grow haiti’s children april newsletter.pdf · grow haiti’s children ... and lilia santiague...
TRANSCRIPT
March trip to Haiti
Growing Children, Growing Needs
Grow Haiti’s Children
phanage staff and children.
Our next trip will be in ear-
ly October of 2016 and,
hopefully, we will be able
to involve travelers in pro-
jects over the coming sum-
mer months. Anyone inter-
ested in participating
should contact Cathy Olds,
colds@standrewchandler.
com or 480-899-1990, ext.
130, for more information or
to apply.
On Wednesday, March 2 seven
travelers left for Jeremie, Haiti.
Gerry Smith, Lindsey Smith,
Thibault Denamiel, Tevin Mil-
ler, Nik and Henry Helfenbein
and Lilia Santiague spent the
week with the children, playing
soccer, building with Legos,
painting the girls’ fingernails,
visiting the children’s schools,
taking lots of pictures and
measuring the children for
shoes and clothes.
Fr. Gary, the founder, and Mdm. Dilene,
the director, met with our group to dis-
cuss finances and the growing needs of
the children.
Travelers were able to join the children
for Sunday mass at Fr. Garry’s parish
and enjoyed the hospitality of the or-
We have 70 growing children
between the ages of 5 and 19
years old at Our Lady of Perpet-
ual Help Orphanage. Each trip
we take we bring clothing and
shoes. With the shoe collection
from last fall, we still have a
good supply. Clothing, socks,
underwear are often a more dif-
ficult project. To meet the need
for clothing we are initiating a
clothing sponsorship for each
child. Individuals and families
can pledge to shop and provide
play clothes, socks, underwear
and dress clothes for one of the
children. We will provide, sizes
and a current picture of the boy
or girl being sponsored. In Octo-
ber and March we will deliver the
clothes during our semi-annual
trips.
Other needs include, backpacks,
donations for 14 computer tablets
for older students to be used at
school, tuition for a nursing stu-
dent and a cosmetology student.
March Trip 1
Growing Children 1
Travel Reflections 2
How to Get Involved 4
Dining Room Renovations 3
Priorities for Development 3
Fall Fundraiser 4
April 2016 Volume 1, Issue 3
Inside this issue:
Haiti Outreach of St. Andrew the Apostle
Traveler Profiles: Trip Reflections from Lindsey Smith
My Experiences and Reflections On The Spring 2016 Trip To Haiti By: Lindsey Smith
As I boarded an evening flight bound for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and even-
tually Haiti on March 2, 2016 with strangers I would be proud to call friends in only one short week, I had many preconceived notions of what I would
see and experience. Many of these notions proved correct, however I
came away with so much more.
For me it was a trip that opened my eyes to the humanity behind the words
orphan, poor, and third world. I came home with a love of the people I met, a respect for the fortitude of the orphans and the orphanage staff, a
deeper appreciation for the modern conveniences and securities that I en-
joy at home in the United States, and a stronger desire to help better their living situation.
Before embarking on this trip I was told of the tremendous hospitality that
Father Gary, Dilene and the staff and children of the orphanage extend to their guests from St. An-
drew’s. This was indeed true. From the delicious food prepared for us at lunch every day, to the daily hugs, attempts at English, and time and effort the kids and staff put into planning a blow out celebration
at the end of our trip, the people we support in Haiti exemplify hospitality. Every day when we arrived
at the orphanage, we were greeted with swarms of beautiful children wishing us “Bonjour” with hugs, kisses, and hand holding. This is where I began to experience tumultuous emotions. I was touched by
the sincere gestures of kindness and affection of the kids. Yet, I was heart broken because, as I got to
know many of these wonderful kids, I could see that while their basic needs are well met, our visit brought them a novelty that the orphanage staff simply cannot provide, and that is one on one attention
and affection. The staff is truly kind and committed to the children. With a staff of 12 and 70 children
combined at both the boys and girls homes, regular individualized attention simply isn’t realistic. As a mom to my own 10 year old son and 8 year old daughter my heart broke wide open as time after time
one little 8 year old girl named Anne Stassy, who was newer to the orphanage, would come and hold my
hand and hug my leg without any words every day for 20 minutes or longer at a time. One day I even picked her up to hug her, and she very needily wrapped her legs around me and laid her head down
on my shoulder. It was very rewarding to know that each of us who came to visit could provide these kids with more individualized attention. It was also bitter sweet at the same time because unlike our
own kids at home, that one on one experience doesn’t come nearly often enough.
