A Typical Day of Diversions!

Joan and I are back at HATS Haiti this time together and this time for an extended period. We arrived October 7th and planned to stay 4-5 weeks. We are already into our third week and Karen is of course negotiating an extension.

We are missing our friends and original team of Lily, Al, Gary, Cathy and Carol who have returned home to Canada.

After 7 days we finally have internet again, thanks to a 3G Hotspot connection.

3G Hotspot

We had a wonderful welcome at the orphanage. The kids were genuinely happy to see us and kept calling out Msta Keif, Msta Keif.  There were hugs and cheers all around for Joan and me but also for the rookies on the team. Everyone felt very special and very much at ease.

The banner

 

The welcome

 

Hugs

 

Lily and new friends

 

Cathy, Al and Carol taking it all in

 

Keith welcomed by Germaine

 

Karen has kept us busy and the agenda changes on a daily basis if we are lucky; but more often than not almost hourly.

There is no typical daily routine but Monday will give you a pretty good idea.

We wake up every morning to this beautiful sunrise over the coconut tree. What a wonderful start to our day.

Sunrise

 

At 06:45 I start my commute from the guest house to the big house. The walk can take from 45 seconds to 15 minutes depending on how many kids need noses wiped, how many soccer balls get kicked at me, how many stray toys, school books and shoes I pick up or how many jobs the house mothers have to tell me about like busted screens, broken hinges or empty propane tanks.

I review Ti-Luc’s homework for 30 minutes before all the kids gather at Karen’s house to start their day at school. From there we head off to staff devotions and my plan was to continue making and treating church benches.

Ha.
Didn’t happen!

I was needed at school to take a picture.
Went back to school to try and get a 3G USB internet working.
Someone needed the depot opened.
Mucked with unresponsive printer…unsuccessfully .

Then Karen decided we needed to go to St. Marc for supplies.

We were partially successful.

• Stop 1 – We got a 3G hotspot which is giving us temporary internet.
• Stop 2 – Grocery store for fruit. No fruit but got bread and cheese.
• Stop 3  – Bank lineup too long to get cash for teachers’ payroll.
• Stop 4 – Another grocery store for fruit. No fruit but bought some mops.
• Stop 5 – Topped up truck with diesel.
• Stop 6 – Picked up phone cards – they didn’t work when we got home.
• Stop 7 – Karen visited a teacher who was home from school sick.

We returned to the compound in time for me to do Math tutoring with Moise.

Then a hockey game broke out.

Hockey in Haiti

Ah well, there’s always tomorrow for the benches. More later.

~Keith