I Promise

I have so many things I want to blog about.

*Amazing people I met in Cazale.
*Adorable kids.
*Spending time with the most beautiful baby ever and then finding out he lost his fight with severe malnutrition one day after I left Haiti.

I don't seem to have enough hours in my day right now. A lot of that has to do with my five crazy kids and the fun intestinal bug I came home with. I'm tired. I PROMISE to blog a lot more soon! I promise. Really.

So to hold you all off for now~ here are a few more pictures of cute kids.
That always helps, right?

Backpacks, School Sponsorship, and Shoes!

I had so many wonderful friends that donated backpacks to kids in the School Sponsorship Program through RHFH in Cazale. I also had people I haven't even ever met donate and some even donated money so we could purchase the rest of the backpacks and some shoes for kids who still needed them so they could go to school this year. All of your generosity made such a huge difference in the lives of these kids and I was able to get some pictures of a lot of the kids getting their backpacks and shoes while in Haiti last week. So fun!

The kids all had to bring in their report cards to make sure they are passing their classes and can continue in the School Sponsorship program. 10 is the highest score they can get in each class.

Licia's husband, Enoch, is in charge of the program and each child has to come to meet with him to check grades and then to make sure they have all the things they need to start school.

Many people donated school supplies to help the children and Enoch collected all the things each child needs and then put them into their new backpack. Some children chose their backpacks and others had theirs chosen for them. They all were thrilled! :)

SO many great backpacks were donated!

The girls loved the pink ones.

This is one of the backpacks that was purchased in Haiti thanks to money that was donated.

The girls are required to have black shoes or tennis shoes for school. This is often an expense that families just can't afford. The money that was donated allowed these children to be able to go to school again this year.

These smaller backpacks were also purchased in Haiti with the money that was donated and are for the younger kindergarten students. Aren't they cute?

I was surprised how many older boys are still in younger grades.

A lot of the boys haven't had the opportunity to go to school until now. Because of the School Sponsorship Program, they are in school and even though they might only be in 4th or 5th grade right now, they have so many possibilities for their future because they are getting an education. Who knows what these boys might become someday???

So much hope.

So much happiness.

So many possibilities.

All because they were given the gift of an education.

Education will hopefully put an end to the cycle of poverty in many of these children's lives.

Someday they will have the knowledge and skills to have a job that will provide for their own families.

They might become the doctors, nurses, teachers, and business owners that will help their community to grow and become all that it can be.

They will be future leaders.

Future parents.

The future of their country.

Thank you for helping them!
I wish you all could have seen their smiling faces. It's not as common in Haiti to smile in pictures. They think it's kind of funny to show your teeth in photos...but I can guarantee you that they were so happy to have their new school items to start a new year and there were many smiles.

There are still some children that do not have sponsors. Sadly, if they don't get a sponsor they won't be able to go to school next year. It costs $250 to cover all the costs for school for the entire year. Can you help one of these children get the education they so desperately need? You can contact Licia at licia@realhopeforhaiti.org if you can. You will even get a few updates about your student throughout the year. You could make a true difference in the future of a child.
How amazing is that???

Why I Love Cazale

I'm home from a wonderful week in Cazale. I'll be posting more soon after I get settled back in with my family, but here is a brief overview of our busy week...

*Met with many local artisans and interviewed and photographed them so I can share their stories. I'm continuously in awe of the Haitian people and their strength and resilience. I'm excited to be able to share more about them.

*Taught a photography class to
a fun and eager group.

*Worked with some women on jewelry and scarves
that we will have available for sale soon.

*Taught a paralyzed man from Cazale how to paint and was SO thrilled to watch his creativity bloom and see his amazing ideas of how to show the beauty of his country.

*When I wasn't busy with AFH things I was able to help pass out donated backpacks to kids in the community, play chemist a bit in the clinic, and care for an adorable 4 pound 6 month old baby who is struggling for his little life. Cazale is a place with so much poverty but also so much beauty, hope, and possibility.

*I wish everyone could see the love and dedication of the staff at RHFH and the insane amount of work they put into saving children in the Rescue Center and people in the medical clinic. They also do SO much to make life better for people in the mountains of Haiti. I honestly don't know how they do all that they do day after day. Amazing.

*I took a LOT of photos. A lot.
So for now~ here are a few of the reasons
why I love Cazale...

