Madame Joan is Back Home at HATS
Well, well, well, look who is back at HATS. It’s Madame Joan. Her ankle is all healed and she is...
Joan and Keith Wight have been involved with HATS since 2011. Keith is a retired airline pilot and previously volunteered with missions in Belize, Zimbabwe, Panama and Honduras in various capacities. Joan is a retired music teacher and uses her abilities to assist with the office work and tutor the children at HATS. Since retiring they have committed to 4 months per year in Haiti. They live in Montreal and have 3 daughters, 2 son-in-laws and 2 grandsons and 2 grand-daughters.
Well, well, well, look who is back at HATS. It’s Madame Joan. Her ankle is all healed and she is...
Some blogs are better with more pictures than words – because “It’s all about the kids!” ~Keith Waiting for the...
*Note this post has been delayed from March 11th due to the website redesign. Enjoy! Motos I love the sounds,...
KEITH Spectator sports are great. I love watching hockey and golf. They each draw big crowds of like-minded fans to...
Oh my DEAR!! What a day!! We went to the beach with 18 kids and only 3 adults to supervise!!...
When we are home in Canada people often ask what a typical day’s schedule looks like for me at HATS....
Early morning Saturday walks are the best. It’s a chance to get off the compound and do a longer stroll...
It’s Wednesday, January 31st and time to return to HATS, Haiti, Unfortunately I am flying solo this trip. Joan broke...
This has been a pretty quiet and tame week at HATS – relatively speaking of course. Last week we had...
Here we are once again. After a fabulous summer or travelling, walking, visiting family, motor cycling, golfing, spoiling grandchildren and...
Last Saturday dawned wet and soggy. Not the start we wanted for the PVG invitational golf tournament. The PVG has...
If you have read any of the blogs of visiting teams at HATS, two things get mentioned often. The children...
The drive to and from HATS and St. Marc is never ordinary and certainly never routine. It should be. We...
Last month I was assigned a new responsibility. (Apparently Karen and Luckner didn’t think I was busy enough.) So, I...
Last Friday Joan did a blog on the kids and Carnival at school. Since then, a few people have asked,...
If you’ve ever considered sponsorship, now is the time to do it. Your donation truly does make a difference!
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.
Such important work done with LOVE and commitment!
Culture shock for this Canadian team at first, but a ride through busy, vibrant streets proved terrifically interesting; busy markets, vendors selling exotic fruits, clothing and shoes, used tires and rusty metal… and then the gorgeous countryside: banana plants, mangoes, cows and goats and pigs and dogs, the Golfe de La Gonave by our side. Rice patties indicated we were close to our home for the next week. We were greeted by Magalie, a house mother, with hugs for all and, of course, the children themselves, so gorgeous and endearing. A beautiful meal was followed by a sharing of impressions: there is a lot of poverty but so much potential and hope. We are already in love with Haiti.
I spent a week in Haiti at HATS in November 2017 and it was a wonderful experience. Karen is an amazing woman and is doing amazing work. She is dedicated to the children in her care and is changing lives. I would love the opportunity to visit again and help out where I can.
I have absolutely loved the Haitian people and Haiti the three times I have been there. I go to bless them, only to be blessed myself!
I am going to try to explain why a trip to Haiti is life-changing. No-one can be thrown into a group of people who have the common purpose of doing something for someone less fortunate and not be changed in many ways. As with those I joined in each of the first four trips I made to HATS, my respect and affection for each of the team members grows daily. To those who wonder if your donations and prayers are actually making a difference, I will answer you in this way…there are about 300 children in front of me right now and some or many of them God will use in a great way to change the future face of Haiti and its people. YOU have helped make that possible — AND THAT, FOLKS — is a fact!
Thank you Karen for everything you do, all the hard work and dedication that you put into this place, all of the work behind the scenes. Thank you for putting up with all the craziness that we bring when we come to your house for the week, just thank you times a million and one for everything Karen. I can write about my week until I am blue in the face (maybe not write that long but if you know me I can definitely talk for that long), and can sing about kit kat bars until my voice gives out, but I cannot even begin to try and articulate in song, dance, or other random art forms how thankful and blessed I am to have been given this experience not only once but twice! Thank you – thank you – thank you – thank you!!!!!!!
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.
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.
We have so enjoyed our time here. The work we have done has been fulfilling, the fellowship has been memorable and our hearts are forever impacted by the sweet, sweet children. A piece of HATS will always stay with each of us and who knows, maybe a few will return!
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