The main reason for this blog...

...is to let our HATS family and friends know that we are doing okay.  Chikungunya is causing a lot of sickness in this area.  HATS school compound  and our main orphanage/administration compound have both been hit.

We have had, and still have, many teachers and students down with it.  We have had two of our four security agents, three of our five housemothers, our laundry lady, and myself ill with it.  It hits some harder than others, some recover more quickly than others, some think they are okay and end up in bed again.  I got sick on Tuesday, three days in bed, Friday was up a little and today, Sunday, I am okay.  I still suffer from pain in my joints and don't have my full energy back, but I am fine.  One consolation  is "the evidence suggest that once you get it and recover, once your immune system clears the virus, you are immune for life. "  Hopefully this is fact.

What is this 'Chikungunya' that is causing so many people to be ill?   It is a virus, transmitted to humans through an infected mosquito.  It has been reported in Africa and Asia for years.  It apparently arrived in the Caribbean in December as it was then that WHO reported it in Saint Martin.  As of May 6, 2014 it was reported in 14 countries in the Caribbean, including Haiti.

We have been operating at the school with not enough teachers and every day missing a lot of our students.  Our final exams for this year start tomorrow morning.  Hopefully our students will be there to write exams and hopefully we will have enough teachers to supervise exams.

I am certainly hoping that our own children here at HATS do not go under with it.  They, too, will be heading over to the school for exams tomorrow.  Only Djemima will not be writing exams this week.  She will have regular classes as she will be writing the government exam for grade six next week  in Verrettes.

This morning it was obvious in church Chikungunya was causing problems in the area.  Our worship leader is recovering from this illness and could not lead worship.  Yesterday I asked Leica and Djemima to do so.  One of our students in the sponsoring program for years, and a regular church attendee, Clemanta, came here yesterday to prepare to lead worship with the two girls.  Too, the three girls sang something special in church this morning for today which is "Fet Timoun" in Haiti.  I did not have the strength to prepare a message for today either.  I told them there was a message in every song we sang in our worship service and it was enough.  We were missing a lot of regular church attendees this morning, but still had a fair number out to church. I asked how many people there had been affected by the virus in some way - been sick themselves or some family member.  Every hand in the church was raised.  I noticed one of our housemothers did not appear to be well during the service, and seemed to go downhill during the service.  Afterwards I sent her home very quickly on a moto taxi.  I just now had a call from our housemother in Ti Riviere letting me know she will not be able to come to work tomorrow due to the virus.

Leica, Clemanta and Djemima leading worship in church this morning

If you do not hear from me for some time, rest assured we are doing okay.  The next couple of weeks will be very busy ones - even if no more sickness hits HATS.  Hopefully and prayerfully it will not continue here.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for three of our children who all have birthdays in June - Dieunel, Jofky and      Ti Fi.  Dieunel's birthday was last week, the others this week.  The three birthday children were eager to have the 'ti fet'.

Three brothers carrying things outside for a b-day party

Jonathan saying Happy Birthday to Jofky

Anne wishing the kids happy birthday

Djemima who is a 'gem' with helping TiFi wishing her a happy b-day

Waiting patiently for cookies, cake and juice

Today all the children were told to spend time studying to prepare for tomorrow.  This is not easy for Ti Luc as this mama cannot help him due to not knowing French.  Instead I gave him some words to write on his blackboard to check his spelling.

Ti Luc practicing for his spelling exam

After they had spent some time 'supposedly' studying for the exam tomorrow they came to have library time.  I love seeing the children pour through books, in both English and French.  Often they come and ask lots of questions, which shows they are truly interested.

Library hour for those who have already studied for exams tomorrow

Thank you everyone for continuing to walk with us even though you are not here at the mission site with us.  I want you to know how important you are to those of us in the HATS family who are here onsite.  We need you.  We appreciate you. Together we will continue to make a difference in the lives of the children in this valley area.

IT    IS    ALL    ABOUT    THE    CHILDREN

Karen

Thank you Team Newfoundland

Wow.  Another great team has come and gone.  All members on this team were from Newfoundland - Springdale (my home town) and one lady from Grand Falls.

