We were so blessed to have so many Britsionarys visit us and volunteer in Haiti this summer! In the last month or so, we had a few Britsionarys come to Brit's Home to do some special projects with our children! Devan ran a sports program, Taylor did an empowerment and leadership program, and Lindsay taught yoga. The 3 of them brought so much value and truly made a difference. They also got along so well, they decided to make a team name - Team Mind, Body, and Soul! Keep reading to hear from each of them and see what they have been up to in Haiti!

Body: Meet Devan

This summer, I am implementing a sports development program for the children. Growing up, athletics have been a crucial part of my life, providing opportunities I never even dreamed of and shaping me into the person I am today. I am a firm believer that every child should have the right to play and compete in athletics, as the pillars of teamwork, motivation, discipline, and confidence open up so many more doors. Each weekday morning we’ve been running “Devan’s Bootcamp,” where we do a variety of activities, exercises and games to promote a healthy lifestyle, while teaching the importance of trying your best and working hard, all while having lots of fun. These exercises are promoting muscle development, movement control through running/jumping/activities, and building endurance.

The afternoons are used as an environment to help nudge kids outside of their comfort zones, where we focus on team sports, building on to familiar ones while also widening the scope to new sports. From introduction to tennis, Whiffleball, and American Football, to continuing volleyball, basketball and soccer, it has been incredible to see the increase in BLB athletes over this past month. Kids from all ages are now starting to find their niche in new sports, where their passion and curiosity is apparent through their ear-to-ear grins. In just this month alone, I have seen tremendous growth in the children’s strength, fitness, and eagerness to participate in sports!

But the most inspiring progress I have witnessed is with the girls. In my three years down here, this is the first time I have seen them playing in organized sports (and demanding they get put on the teams too!). I want them to see they can do anything the boys do and that it is more than okay to be strong! Sports have empowered me to believe in and follow my dreams, no matter what others tell me, and I hope to show the children this is possible for them. We’ve already seen more girls playing in afternoon soccer, going a bit harder in relays and competitions (and beating the boys more times than not), and learning to appreciate their muscles they are building!

Coming in with so many ideas and directions to take the children, I immediately learned what “It’s Haiti” genuinely means: You just have to assess, go with the flow, and improvise, because this will end up leading you to incredible progress. Because sometimes the best discoveries are the surprises that pop up along the way.

One of the best surprises I’ve had is sharing this incredible experience with two other amazing people. Taylor and I have spent every hour since Day 1 figuring out Haiti together. Hearing her goals of empowering girls, creating allies and encouraging them to break out of their comfort zones on the plane ride down, I couldn’t help but smile at her ideas! What I didn’t see coming was how what she was teaching in the classroom would be translated to the field and court. I believe that through using Taylor’s Girl Power curriculum and sports everyday, we have jointly helped empower the girls to recognize “there’s nothing wrong with being strong!” Add in a surprise visit from our new amazing friend, Lindsay, she was able to help provide another platform for our children to thrive in. Having Lindsay teach yoga was the cherry on top to tie all three of our works together. Emphasizing mindfulness, body control, and gratitude, Lindsay helped introduce the children and staff to the importance of being present and building confidence through self-love. It was amazing to build relationships with Lindsay during morning boot camps, seeing the children carry her and Taylor’s breathing techniques to other aspects of the day, and just seeing the children radiating genuine joy!

Leaving Boston in July, I never could have imagined the impact, connections, and memories I would make in Haiti. I never could have imagined the progress of these children in such a short time, the excitement they would radiate to others. But most importantly, I never could have imagined how three nearly strangers could come together, as if it was meant to be, to form this amazing Mind, Body & Soul connection. Stay tuned for BLB’s Mind, Body & Soul reunion, coming to Grand Goave soon!

Mind: Meet Taylor

For my summer project, I am working with the children on identifying emotions, ways of showing feelings, and resolving conflicts. Back at home in Boston I am a school psychologist, and when I first proposed the idea of a long term project for BLB, my project centered around the teenage girls and female empowerment, leadership, and self esteem. However, when I arrived to BLB, I met with Mysterway, BLB’s psychologist, and Gina, BLB’s social worker, and felt it was beneficial to meet with all children. After going through my toolbox (a.k.a hockey bag full of supplies), I knew I could begin my female empowerment project as well as meet with small groups of children that needed extra support in resolving conflict, managing stress, and identifying emotions.

I think I can echo Devan’s point with regard to “going with the flow” and sometimes having to shrug my shoulders with a smile and say to myself “It’s Haiti.” When I first arrived to Haiti, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the direction I wanted to go in with teaching these children. A lot of my lessons had turned into customized board games, JENGA, and BINGO to make each topic motivating and fun for each group. I think it is safe to say that several of my lessons did not go as planned, but seeing the children capture the message in the lesson and become excited to show me their “bunny breathing” or “cowabunga breathing” in their free time was an amazing feeling and had me looking forward to the next class!

