Executive Director Returns Back To Haiti

So today was the big day. Gina Duncan returns back to Haiti after having been gone for the past 5 months! She will be back for a couple of weeks to see her family and children and get some work done. The doctors says that she cannot be stressed out, so let's hope she can rest more than she works when she is back. I was one of the first people to see her up in Kenscoff since I am there doing reports with the children. She looks a lot better than before and she is able to move around on her own, so that is really good news. I will continue to pray for her speedy recovery and fulfillment in her heart and mind.

Since yesterday I have been showing an adoptive parent around Kenscoff. It was her first time meeting her adoptive children in Haiti and it was quite a day. She didn't know what to expect really and was super anxious. The children responded quite well to her and everything went awesome. I got to tell her all about her adoptive children, their likes/dislikes and their personalities. It was a really great time. I love it when adoptive parents visit. It gives me a better sense of who they are and what kind of home environment the children will be going to when they leave Haiti.

It has been cold in Kenscoff, like normal, but the children always keeps me warm with endless hugs! I am super lucky to be able to be with them!

Art work today! We are doing Chinese New Years art! Yay!

Tearful Goodbye

I got to Kenscoff yesterday afternoon and was happily greeted by an adoptive parent and adoptive grandmother. They were finally bringing their baby girl home this week. I was so excited to meet them and was so grateful that I could say goodbye to the little one. When she saw me, which was in the dark with a flash light, since we did not have any electricity, she immediately reached out her hand for me to hold her. She recognized my voice in the dark, how amazing! I held her little body and started to have a Creole conversation with her. The adoptive mother had placed a head lamp on her little head and it was the cutest thing ever! We talked and play a little before we all headed up to Lucien's house for dinner. She was so tired, but was a trooper. We played and played and it was just amazing how verbal she was with everyone. She sat in my lap for most of the time and we sang and danced the night away. I am going to miss that little girl so much! I am very happy that she is going to such a loving and caring family!

This morning at 5:30am, I heard a knock at my door. I opened the door and there was the adoptive mother and the little girl in her arms. She reached out her arms to me and gave me the biggest hug ever. I told her that she was going to be a good little girl and go on the airplane with mommy. She looked at me and smiled and said "L'avion. (airplane). Mama. Au revoir Haiti. (Goodbye Haiti)."

She gave me a kiss and waved her little hands while saying "Au revoir Orly. (Goodbye Lori)" I couldn't help but tear up. She is a really special one!

Have a safe trip little one! I'll see you again one day! 

Solar Radiation Storm Blackouts

So yesterday, due to Solar Radiation Storms, most of Haiti had blackouts. The Lamardelle orphanage was not exception. Our generators took a giant electric shock and stopped working all together. I was in my room yesterday and the lights kept on flickering, which was normal some times, but then all of a sudden the fans started to turn wayyyyy faster than it does normally, I never knew it could turn that fast. It looked like it was going to spin out of control and fly off the ceilings! I was looking at it and thought, oh no, the current must be too high or something. So I un-plugged my outlets, just in case. I did not want anything to be damaged. I lit my candle and waited for a little bit. And sure enough! The power went out, all of the power went out, the whole zone!!!! There was a giant panic of screams and then yelling of dismay! We tried to restart the generator and then nothing! It wasn't working! People were freaking out! So I quickly got out there and distributed all of my various flashlights and candles for the children's rooms. Everyone used their phones and we quickly fed all of the kids and put them into bed! It was great actually, because everyone HAD to go to bed early, including ME! haha, well not super early, but earlier than usual! 

This morning, we woke up to no electricity and no water at all! It was going to be like this at least for today. The electrician was supposedly coming to fix the things today! In the mean time, thanks to Tzu Chi Foundation for donating 20 solar powered lamps. This is coming in handy, especially in this blackout situation like today. So I climbed up to the roof and laid out all the lamps to be charged. We needed to charge them in the day time and then use it in the night time. The results were great! They are now providing environmental friendly light for all the orphanage! Thank you so much Tzu Chi!