They worked very hard before they came and also while they were here.  Under the leadership of Emma O'Rouke they did a fantastic amount of fundraising in hopes of 'helping' HATS to purchase a new generator.  Well they did nmore than 'help', they raised enough money to buy a generator and to have someone come out from PAP to  install it.  The old one has served us well for more than ten years, but is very tired and worn out as well as too small to do the job that is necessary.  While Emma and assistant group leder, Don, were here one year ago somehow they received some incorrect information as to the cost of a new generator for HATS.  Emma decided they should try to raise the sum they had been told.  That figure, however, was less than a third of what was actually needed and of what, with accurate information on the cost, they actually did raise for HATS.  With an awesome team effort and with the great support of the people in Newfoundland they actually raised more than $22,000 for a new generator for the mission.

Good things coming up

While here, despite the intense heat and humidity, they continued to work hard doing anything and everything that needed to be done.  A lot of small jobs that were very important to Karen were taken care of.
Photos of the team members:

Trusty team leader ready to start her day in the sun

Two 'grown' men on two little 'timeout' chairs

Emma - a second mama to Ti Luc

Jenny - Karen's energizer Bunny ready for church before leaving before airport

Lacee with two sunburned knees. Ready for church and then airport

Joanne ready to leave with the team

Jerry and Ti Luc. Arm wresting and soccer buddies

Todd - Newly hired security agent

Don helping move a huge sack of rice

Alycia - not doing so well on her last morning

Me and me wonderful brudder - on the roof of the mission house

Thank you for all the work you did team.  Thank you for all the time spent with the children.  (I know that was a difficult task. LOL)  Thank you for all the support and encouragement that you gave me.  I appreciate it more than I am able to put into words.  You left yesterday.  You are missed today.  Already looking forward to your return next year.

Blessings to all of you.   Karen

Hi everyone, Jenny and Alycia here writing about our last day at HATS

Last night was a special night. The team, along with Karen, sat in our newly painted and freshly cleaned (by us) gallery and enjoyed hot tea (minus the salt that we added the night before, mistaking it for sugar!). We also got the pleasure of listening to some stories told by Karen which we all look forward to so much each night. Listening to her tales of joy, of belief… belief that anything and everything is possible even when the whole world is against you. With God by your side, anything is possible. Tales of triumph, of despair, of hope, and of sadness – she has so much to share and we are so eager to listen! We sure will miss our nightly gatherings.

After this, we all proceeded to our cots as we were pretty tired from another wonderful hard day of work at HATS. As we settled, some stayed awake while some were off to dreamland within minutes. The sleeping beauties were quite the harmony! First Don, then Joanne, and then Emma and it went on, and on, and on!

Bright and early, the beautiful sunrise above the horizon awakened each of us… our last full day here had begun. We knew this would be a special one – special with Karen, special with each other, and special with those precious children. We began our morning with our healthy breakfast which included the most delicious fresh fruit and fresh bread from the bakery. After breakfast, we helped the two older boys, Moise and JJ, wash Mama Karen’s truck. Thanks to Lacee and her early morning thinking, we used freshly picked limes as a natural deodorizer to remove the fishy odor from a spill inside the truck.

With a freshly cleaned truck along with Karen and Richard (the head security here at HATS), our team was off for another Haitian adventure to Ti Riviere to visit an old palace (198 years old) that has 365 doors! On the drive to the palace, we witnessed real everyday Haitian life. It is difficult to describe in words the emotional impact of seeing this first hand from the pan of Karen’s truck; however, we will try our best. We saw children and their families bathing in the dirty river, while some others were doing laundry. We also saw many locals working, whether it be in the rice fields or working in local stores (don’t picture a walmart, more like run down sheds). Despite the poverty and poor living conditions, the view we encountered was breathtaking. Haiti has the most amazing natural beauty with its rolling mountains and rich plantation views – what a treat!! On the way back to HATS, we stopped at one of the local side stores where we were treated to a nice cold pop to cool off on this very hot day. We also visited a local “pharmacy”. Unlike our pharmacies, this was a VERY tiny store, with not much medication at all – not quite like a visit to Lawtons.