Here in Cazale

After a pretty sleepless night in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, I'm in Cazale and SO happy to be back. Unpacked some of the our supplies and lots of backpacks that were donated to help school sponsorship kids in Cazale, played with kids for a long time this afternoon in the Rescue Center, and then went to a community development meeting in town to talk about a photography class I'll be teaching tomorrow and some art ideas for the future. It will be a busy, but very fun week. Hoping to squeeze in as much kid time as possible in between all the other excitement.

I was able to see some of the ladies I worked with to make bracelets with in April and it was a very joyous reunion. Nice to know they missed me as much as I've missed them. I'm so excited about some other things we'll be working on this week and some ideas we have for the future. How incredible to be able to earn a much needed income through art and creativity.

Trying to upload a few of the cute kids I saw today.
Many more to come.
Goodnight from Cazale.

Haiti Here I Come

This is where I will be posting at next week from Haiti.
I can't even wait to get to the beautiful kids in the Rescue Center and hug and kiss and hold them. I'll be too busy to do this a lot....but believe me, I will give up sleep to spend time with those kids. :)

The week will be spent working with the artisans in Cazale, spending time with the women we taught classes to in April and working on new ideas with them, and teaching a photography class to people who work in the Rescue Center and Clinic. I'm SO excited about the possibilities of the new art co-op in Cazale and what it could mean for people who are trying to provide for their families. We will also be exploring some other possibilities that currently are just dreams. Trying to dream BIG! :)

Your prayers for health, safety, and enormous amounts of energy so that everything can get done in a short amount of time are greatly appreciated!

I Need YOU

We have started accepting items from local artists in the Cazale area to sell in the States. We want to sell these items to broaden the market for these local artists so they can make enough to provide for themselves and their families. We will also be teaching some classes in the future to people in Cazale that need to learn a skill to earn an income. Our hope is that by providing more jobs in the area, there will be fewer starving children.

SO....here is why I need YOU to help. I'm hoping that you all can give some opinions on what items you like the most and what you would buy or what you think would sell in the U.S.
I will put numbers by the items, and if you can just leave a short post in the comments section about what you like/dislike or maybe even what you think could be different about the item so you would want to purchase it...we would appreciate it SO much!

We will be selling the items online in the future and through home sales (think tupperware sale, but you are helping feed kids and families!) and the items will be priced inexpensively, but fairly for the artisans to earn a living off of. Please leave any other questions or comments you might have as well. We are excited about the possibilities for these artists and for the families and children that will benefit from them! Thank you! :)

(*a few pictures didn't show up and I had to repost them. This caused a bit of disarray in the numbering, so I numbered the rope and little bird nests as the ones that didn't show up. Sorry it got so confusing.)

5. Rope.
Yes. rope. Everyone needs rope, right? ;)

13. I am totally in love with these little bird nests. Does anyone else love West Elm? Makes me think of something rustic and chic they would hang in a bedroom in their catalog.
Anyways, these are used in Haiti to raise little birds in and bring chicks, etc. to market. We think they would make the perfect little outdoor bird nests to hang in trees.

1. wooden bell with the Haitian Proverb "No one listens to the cry of the poor or the sound of a wooden bell" carved into it.

2. Common Haitian toy car made from a bottle and tin cans. I'm not sure this would be a popular seller, but I think possibly some people who visit Haiti regularly would enjoy owning one of these?

3. Again, not a huge seller...but kinda cute, aye? A homemade "guitar."

4. Painted Oil Cans. These are common light sources in Haiti.

6. Small baskets woven from plastic strips from containers that come in at the ports in Port Au Prince.

7. Bags made from the plastic strips.

8. Tall/round bag made from woven plants. I'm not sure if this size/shape would be popular in the states. What do you think?

9. Larger round woven bag.

10. Round woven bags.

11. Hand woven sun hat.

12. 3 hand woven sun hats.

14. Funky Pink Hat.
Not sure this one would sell.
Not terribly practical, but maybe fun for kids?

15. Haiti Hat

16. Hand woven door mat.

17. Swirly blue woven sun hat.

18. Me~ modeling the crazy pink hat. :0)

19. Large woven basket.
These are used for carrying items to market, etc. on a daily basis. We think if they were "finished" a bit more on the top they would be perfect for children's toys, books, etc.

20. Large woven basket.

21. Different style large woven basket.

22. Woven hand bag.
These bags are used for day to day in Haiti also, and we are looking into some options for dying the grasses that are used to make some smaller/colorful bags.

23. Woven Messenger bag.

24. 3 woven bags.

25. Large woven baskets.

Thank you SO much for your ideas and opinions. Artists For Hope, Real Hope For Haiti, and the people of Cazale and the surrounding areas appreciate them more than you could even know!