The generator is still not fixed. There was a part that was completely fried so we have to get new parts tomorrow! Hopefully it will get fixed soon. I was really lucky that none of my electronics took a shock last night, but many of the machines in the office weren't so lucky! 

The earth is telling us all a message. We all need to purify our minds and hearts and respect mother earth. She is all we have, we must take care of her! 

Let us all pray for a peaceful society and no more disasters in the world!

Tzu Chi Media Crew Documentary

Today the Tzu Chi crew came to the Lamardelle orphanage to visit me! The camera crew came as well, because they are actually going to document what I do at the orphanage! They will be filming everything I do and also the children and staff. I was super stoked that I get to share what I do here in Haiti with everyone all over the world. This documentary will also shine a light into international adoption work and also what orphanages really need in Haiti. I am so grateful for the Tzu Chi Media Crew in dedicating themselves to this project. The Haitian Tzu Chi team also came to teach the cooking staff at the FEJ School and orphanages how to harvest Moringa plants and also to prep it to cook. It was a super productive day filled with adventures. I answered many questions and I also set up an interview time with the foundation's president Manmie Duncan and foundation director Lucien Duncan. Everything went really well and everyone got what they wanted in the end! I was very happy that I could show them just a little bit of what I do everyday and to tell the children's stories! I hope that people will get a better understanding of what Haiti is all about and that at the end of the day, it is all about the child's well-being!

Many people judge orphanages by how nice the building looks, but at the end of the day, every child still needs to eat and still need clean water to drink. No matter how beautiful it looks on the outside, on the inside, every child is going through the same basic needs. We all have a duty to protect them, to love them, and to do our best to provide for them! 

So the next time that you think about donating candy or something that YOU think the children might like, please ask me or who ever is in charge at the orphanage you want to donate to directly, because many times, it will surprise you what they really need as a donation! You and I together can find all the solutions to the problems! 

Let's keep working for the children, because they are worth it! 

Chinese New Year's Eve with Master Cheng Yen

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve.

We had great Chinese food all day today and did some farm work on the Great Love Moringa farm. It was a very productive day and in the afternoon we had a very productive meeting. My head was going to explore from jumping from Mandarin to English to French to Creole. It was definitely a great brain exercise for sure! We had a very productive meeting with all the uniformed Haitian volunteers and had many issues cleared up.

We put in some new mobile toilets at the Great Love Moringa  Farm. It looks quite cozy doesn't it? 

By nighttime, we were getting ready to "Bai Nian" to Master Cheng Yen in Taiwan. We had it all set up, thanks for Fan Ting's professional microphone and my handy-dandy webcam, the results were awesome. I got to speak to Master Cheng Yen directly and told her everything that I was doing here in Haiti. She gave me her blessings and told me to go back to see her in Taiwan soon. It was so great to speak with her again, it has been a very long time! I miss her very much!

Thanks for all the SG and SB for taking so good care of me and for cooking all the awesome food! We even got "Nian Gon"!!!!! It was wonderful. I am so grateful that I get to pass the New Years with my Tzu Chi family. I couldn't ask for a better Chinese New Year!

I showed everyone how to eat Haitian Mangoes the Haitian  way. All you need is a pair of hands and your teeth. Super clean result and yummy authentic flavors bursting in your mouths! 

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! HELLO DRAGONS!

Marie Ann & Christ The King Secretarial Schools' Ground Breaking Ceremony

This weekend was a huge milestone for Tzu Chi Haiti, since it was the Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Marie Anne and Christ the King Secretarial Schools. It has been two years in the making, and today, it is finally happening. Tzu Chi is helping to rebuild the three schools for the St. Anne Sisters' Congregation in Haiti. Everyone has been highly anticipating this event. And what better way to have it on January 21st, 2012, which is exactly two years to the day when Tzu Chi first step foot onto Haiti soil after the earthquake. Like what Sister Majorie said, "January 21st and January 12, is a simple reverse of numbers, but it symbolizes the reverse of fates, and the attitude of the Haitian people in rebuilding the country!" Well put! This is exactly what we are doing! We are have hope for a better Haiti!