Group photo at the palace of 365 doors

Enjoying the view of the valley

Looking to buy cold drinks on a hot day

After we returned and ate our delicious lunch, the boys headed to the school to set up the benches for tomorrow’s church service. Meanwhile, the girls decided to go play with the children. This turned out to be a disaster for Jenny! Moise, who is eleven, had no experience with doing hair; however, without Jenny realizing, he decided to wrap her hair around a small comb into a big knot!! The housemother came running with a huge knife ready to cut the comb out after realizing what Moise had done. Joanne panicked and sent Jenny running for Emma’s help! One hour and plenty of oil and patience later, Emma finally extracted the comb. Jenny was SO relieved, but had to medicate with Tylenol for the pain in her head. We haven’t laid eyes on poor Moise since!!

A horrible thing had been done to Jenny's hair

Karen specifically told Jenny, Alycia, Lacee, and Joanne to go take two children each by the hand and bring them up to the house for a treat. Upon returning, we could not figure out why the door was locked.  Surprise! Water balloons came flying off of the roof and the water fight had begun! The kids and adults alike had so much fun!

Surprise attack from the roof

Don was very wet

Josie says - Got you Emma

Fun water fight

After supper, it was time for us to pile in Karen’s truck for the last time to head to Radio Creole at Luckner’s for our one and only debut of Newfie music. We rocked! Although Lacee was disappointed that she wasn’t allowed to whistle on the radio, she still managed to make a good beat on the homemade drum. During our radio session, Luckner announced that our team had brought some medication along with us to help relieve the symptoms of Chikengunya. Within minutes, people were lining up at the door and Jenny distributed the medication – it almost looked like trick-or-treating! We ended our evening by presenting Luckner with a monetary gift and some treats. He is a Haitian role model who, as most of you know, works very closely with Karen. He was so thankful for the efforts of our team and our supporters – you guys!

Fun evening at Radio Creole with Luckner

Jenny distributing tylenol while at Radio Creole to help those with Chikungunya.

We are closing in on our last night at HATS with so many mixed emotions as we miss our families at home but are not quite ready to leave our Haitian family. The experiences from this past week have been life-changing and will be instilled within us forever. We have made so many wonderful memories and long-lasting friendships. Karen, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you. And to the children, your laughter, acceptance, and unconditional love will never be forgotten. We will return next year, whether you want us to or not! (Haha)

May 30, 2014 - Todd & Jerry

Today was another eventful day at HATS. A few of us gathered at the security tower at 6am as the sun was rising. It overlooks the canal and provides an excellent vantage point to appreciate the reality of how many Haitians begin their day. Women can be seen walking with items such as sacks of rice, vegetables, wooden tables, water, etc on their heads as they go to market to sell items. Men can be seen walking towards the nearby bridge with a hoe over their shoulders and a machete in their hand. They wait by the bridge hoping someone will pick them up and give them a days work on the rice fields. Sadly most are seen returning by 7am indicating today wasn't a day they will be working.

Returning home. No work means no money today.

Occasionally you will also see children heading to the nearby corner where they get a bun of bread and coffee which can be the morning sustenance for the child's whole family as they start their day.

Little girl next door having picked up a bread & coffee for family

From the tower one can appreciate the positive impact HATS is making as one sees what life is like outside the compound and after being here just a few days we know the quality of life the children experience inside is so much better.

Inside HATS. Outside HATS.

Before breakfast we had devotions. The kids had no classes today and the three older ones took a trip to the beach with the HATS  school. The younger ones hung out with us.

Jenny, Alycia, Joanne, Lacee, and Emma organized a fun morning with all the kids. It was Spa Day at HATS and the kids loved it! The ladies had 3 stations with different activities; Jenny and Alycia cut, filed, and then applied polish to their nails. Jerry wanted his feet done also but was declined! He will have to wait until he gets back home. Joanne and Lacee helped the kids make bracelets which was a hit! Emma was busy overseeing kids putting individual designs on their t-shirts by themselves.

