photos - various - part 2

We had a surprise at Coram Deo yesterday morning! A mission team from Kentucky filled up Sherri's truck with food and clothing and made a delivery for us, Sherri and Dorothy.

The team came from different states and different churches but when they get to Haiti they get to work and are a whirlwind of activity. We were thankful for their visit.

Our depot was getting low of supplies and the food donations they brought us helped to fill the depot up again :)

The women in the churches back in the U.S. made dresses for the girls made out of pillow cases.

Some of them were handed out to the girls.

photos - various - part 2

The UN has been doing community work projects in several areas of the country. This project was to install lighting in the park.

This Haitian worker was installing the light and the solar panel to power it. Solar technology is great for Haiti. There are lots of sunny days here and solar power is a whole lot more reliable than the electric company power :)

There was also work being done on the median along Airport Rd. The dirt and grass was being used and sand/gravel being put down instead. You can see in the distance the white area where the sand has been laid. I think they are going to put down paving stones or cement instead. It makes the median a lot easier to maintain.

The Haitian government is proud that 903,000 children are attending schools this year for free. Pray that in the future all children in Haiti can have a free education.

Rudy was a young man who was in our yard after the earthquake. He had cancer and was airlifted to the U.S for cancer treatment. He survived and recovered and he looks cured. Only time will tell though. The family is very thankful for the help they received and in gratitude they came to the house the other day with a gift..... a duck. I couldn't refuse it because it wouldn't be the polite thing to do. Now the children have a new pet and my yard is turning into a barnyard :). The duck's name is Aflac, named after the duck in the insurance commercials on tv.

photos - various - part 2

Benson is serious with shuffling the deck. He needs these types of activities as he can't walk very good with the long cast.

Tomorrow is the visit to the orthopedic doctor! Hopefully they will give him a shorter cast.

Our chickens have been reproducing and the chicks are getting bigger. They are not shy and now are starting to walk into the open kitchen door sometimes looking for food scraps :)

This was also their first time taking a tour through my bedroom. It was funny to watch. Johnny told me not to worry. We will start eating the bigger chickens soon.

Ysmaille is a friend of Coram Deo. Recently was his birthday and he invited us to his birthday party.

photos - various - part 2

Jansika and her mother have lived here for quite awhile. Her family has moved out to the countryside where they will receive support from other family members.

This is our studious "Doggy". We watched a video the other night called "Marley and Me". I think we should name him Marley.

As part of organizing the pharmacy living room we bought a few metal storage cupboards. Valerio Canez is a fun place to shop :)

It is never a problem to find willing hands to bring the stuff in.

It was fun watching everyone manoeuvering the cabinets down the hallway.

photos - various - part 2

These cows look a lot different than the cows here in Haiti.

Walking by the outside pens I felt like somebody was watching me and turned around to see these cows watching me. Cows are a curious sort of creature :)

This enclosure looks like it could be for a hockey rink or maybe the frame for a large swimming pool but it is none of these items. This is the "poop pool", where all the cows waste goes into. I took this picture to show the people here. They were shocked that the pool was so large :)

I also had the opportunity to visit my nephew John in his special needs class at Clarke Road Secondary School. They have an excellent special needs program. One of the best tools to teach children is through music and John loves music. He learns by it. It is amazing how fast he picks up songs. Here he is with his drum. He loves to beat the drum.

For a special 1/2 hour each Friday they have a sing-a-long session. A musician comes in to play music with and for the children.

photos - various - part 2

Another boy who lives on the rooftops.

This family has pitched a tent onto a roof.

Notice that near these children someone is growing plants adding some color to the broken, cement landscape.

Plastic roofs and shelters are a common site. A house is waiting to be rebuilt. The only thing is place is a water reservoir. with a steel cover.

Yonel did have a nice house. Manu is standing on the balcony. Pray that Yonel's house gets rebuilt. Yonel told us last week that the Red Cross told him that construction work would commence once again on the canal. I'll be sure to take photos to see if it really was necessary to destroy Yonel's home. The Red Cross did tell him that they would fix his house again. Pray this is true.

photos - various - part 2

Jerry is a famous graffiti artist. He has portraits of life in Haiti spray-painted in different areas of the city. This photo shows a horse sitting on a toilet and crying. The image fits this picture. All the garbage you see is beside a dumpster. Pray that the government can come up with a garbage removal plan.

We drove through another area on the outskirts of the city and it was a different scenery. We followed behind this open panel truck that had people sitting inside it.

The road we headed down was in the Croix -des-Missions area near the Barbancourt rum factory. In the distance you can see a refuge camp. A man was sifting sand into a wheelbarrow.

A few boys were playing marbles near a tin shack.

The area was green! And a lot cleaner than the downtown area of Port-au-Prince. Lots of bananas were growing.

photos - various - part 2

Just one more adjustment.....

... and it is complete... a Canadian Turkey Burner turned into a Haitian Propane Rechaud!

This is our ancient unenvironmental style of charcoal cooking. You can see that we have 3 charcoal burners: a small, medium and large.

The new burners are in place. Now we have to put money aside to fill up the propane tanks:)

The last couple of weeks before school opens is one of the busiest times of the year. It is good that we a lot of eager hands willing to help out in covering the school books that the students use during the year. The plastic covering improves the useful life of the books, otherwise they deteriorate quicker in the handling by the students.

photos - various - part 2

Here is the lake that forms by the Delmas 31 bridge. The water can't drain fast enough away.

As a driver you don't want to drive too close to the side of the road because that is usually where there might be holes in the road from open drains. All the drivers here are taking precautions and keeping away from the side of the road.

This is a side street near our house. Water, water everywhere!

Kimosabee is tough though and he can plow through anything!

The children love playing in the rain. Here on of the children is going for a swim in our swimming pool :)

photos - various - part 2

This is a view of the city from Delmas 5 to the mountains in the distance.

This is a close up shot of one of the many tent/tarp camps across the city.

It is difficult to find places to rebuild. One enterprising individual built a temporary wooden home on top of a rooftop. This photo really shows that building space is at a premium here in Port-au-Prince!

Looking down Delmas you can see the sea in the distance and the cargo ships that come to the port to off-load their containers.

This is a view of one of the main roads in Haiti; Airport Rd. In the distance is the newly-built "pedestrian overpass". This new construction will save lives and injuries.