school will start...still rumored to be April 5.

Faithful readers, that is it for the day..I'm keeping it short and sweet.

Have a good night,
Debbie

Mar 7 & 8 Hi All: Yesterday was a relatively peaceful day. We woke to cloudy skies again but by the late afternoon the sun was shining and there was a cloudless blue sky above. After dropping Wilner off at point of debarkation for the Artibonite Valley buses, I joined the church service at Marie’s Grace Mission church. The minister gave quite a rousing sermon and with the speakers on top of his voice, there was no way anyone would even have a little nap even if they wanted to. Patty Meyer was there as well along with 2 newcomers to Haiti that had accompanied her. They helped ensure that the girls were all settled in their new rooms at the orphanage and that all was in order for them. I am sure they are happy to get back to sleeping in their own beds and have their “space” once again.
But back to Sunday….after a little chat at Marie’s I took the ladies on an excursion to the metal workers shops in Croix des Bouquets. I lucked out in one shop as I got a free gift for bringing in the business to one of the shop owners where two of them bought a number of articles. They sure enjoyed their stroll around.
Once back at Hope House, I tended to some odd jobs but also found time to read a little and watch a video in the evening. I had intended to do some correspondence but the powers that be prevented that as the Internet was down, so I was really “forced” to take some time off.
This morning passed quickly taking care of some paper work and also checking up on the two crews working in the yard….one on the back wall and the other on the depot. I met with the folks in the donated Food for the Poor houses at Santo 2 about rebuilding their brick wall which fell down in the earthquake. I received some discretionary funds to help with earthquake related work, outside of our project and I thought helping this group with their security wall was a good choice. They selected the person to co-ordinate things and went off with the first portion of payment to start getting the necessary materials. I also gave each of them one of the last pieces of plastic sheeting we had available, as I did for several of the neighborhood families that Margaret had befriended.
Before I knew it , the time came to go to collect Ron from the airport. It was the least crazy it has been since it re-opened. I actually found a parking spot pretty close to the exit and just rolled right into it with no hassle at all. Of course I arrived well ahead of the plane’s arrival time but enjoyed reading several chapters of the book I have delved into while I waited.
Ron and I have had a good chat before and after dinner and got some of the items checked off of our lists.
That pretty much brings you up to date. Haven’t heard anything on the news the last two days, so can’t even share that with you.
Until next time I wish you all a fond farewell.Regards,Debbie