A special day was held for the children

Making bracelets

Individual designing of t-shirts

We were most impressed with Ti Luc's t-shirt. For those of you who haven't met Ti Luc, he is an 8 year boy who lives with Karen in her home and is a very bright, cheerful, humorous, intelligent young boy. T-Luc has cerebral palsy and when just an infant Karen was told he would never see, never hear, never walk, never talk and his quality of life would be extremely poor. Our visit has shown us they were wrong! T-Luc ambulates without assistance, loves to play soccer and has quite the kick especially when playing with Gerry. He attends school and does very well, and is a very social young boy. He doesn't have full function of his hands but has developed the skills necessary to use his feet for many things including writing and using his toys. Today he put a design on his t shirt by using the marker between his toes. He is a remarkable boy! He is evidence how hard work and lots of love can really make a child have opportunities others thought were impossible.

Ti Luc putting a design on his shirt

As many of you know, our team worked hard and many of you supported us as we raised funds for a new generator at HATS. It is definitely needed to help with the daily operation of the orphanage. Jerry, Don, and Todd were busy assessing the daily need for power by itemizing lights, appliances, etc. This will help Karen decide which generator to purchase. She is targeting this fall to have the generator on site.

Don & Jerry working on electricity things

In the afternoon all hands committed to painting Karen’s gallery/front porch. Fortunately she already had all the needed supplies. After a few coats it looked great and we had lots of fun!

Energizer Bunny & Lacee

Joanne also went to the roof and swept off the concrete where it was 40C.  Joanne also helped Karen in the office today as she finalized her payroll.

Payroll time

Emma helped Ti Luc with his homework.

Speech Therapy time again

We (Todd and Gerry) are becoming quite concerned that blog viewers might be having great expectations of us when we return home when seeing all the hard work we are capable of but let it be known, we will need a rest when we return! Ha

The ladies in the group also presented the house mothers with flowers today to show thanks for their hard work. The children here live in 2 buildings... One for boys and another for girls. Each is staffed with house mothers who are hired people from the community who cook and care for them but Karen is there real mama and will always be!

The afternoon ended with everyone playing games with the kids on the roof of the main HATS building. The kids had so much fun!

London Bridge on the roof top

Sadly, the team are now also starting to realize that we will soon be leaving. We all wish we were staying longer. This experience has been one of friendship, love, an appreciation for those less fortunate, and most of all for the precious work being done at HATS! We are so gracious for the opportunity to be here and help Karen, an amazing soul, and we are eager to share our experiences with you when we return home.

Hi everyone,

Can you believe it is Day 5 already- that means we, Emma and Joanne, are up again as your bloggers.

Our Wednesday evening was spent with a lovely walk along the canal. We enjoyed the local sights including a cock fight, stray cows and bathers in the canal. We were also the entertainment of some local youth who followed us along the path calling " Blanc,Blanc,Blanc" I guess they don't see a precession such as ours often. We said our good nights to all the children when we returned. I love to see how the children connect more each day to the team. They love to be silly, play and just want to spend time with everyone. Although we do not speak the language we are connecting.

Adult only early evening walk

The team gathered in the parlor to listen to Karen tell stories of her life in Haiti. How God has guided her. Everyone sat silently in awe- hanging on every word until it was time to say good night. Bedtime proved to be an adventure. There was a few visitors in the girls dressing room from the arachnoid family. When yelling and screaming at them did not make them go away we called in the big guns....the boys with bug spray!! Emma then found a visitor on her pillow and as her screams echoes into the darkness, she realized this guy was from the Plastic family. "JERRY!!!!!!" When the team settled in our tents we were treated to a beautiful light show- compliments of mother nature. The rest of the nights entertainment came from sounds of creatures and a creole rendition of Auld Lang Syne .

Morning came early with a 5:30 am rise (except for Joanne and Lacee who need a wake up call) The team that were awake walked down to the security tower to watch men, women and children gather at the bridge hoping to find a days work. A little boy walked by with a piece of bread in his hand. Very sad to us all with our bellies full of fresh fruit and porridge.

Today is a special day here at HATS. Today is Mama (aka Karen) and our own Todd Young's birthday!!! It is surely going to be a special one!!! A prayer was shared with all the children at the house and we all hurried off for devotions today at the school. We set up the school benches (which Karen most times does without 16 extra hands) and enjoyed devotions with all the students.  The high school grade 8 students joined in devotions as they did not have a class. Then all secondary students joined with the younger grades for the raising of the flag. (Karen began to question why grades 7 & 9 were called out of classes for the flag raising)- but because tomorrow is a school holiday she did not look into it any further).  After the flag was raised with the National Anthem being sang all the students then turned to Karen and sang Happy birthday in English with a second round of singing for Todd!!! What a way to start a birthday!

