Today is somewhat normal at Brit’s Home, our kids go to church in their Sunday best, then come home and play for a while, eat lunch and go to the park and play all afternoon! I want to thank all of you who have traveled with us on this Journey of Hope, I want to thank our Friends and Family who have never left our side thru this whole tragedy and then our mission! I want to thank all of you who are reading this, you have made the world a little bit better by sharing Brit’s Story and to the 1,000 + Britsionary’s who have traveled to Haiti to Brit’s Home, you have made the world a better place! To our BLB Team in Haiti and in Worcester, MA, you amaze me with your commitment to our children at Brit’s Home! With all my Heart, I want to say Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, you know who you are, you have touched our lives in ways that there are just no words for, I Love You and I will Love you for an Eternity, God Bless all of us as we Continue the Compassion of Britney Gengel in Haiti and the USA!!!

6 Years Ago Today!!!

From Papi LenWhen I woke up this morning I had a funny feeling inside was it the heat Was it our VIP group who has been working so hard and who I could hear outside my door I knew something was up I just needed time figure it out I have a routine in Haiti after 6 years of traveling back and forth and living at Brits Home for the pas... Read More

On Family

We have a lot to be thankful for all the time but this past week was especially great in terms of big things happening and turning out well Pun aside what an incredible day we had on Tuesday September 13 when Blue Ridge Christian Homes from here in Haiti came out to drill a second well on our site One never knows how that is going to g... Read More

Constant and Never-ending Improvement

Len lives his life by the idea of constant and neverending improvement Surely it is this attitude and outlook on life and work that make great things possible great things like building a state of the art antiseismic building in just about two years in an earthquakeravaged country that had barely started to recover itself While the N... Read More

Channeling Social Responsibility In Haiti

Channeling Social Responsibility In Haiti By Rony Camille I was personally asked by Papi Len Gengel and Jonathan LaMare to contribute to this weeks blog post on belikebritorg following my first trip to Brits Home with Team WaterBuffalo As a son of Haitian immigrants it felt surreal being back in the old country knowing where you are... Read More

The Culture Gap

One of the most challenging aspects of my work here in Haiti of our work here in Haiti is navigating what I have previously referred to as the cultural gap that exists between our two very different worlds As someone who considers himself to be a bit of a sociological and anthropological dork in a hopefully endearing way I am constan... Read More

Our Mission in Haiti and the USA

Its Papi Len as Im known at Brits Home thats right its a home now after 35 years open Since our 66 children call it their home we thought we should too No longer will we say the Be Like Brit Orphanage it will be Brits Home for the next generation of Leaders in Haiti that is our Vision for them With that being said I would like to... Read More

The Power of Persistence

This past week on Facebook we introduced you to our friend and employee Davidson Dave Edmond I first met Davidson during our employee Christmas party in 2013 the first that I would attend as an employee of BLB The Edmond Family is a wonderful family and we had employed one of Davidsons sisters Mirlaine as a fulltime caregiver early on... Read More

Through They Eyes of Others

Father John Madden of St Johns Church in Worcester MA is an original member of the Be Like Brit Program Committee and a member of our Board of Directors When it comes to amazing people Fr John ranks right up there with the best of the best It is Father John who gave Britney a blessing before she set off for Haiti back in 2010 Sadly it ... Read More

Summer Days!

Summer at Be Like Brit is in full swing and our kids couldnt be having more fun While we do have some programming in place to keep the children sharp in terms of school including things like English language classes ABCMouse and our literacy program there is still lots of fun to be had The Field of Hope is coming along more and more ev... Read More

On Family, Changes and Love

As I was 30000 feet in the air last Friday to take my 37th trip into Haiti I had a feeling that my week would be a good one Though all of my Britsionary weeks are amazing weeks filled with incredible moments and lots of love this trip was going to be a special one for me Not only was I taking my 37th trip into Haiti which I still cann... Read More

July Reflection

As I sit down to write this it is July 7th 2016 exactly 3 years to the day that I first traveled to Haiti with Be Like Brit It was my first mission trip of any kind and I expected it to impact me Little did I know just how much my life would change through the experiences that I had that week From the additional trips I planned to ... Read More

Kristin Reflects

A little over one year 382 days to be exact Thats how long it had been since my last trip to Haiti I wont lieI was a little bit nervous to go back Would I remember any Creole Would the kids and staff remember me Would it feel like home and family again But my feelings of excitement to go back to Haiti and to the Be L... Read More

Feels Like Home!!!

