by Jonathan LaMare
If we didn't know by all of the "Back to School" photos of our friends and family on Facebook, we would certainly know it by the commotion and activity here at Be Like Brit in Haiti that the Back to School season is ongoing and upcoming! While our Mission of Hope International students started last week, we were busy preparing the group of students who attend St. Francis of Assisi to begin tomorrow, September 7, 2015. After a weekend meeting at the school, we've learned that the beginning of the school year will be pushed back by another week to allow parents and families a bit more time to prepare. Most likely, this is related to the financial ability (or inability) to purchase all of the required materials, uniforms, and supplies for the school year. We've seen this strategy before - last year as a matter of government policy - and so while it is slightly inconvenient to learn today that 30+ children won't be starting school tomorrow as planned, it's certainly nothing catastrophic!
As many of you perhaps saw on Facebook, this past weekend, we hosted a celebration of sorts here at Be Like Brit. As a way to celebrate the end of summer and in an effort and attempt to be more integrated and present in the community around us, we hosted an event at the orphanage, inviting more than 40 of the neighborhood children in for a day filled with fun, food, and laughter! Of course, it wouldn't be a Fabulous Friday without our weekly Talent and Variety Show, and we challenged the children of Be Like Brit to include their neighbors in this weekly event!
We were so proud of our children for not only stepping up to welcome their guests, but also for the pride in which they welcomed them to their home and showed them where they lived, explaining things we do on a daily basis, making room for them at one of our nine dining room tables, and truly demonstrating what we believe it is to be selfless and giving!
Our children assembled gift bags for the children from the neighborhood, putting together a grab bag of sorts, including inside of it coloring books, notebooks, pencils, crayons, a few toys, some candy, and even a small amount of money (enough to buy a lollipop)! Our children were perhaps as excite to give these as those who were receiving them, and it warmed our hearts to see our children take such pride in paying their blessings and good fortune forward, without evidence of or incidence of jealousy or selfishness! It was great to see so many familiar faces from our Britsionary work sites, too! Those little darlings who know our Britsionarys and who often wait outside our gates for a chance to come along on one of our regular outings, be it to the beach or the park, etc., were welcomed into our home and a great time was had by all! We appreciate the support for this program and know that our neighbors do, too!
We have been busy preparing for the arrival of our latest Britsionary Group, who have already named themselves Team Small but Mighty. Their name comes from the fact that they are a relatively small group - only 6! While we traditionally have groups in the numbers of 10 and 12, we decided that this group could help us in returning to job sites from before our days of building a new home, when we were fixing existing structures without a complete rebuild. Many of these homes need improvements to become more comfortable and more secure, and so while we are small in numbers this week, our work will have an equal impact and be equally important! We look forward to helping numerous families this week, and we hope that you all follow along for updates!
We are excited to have our friend Rosie back as the Team Leader or this Britsionary group, and also excited to welcome our friend Kristin here as our Medical Britsionary. Kristin has been to Be Like Brit several times before, and we know that she and our own nurse Madona will have a very productive week working together on behalf of the health of the children and staff at Be Like Brit!
Our Annual 5K Walk is happening this coming weekend on Saturday! I am excited to be flying up to the USA later this week so that I can be a part of the event, and spend some much needed time at the Operations Center working with our Development Team and getting to participate in one of our Board meetings. We all agree that it is so very important for the entire organization to be on the same page, and visits from Haiti to the USA are just as important as visits from the USA to Haiti. We were thrilled last week when our Kitchen Manager Marie Leslie was able to visit the Operations Center in Worcester!!! This was her first trip to the USA and we were so happy that she got a chance to see all the work it takes to make all that we do at BLB in Haiti possible! I can't wait to be there, too!
I'm also excited that while I am in the USA, I will have the opportunity to visit my hometown of Plattsburgh, NY for a few days! While there, I will be presenting at SUNY Plattsburgh, through the Alumni in the Classroom Experience program! I will be sharing with a public audience my experiences working in Haiti and sharing with them the great work that is happening here at Be Like Brit, too! What a great opportunity to share with undergraduate students and the local community! I'm so grateful for the chance to spend some time with my former colleagues at SUNY and hope the event is a great success!
We hope all of our friends in the USA have a wonderful Holiday weekend! Think of us while we go to work Monday morning!!! As always, we thank you for reading, and for helping us help the children of Haiti at Be Like Brit!!!