Luckner decided to allow all the students to find Karen to give her a hug and a kiss before they entered their classes. The little ones were pushing to get to her and were knocking her off her feet.

Karen being given birthday hugs by students

The team then had the opportunity to take a picture with the Generator (Delco as the locals would call it) As we walked in the room the generator sputtered but did not cut out as we said an extra prayer that nothing would go wrong on Karen's birthday. As most of you are aware we have been fundraising for a new generator system for the compound and school. This picture will show a comparison of the old and the new. An eye opener that's for sure.

The awesome generator fundraiser team

After a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and omelets we returned to the school for recess time with the primary children- today is an extra special recess visit because Joanne, Jerry, Lacee, Todd and Jenny got to meet their sponsor children. The team was filled with such pride, meeting these beautiful children we will be providing an education and brighter future for. Meeting them in person makes it that much more special. We would like everyone at home to seriously think about sponsoring a child. It costs less then a Tim's a day.

Jenny with her sponsored student Guerrier, Milensky PS 3

Joanne with her student Turenne, Enickens PS2

Todd with sponsored student Jean Baptist, Franzley PS2

Jerry with his student St. Vil, Benadel PS 2

Alexandre, Terry Gr 3 with his sponsor Lacee

Back to the compound and to our duties. The three Musketeers worked on some electrical issues as the girls worked in and outside the house doing chores. Some of the team accompanied Karen on errands in Liancourt while others enjoyed a lovely lunch of cornmeal lasagne.

The preparations for tonight's festivities continued. Choir practice for our evening at Radio Creole, flower making and a Fleet Mac sing along accompanied by Lacee's whistling made for a fun afternoon. Emma called an important team meeting. Some could not attend as they were "tied up" at the HATS hair salon. We did have a quorum so the meeting was called to order. Todd was called to the bench as the witnesses followed. Mama Karen approached carrying a precious package wrapped in pink taffeta and ribbons. Imagine the look of surprise on Todd's face as Karen placed the package in his arms and told him that this was his birthday surprise. Arrangements had been made for Todd to sponsor Sandra  (the youngest girl in the orphanage)for school starting in September. He had asked if he could but Karen told him she was already sponsored.  Sandra had taken quite a shine to Todd since meeting him at the compound gate on the first day. (Karen says Dickie better get back
 here.) Todd is a papa to two boys in Newfoundland and now has his first little girl!!!!!

After some rest time and some speech therapy with Ti Luc we headed out for some birthday fun time with the children and the guests of honor. Singing, sweets, chalking and a game of soccer for the older boys was the order of the day. Some of the team assisted Karen in choosing new items of clothing for some of the older children who will be participating in a  school outing on Friday. Preparations for the evening meal had started, Joanne helped the kitchen staff by grinding onions and garlic with the mortar and pestle- a lot of fun, but not as easy as it looks.....I wonder if I can buy one at Walmart when I get back??

Speech therapy help for Ti Luc

Mother Nature treated us to another show of thunder, lightning and torrential rain. Because of this our trip to Radio Creole has been postponed. No one really wanted a ride in Karen's tap tap tonight!! Sorry Deschapelles you will have to wait for our debut!! Not to fear our evening did not end there. Party plans had to be changed but with some quick thinking we had the parlor decorated, party hats and noise makers were distributed. Even the kitchen ladies, Germaine and Roselene, were ready for the surprise. Alicia and Emma went to pick up the cake they had secretly made while others visited the market. (sneaky girls) Karen and Todd were called into the room and were given paper flower crowns to wear and a bouquet of paper flowers for Karen. Karen's face lit up the room brighter then the candles on the cake- Todd's face didn't look too bad either. Cake was served and enjoyed by everyone. Ti Luc went back for seconds. Cake is not a treat they have often.

The group surprised Karen & Todd with a birthday celebration

As the festivities began to wind down, we decided to start this blog- 3 hours later we are ending this- not because we had a lot to say but because we lost the first draft....it is bouncing around somewhere in cyberspace. We had to start over and most people went to bed without it being finished.  Good night all and God bless.