Two weeks ago we shared with you the work we are undertaking in revising our Mission and our Vision here at Be Like Brit The reason is simple We have grown as an organization in ways that we never could have imagined Literally hundreds and hundreds of people have traveled to Be Like Brit in Haiti to spend a week with u... Read More

A Time for Pause

This past week Madame Love and I both left Haiti to travel back north to Worcester MA both to be able to attend our Golf Tournament hosted by Cyprian Keyes and for a series of very important meetings including a Board Meeting and several days of full Team Be Like Brit planning sessions It is rare for the entirety of Team BLB to be in t... Read More

St. Peter Marian & More!!!

Happy June Its crazy to think that we are more than half way through 2016 and weve got so much more lined up for the rest of the year We were thrilled to host our first Britsionary group of June a fabulous group from St Peter Marian in Worcester who spent the week working alongside our Haitian staff building a home f... Read More

The Breakfast Club - Sort of!

The other night as I was walking out of the office just as the children were finishing up with their own dinner I noticed our social worker Madame Gina sitting down to eat with a group of 10 or so of our children This was a bit unusual as of all of the meal times and events that go on here at BLB and there are many dinner time is the o... Read More

Len at Work

Yes the title of this blog is a painfully corny playonwords to the equally painful 1990 film Men at Work I couldnt help myself and beg of your forgiveness now We have had an overwhelming week here at Be Like Brit starting with the arrival of Len and Cherylann Richie and Kate Mark and Jan Fuller Wendy Perkins from Worcester Academy Patt... Read More

Pride and Patriotism

Growing up in the United States I remember very clearly how much the notion of pride and patriotism in ones country was emphasized Whether it was sitting on the banks of the Saranac River in Plattsburgh NY watching the fireworks commemorate our Independence on July 4 or sitting around the campfire on Lake Champlain with sparklers in ha... Read More

Birthday parties, holiday celebrations, baseball games, family dinners, going to church, family bike rides, learning how to swim, broken bones, tears from bullying and broken hearts, struggles in school, hugs, kisses, I love you's and so much more are just some of the moments that I have shared with Britney, Bernie and Richie. Though we are just starting to create these memories with our 66 children in Haiti, the credit of these moments also belongs to the 50 ladies that I feel blessed to have at BLB every day because they are constantly helping our children. To some, this could be looked at as a job, however, I can personally tell you that these women walk into BLB every day and truly want what is best for our children as if they were their own. Even though we have grown up thousands of miles from one another, we strive for the children to grow in a safe, nurturing environment, to have a strong faith, a sense of self and a great education. That way, they each can grow up to be the best versions of themselves just as I wanted for my own three children. I want to say thank you to our special 50 “moms” in Haiti and to all of the fabulous mothers who are like our 50 ladies,

Happy Mother's Day

Birthday parties holiday celebrations baseball games family dinners going to church family bike rides learning how to swim broken bones tears from bullying and broken hearts struggles in school hugs kisses I love yous and so much more are just some of the moments that I have shared with Britney Bernie and Richie Though we are just star... Read More

Is that really Haiti?

I froze I felt the smile slowly slide off my face I stared at the picture of the beautiful Haitian sunrise in my hand My eyes fell on the colors in the skydeep blue and orange and pink and grayand on the layers of verdurous mountains that seemed unending and on the warm golden sun whose generous rays bathed the entire landscape I k... Read More

Simple Firsts

After an exciting week with our friends from Holy Name Junior and Senior High School in Worcester we are rolling into the last week of April and we cant quite believe it Holy Name sends a group down each year and we love the dynamic that having high school students on hand brings to Be Like Brit Indeed the group worked very hard on the... Read More

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Growth

Its been another busy week here in Haiti and while we often share with you our plans and strategies for sustaining the orphanage and the organization as a whole we dont often talk to you about growth Thats right with as much as we have going on already at Be Like Brit we are always forwardthinking and always examining and planning for ... Read More

Caught in the Rain

It is hard to believe we are a full 10 days into the month of April 2016 already and weve done anything but slow down here at Be Like Brit Having returned later in the week from a trip to the United States working at the Be Like Brit office in Worcester and holding lots of meetings with current and potential partners supporters and don... Read More

Trip to Worcester

After a wonderful Easter holiday the children all finally made their way back to school this past week and we are anxiously awaiting their report cards due sometime this coming week The children truly do love the opportunity to go to school they recognize school as the opportunity and blessing that it is in Haiti the fact that it is a... Read More

Easter Week!

With the children on Easter holiday from school this past week having just wrapped up from taking their quarterly exams for their report cards it was an especially busy and hectic week here at Be Like Brit We also had the pleasure of hosting the Asnuntuck Community College group from Enfield CT and having those extra capable hands on d... Read More