On Thursdays I taught coping skills to all students grouped by age for 30 minutes. Lessons varied for the younger and older kiddos as the sessions went on. With the younger groups, I focused a lot of time on progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing. Of course, we made it fun by pretending to be an animal stretching, or adding an animal sound at the end of each deep breathing exercise. For the older kids, deep breathing was used while counting 1-10, progressive muscle relaxation was used from head to toe, and grounding with the 5 senses was used through nature walks around the field. I still can’t believe how perfect Lindsay’s yoga project lined up with our coping skill Thursdays! When Lindsay arrived to BLB and started her work with the children, we both realized how our projects for the kids had the same goal of mind-body awareness and living in the present moment. I felt extremely grateful to see Lindsay here with her positive spirit promoting relaxation and breathing techniques in such a fun and joyful way for the kids. She really was the icing on the cake and I learned so much from her!

What has been most surprising is the female empowerment group. Luckily, a girls teen group was already created prior to my trip, so Madame Gina was kind enough to let me take over her meetings. These girls are absolutely incredible. BLB’s mission statement centers around raising the generations of leaders in Haiti and my goal was to impact unlocking the potential in these young girls! They have amazing hopes and dreams, support one another, and communicate openly. They really encompassed what I was trying to instill in them during my time here. Together, they are allies, and individually, they are an ally to each other. Our activities have focused on qualities that they believe represent an ally, and their chosen qualities were enlightening and mature. With Devan at BLB teaching sports and empowering all of the children to take a chance and try new things, the teen girls were unstoppable! The girls are more excited to get out there out there with the boys playing soccer, volleyball, and basketball! These girls are going out to the field asking to play against the boys and are really showing off their athletic abilities! Devan was also kind enough to stop by our female empowerment class to praise the girls for taking chances and proving themselves out on the field! I can't stress enough how strong, positive, and supportive she is and how much of an role-model she is for these girls!

Coming to Haiti, I never thought that I would develop such strong friendships as much as I have with Devan and Lindsay. The memories we have made in Haiti are extraordinary and I could not have asked for a better way to start a friendship than with the unconditional love and support surrounding us at Brit's home. We each have our story, but the one common goal of making an impact on these children formed a powerful bond between us that we WILL continue as a trio of Mind, Body, and Soul!

Soul: Meet Lindsay

“Crisscross. Apple sauce. Breathe in through my nose,” “namaste,” “OMMMMM” were just a few of the many yoga chants you would hear between the hours of 9am and 12pm at Be like Brit during the kids morning camp session last week. As a children’s yoga teacher, I understand and have seen firsthand the profound benefits that practicing yoga can have on children. Despite the common tendency to associate yoga with enhancing physical strength and flexibility, the benefits of yoga go far beyond these physical components. Yoga refines balance and coordination, develops focus and concentration, boosts self-esteem and confidence, strengthens the mind and body connection, and values respect and community.

While children’s yoga and adult yoga share the same benefits, the way it is presented and taught to children is very different (and in my opinion more fun). For our younger yogis at Be like Brit (4yrs-8yrs) we barked our way through downward-facing dog pose, let out a loud “meow” in cat pose and sang playful songs on how to use our breath (see above). For our older yogis, we moved through sun salutations, more advanced poses and incorporating longer grounding moments of silence to focus on our breath.

With that, I had the absolute pleasure of collaborating with long-term Britionary’s Devan and Taylor. Before I go any further, these two girls are the real deal and to be able to share this experience together will be something I am forever grateful for.

Devan’s focus has been on sports development and Taylor is a child psychologist who has been working with the children on identifying emotions and understanding the importance of allies/supporting one another. As the week went on, Devan, Taylor and I started to pick up on how our individual projects/goals started to not only overlap with one another, but more importantly translate into each others area of focus and planned activities with the kids. Whether the children were out on the field playing sports with Devan, inside creating colorful Best Quality Bracelets with Taylor or taking silent moments of gratitude with me, all three of us were conveying lessons in team work, self-expression, positive thinking, gratitude and mind-body awareness.

The way our lessons meshed together and supported one another really could not have been planned (or in our case, unplanned) any better. My biggest take-away from the week was the mutual importance myself, Taylor and Devan had on lessons of empowerment and inclusion. I tried to instill these values through through moments of gratitude, having fun with partner and group yoga poses and explaining meaning of Namaste (showing each other the same honor and respect that we show ourselves because we are all connected). Devan was empowering the girls on the field to go outside of their comfort zone by giving sports a try while simultaneously creating a safe space for both the girls and boys to play TOGETHER. Taylor’s groups opened up big lines of communication and discussion on the importance not only going after what their hopes and dreams are, but supporting EACH OTHER along the way.

On my last night in Haiti, Taylor, Devan and I realized that between the three of us we truly united as BLB’s Mind, Body & Soul connection. The girls not only welcomed me with open arms from the moment I stepped in BLB, but they reminded me how these kind of experience form authentic, raw and strong bonds that many people would not understand. We made a pack (which I am taking very seriously) to come back to Haiti together, join forces and continue to plant the seeds of Mind, Body & Soul connection in efforts to support Be Like Brit’s mission to raise the next generation of leaders in Haiti.