Sorting the Packing, Who’s Who, Goats on a Moto

December 19, 2011 Posted by Dana Kayal

I have many wonderful family and friends that brought me bags and boxes of new and used clothes, school supplies and toys as soon as I said I was coming here, plus I made the kids purge their clothes and Alexa purged her toys. My basement was overrun for months. As I packed up the 8 bags to come here I remember thinking it would be much easier on the other end to unpack it. No wrapping, stuffing, weighing, etc. Just unpack it. Easy Peasy. Again I was wrong. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this wrong before, lol. This afternoon I unpacked 6 of the 8 bags. Two were food and supplies Mom requested (paintbrushes, nuts, chocolate, gifts for staff, protein powder, etc) so that was unpacked the first day.

I got all 6 unpacked and thought, ok, yup, that’s good, it’s all spread out and organized into groups (clothes for adults, boys, girls, shoes, toys, household goods, etc). Now what?

This is what 6 suitcases of donations looks like (plus a bench full of household things):

Donations – Girls Clothes

School Supplies

Donations – toys & shoes

So as I’m feeling all accomplished and ‘finished’ mom tells me the room I’ve unpacked everything into is used for morning devotions Mon-Fri at 7:30am. Today is Sunday. Oh boy! Mom left on a sugar cane run so I’m in here blogging as I rest up for the marathon of looking through everything with the 18 orphanage kids in mind trying to find things that can be wrapped for them for Christmas. This may sound easier than it is. I’ve played with them, I’ve hugged them, I’ve traded high fives, fist pumps and beaming smiles. I still have no idea who most of them are! The babies are pretty easy. There’s 4 of them – Jonathan who is teeny tiny and a boy (yes, my astuteness is astounding), Anne who looks at me terrified so I know who she is, Sandra who lights up any room she’s in and Karena who has a brilliant smile and loves to high five. I know who 4 others are with no confusion; Vladimy is 15 and can be seen wearing Jared’s Nike’s and kicking a Soccer Ball, 10yo Mirlande who has been blinded in one eye, always has shiny things in her hair and sticks to Alexa like super glue, Ti Fi who has mental challenges and looks unique and Ti Luc, who is my brother. I’ll post more about that another day. That still leaves 10… The rest of the beautiful dark chocolate children have the same hair. The boys are all shaved and the girls all have the same sticking up pigtails – there is probably a proper black hair term although since Ronel doesn’t go for that look I have no idea what it is. They move quickly and many are similar sized. I figure out who they are one day and then they have the gall to change clothes the next day and then I’m lost again feeling like an idiot. My ‘meeting sponsor child’* is here on site, an adorable little angel named Leica and she looks A LOT like 2 other girls. Today I studied the hair band colors in the front of her hair so I know that if it’s the adorable girl with the big smile AND the bright citrus colored hair band it’s Leica. If her hair band falls out I’m in big trouble!

Meeting Sponsor child: the gals who attend my Epicure meetings pay $2 at the door each time and it goes down here to HATS and helps towards paying the monthly support fees for Leica.

Leica

Jared and Judel. Jared loves this photo because not much of him is in it

Jared & Judel

Ronel & Dieunel. Ronel’s new Facebook profile photo.

Ronel’s new FB Profile Photo

It’s very embarrassing and frustrating to not know everyone when I see them. At church today we were leaving and I had a little boy by the hand and was heading over to the compound with him, him somewhat reluctantly. I figured he just didn’t want the fun singing to be over… then Alexa looked at me and asked me why I was taking home a random child. WHAT??? Oy Vey! I look back and he’s looking at me with these huge eyes and his siblings are trailing along behind wondering what to do…. They have no idea what I’m saying as I try to apologize and probably don’t know what blushing is although I hope by the shock on my face they realize I’m not actually loco (well I may be loco, although I’m not a loco child stealer)!

Many of you have asked what you can do. You can donate. I know my Epicure friends all got nice fat bonus chq’s for November (Yay Epicure) and probably need a tax deduction! You can make a one time donation or you can take on the annual support of a child. More info on the costs are on the website www.hatshaiti.org. One of my local consultants, Denise Krahn, sponsors 2 children down here and I had the privilege to bring down gifts for her two sponsor children and I hope to meet them to deliver those personally. Maybe your local consultants would love to be involved in supporting a Sponsor child as part of the meeting fees.

We still have 2 goats. Only 11 of the original 13 have gone home and we still have A LOT more to find and distribute (we’re up to 42 goats purchased by donors). In between other duties today I moved, untangled, fed, watered, stepped in poop (more x than I can count), moved again (every time the sun changed position) and took a ton of goat photos. Tonight we had goats going home on Moto (Motorbike). That’s apparently not unusual around here!