All of this said, these kids really do have a better living situation than many of their counterparts living
in the surrounding area who do not know if they will get to eat every day, go to school, or have shelter
from the elements. While there was a significant language barrier since I don’t speak French or French Creole, the frequent smiles and upbeat attitudes of most of the kids and teenagers conveyed to me that
they too know that what they have at the orphanage is superior in many ways. It’s my hope that many
other parishioners will take a week to travel to meet these great kids personally. I can promise that they will touch each visitors heart in the same way they touched mine. It’s also my hope that everyone
that comes home from their visit will bring with them the same motivation to continue to help these kids
just as I did.
Page 2
Lindsey Smith with a special hair do
the girls provided.
During our regular trips to the orphanage
we assess needs for both the children and
the facilities . Here are some of the short
and long term goals:
Short term goals include:
• Continue working with the Knights of
Columbus to complete the rewiring
project of the boys facility and raising
the electrical standards for a safer facili-
ty. There is a need for battery power
for fans and lights in the bedrooms and
an exhaust fan in the kitchen to remove
carbon monoxide from the wood fires.
• Repair water system in the boys facility,
re-piping the shower area, converting
pvc pipe in high use areas to galvanized
pipes, adding a second water storage
Priorities for Development
Page 3
tank on the roof, repair cistern, install water
pump to move water from cistern to storage
tanks.
Long term goals include:
• Establish a scholarship fund to put our high
school graduates through college, university,
or vocational school.
• Purchase a delivery vehicle to extend bread
sales into the community at large.
There are generous donors for some of the short
term projects. Our hope is that we will be able
to obtain grants and major donations for the larg-
er projects.
Over the past year, work has been done to
renovate the boys dining room. A year
ago, the room was unpainted cinderblock
walls and ceiling. See the picture to the
right. Over this past winter we were able
to have local workers sand and smooth
and paint the walls, floors and ceiling. This
provides a safer and healthier space for
the children to eat.
Other renovation projects are in the planning
stages. With the financial support of the Kights of
Columbus, Paul Hursh and Gerry Smith are head-
ing a committee to fix the electrical system at the
boys dormitory. We also have a donor for reno-
vations to the substandard water system at the
boys dormitory. Anyone interested in infor-
mation on these projects can visit our web site to
view pictures and progress on these projects.
Dining Room Renovations
Dining room after renovations
Dining room before renovations
Non-Profit Status has been granted
to Grow Haiti’s Children!
How You Can Get Involved
Page 4
We Are on the Web at :
www.standrewchandler.com/
haiti-outreach
Vision Statement
We of Grow Hai’s Children, the mission out-
reach of St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Faith
Community to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Or-
phanage join with other members of the body of
Christ in joyful response to the Lord’s words
“Love one another as I have loved you.” In re-
sponding to this Gospel mandate, we choose to
walk in solidarity with the Hai(an people, rec-
ognizing them as family, promo(ng their dignity
and encouraging their self-determina(on.
Therefore, through our presence, collabora(on,
educa(on for jus(ce in Hai( and the United
States and the channeling of resources and tal-
ents, we commit ourselves to empower the Hai-
(an people to realize their full poten(al. Joining
hands and hearts with others whose dream is to
work with the Hai(an people, we con(nue to
collaborate in building a new Hai(, born of
suffering, courage, hope, love, compassion, and
jus(ce -- a new Hai( standing as a dignified
member of the global community.
Pray for the children of Hai� and donate what you are able. Get to know the
children and share the story of this ministry.
Assist with our various fundraising events. Join one of the working commi�ees.
• The Travel commi�ee coordinates the applica�ons, planning, prepara�ons
and travel arrangements for our twice a year trips.
• The Special Projects commi�ee plans and implements projects at the orphan-
age that improve the living condi�ons of the children. This commi#ee also
works on administra�ve projects like establishing and maintaining our non-
profit status.
• The Children’s commi�ee looks to the needs of the children and keeps track
of their health and growth to share with parishioners. They also collect items
to meet these needs and arrange for ac�vi�es for travelers to do with the
children on our trips.
• The Fundraising commi�ee helps raise funds for opera�ng expenses, special
projects and travel expenses. This commi#ee plans and implements two
events per year and cooperates with fundraising efforts of various ministries
at St. Andrew.
• The Communica�ons commi�ee publishes quarterly newsle#ers, annual re-
ports and maintains the new Grow Hai(’s Children web site.
Contact Cathy Olds for more informa�on or to get involved in this very special
outreach ministry.
[email protected]/480-899-1990, ext. 130
Grow Haiti’s Children
3450 W Ray Rd.
Chandler, AZ 85226
Phone: 480-899-1990
Fax: 480-917-8475
E-mail: [email protected]
SAVE THE DATE!
We will hold our annual
fundraising dinner on
Saturday, October 22, 2016.
We are hoping Fr. Garry will be with
us for the weekend.