Goat on Moto

FYI – many of you are wondering about the perm. It came out OK! The photo in Blog #3, Crawling and Flying Things, Milking a goat, The Babies, of Mom and Jonathan, was the finished result.

~Dana

About Dana Kayal

Dana Kayal has been supporting the work of HATS since 2000. A successful entrepreneur, Dana regularly promotes the organization and raises funds for Hands Across the Sea in her role as a Director with Epicure. Dana lives in Kelowna, BC with her three children and her chickens.

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Testimonials

After years of thinking about it and months of planning for it, it seems strange that our time in Haiti is over. We have been asked by a few if it was like we expected. Well, no. I’m not sure what we expected, but our minds could not have fathomed what we have experienced, and we can hardly believe that our 3 month stay has come to an end. HATS really became home away from home for us. We knew we would enjoy getting to know and spending time with the kids but we had no idea how difficult it would be to leave them. They sneak in and steal your heart without you even knowing it. We have left a piece of our hearts in Haiti and can’t wait for the day when we can return.

Mike & Nicki White
HATS Visitors
A huge thank you to aunt Karen, who always seems to be doing something with her children and the HATS mission. The only time she takes for herself is long enough to spread some almond butter on a banana that she eats on the run. Thank you so much for all your hard work and unwavering dedication. Thank you for being an inspiration to me and so many others. We love you and our Haitian family very much. The longer I spend at HATS, the bigger piece of my heart remains. Take care of yourself and our kiddies until we see each other again.

Jocelyn Barnes
HATS Visitor
I had anticipated that I would enjoy spending time getting to know the children and being a part of Karen’s daily life in Haiti but I had not anticipated that it would capture my heart like it did. I will miss spending time with the children and Karen but I am hopeful that I’ll be able to see them all again in the not too distant future.

Sara-May Cardy
HATS Visitor
It’s my hope that I manage to touch their hearts in some small way, the way that they have touched mine – in a major way.

Cherie MacDonald
HATS Visitor
This week has been amazing – one of the best weeks of my life thus far, hands down. I can’t really think of any other experience in my life that can even come close to comparing to this. Though my visit here was short (too short), it has been incredibly eye-opening, and life changing. I will never forget the people I have met here, or the things I’ve gotten to experience! Most of all, I would like to say how remarkable it is to see first-hand the amazing work God is doing here. I am behind this ministry 100%, and will continue to support it. I am so, so blessed to have been given the opportunity to come here, and I am REALLY not looking forward to saying goodbye to the children tonight. My heart sinks just thinking about it. There’s no doubt that they’ve had a bigger impact on my life than I’ve had on theirs. I will be leaving a big piece of my heart with these people and this country. God bless.

Jess Buckle
HATS Visitor
Amazing organization! Had the pleasure of visiting twice, and can’t wait to go back again someday. God is doing some wonderful things at HATS!

Jess MacDonald
HATS Visitor
The time has passed so quickly. We know what we’ve done this week is important and makes a difference here at Hands Across the Sea. But it’s easy in Haiti to feel that anything we do here is simply a drop in the ocean. So much need on so many different levels: political, organizational, educational, social, spiritual…But we remind ourselves that each individual life is of infinite value so changing the life of one child and one family is worth the effort.

Liette Wilson
HATS Visitor, Supporter & Board Member
We’ve made a difference, I believe. Big stuff, little stuff; it all contributed to the greater good and that big picture: keeping HATS a surviving and thriving, safe haven for the children of Deschapelles, Haiti. And oh my, what children they are. As expected, it was tough to leave. There were tears, whispers, hugs and I’ll miss you’s. I learned that it gets easier (only a bit) for those who’ve done this a few times. As Bob says “I’m part of the furniture now. I don’t say ‘goodbye’, I say ‘see you later’.” Maybe that’s how you cope with leaving…you return. Once, five times, 10 times. However many. Guaranteed you’ll leave a different person than when you came in.

Aimee Feaver
HATS Visitor
I am so thankful to God for allowing me the opportunity to be here and experience his splendor. This day will forever be in my heart and mind. The scripture that resonates with me today is “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matt 25:40. I am so happy I decided to come to HATS, this experience will stay with me for my life time.

Crystal Young
HATS Visitor
Personally, this is my first time here. I’ve never done a mission trip of any sort before and I’ve certainly never been anywhere this hot before. I keep seeing things that are different from what I’m used to, and hearing about things even more unfamiliar to me. One of the most surprising things to meis how quickly I’ve grown to love all the people here. Everyone here is great, and the team is wonderful too. Watching everyone support each other warms my heart almost as much as the sun warms my skin. I’ve learned a lot from this experience, and I know that this trip has already had a profound impact on my life.

Matthew Sketchley
HATS Visitor