Lesly and I were the MCs for the Ground Breaking ceremony! We both wrote the scripts all the way till 3:30am the night before!

The ceremony started with the students holding hands and walking down the aisle way! It was such a lovely display of cooperation and collaboration between the schools! 

Marie Anne Primary and Secondary Schools' Choir Performance. They performed a song called "Filles d'Haiti (Girls of Haiti)." It was a spectacular performance. 

Christ the King Secretarial School's students performed their rendition of "Hallelujah." These girls have got soul!  

An Haitian Folklord dance performed by the 5th graders at Marie Ann School! They were as cute as can be! Great job! 

                                       

Tzu Chi performed a couple of sign language songs for the visitors/guests! 

The going away present - One Month Old Moringa seedlings! 

Ambassador Liu of Taiwan and Advisor to President Martelly - Mr. Nelson. 

Sister Immacula baked delicious Moringa cookies for the ceremony! 

We had visiting British soldiers! They are only in Haiti for a one-month deployment! They are always wearing their sacks, when asked why, they simply said that they are always ready for anything!

The Brazilian Peacekeepers were our VIP guests! I was so happy to see them there! It was actually one day before Major Roland's birthday! Everyone got some goodies to take home! 

In the afternoon, there was another ceremony celebrating the Chinese New Years at St. Alexandre Church. Thanks to the wonderful decorations by Sister Immacula! 

My heart came back to see me at the afternoon ceremony! Little Jennifer! She came to tell me that she passed all her exams with flying colors! I love this girl so much! I am so proud of her! 

The church was packed with visitors to join us in the Chinese New Years celebration. The whole place was decorated in blue and red, colors of the Haitian flag. It was a display of two cultures coming together as one! 

What an awesome day! I am so grateful to be able to see history in the making in Haiti! 

FEJ Community Clinic 2nd Floor Ground Breaking Inaguration

Today was a really big day, because it was the FEJ Lamardelle Community Clinic's Ground Breaking ceremony. The first floor was built last year, which was sponsored by the Japanese Embassy. Now, the second floor is going to start building, which is sponsored by American Airlines. It has been a long time waiting and today it is finally happening. There are many distinguished guests that attended the ceremony today, which included the Japanese Ambassador and IBESR Director. The ceremony started at around 11am and all morning I was trying to get all the legal paperwork done for adoption cases, so that I can be able to attend the ground breaking ceremony. Needless to say, there was a lot of phone calls, printing, emailing, typing, and walking back and forth from the Clinic compound to and from the Creche compound.

The ceremony was beautifully done. The FEJ Elementary School's Choir performed a welcome and thank you song in French. A Catholic Father gave his blessings to everyone who attended the ceremony and also for the clinic project. We all took a tour of the clinic with everyone and had some good refreshments after the ceremony.

Clinic Staff with the Ambassador of Japan. 

Director of IBESR with the 20 new children at the creche!

The Duncans with the Ambassador of Japan. 

Jody and her crew came today, as well. They all have medical background of some sort and is great to have them here again! Jody brought the adolescents and I so many things! Bless her! And thanks to her kids for putting together a "Vegan Care Package" for me, as well! I am forever grateful!

First I-600 Alone

Today was the first time that I went to the U.S. embassy with the adoptive parents all by myself. Due to logistic reasons, I have not been able to go to the embassy appointments with the adoptive parent. Today was finally the day. It didn't come without obstacles of course. I had to get up at 4am in the morning to get ready to leave at 4:30am. We got to Delmas 41 office at around 6am and I waited around for Roberto to come pick me up with the adoptive parents. I waited and waited.....this has become the norm. I tried to read my book, but I was just too tired. I went on the roof of the building and just looked a the pretty sun rise. Roberto finally arrived at around 7:50am and our appointment at the embassy was at 8am. OH BOY, we were going to be late. So I called everyone to let them know that we will be late and to somehow hope they will still let us in. Usually if you are late, you have to wait till 10am for the next set of I-600 appointments to take place. We were not about to do that, so finally after speaking with the guard, she finally let us in. It was around 8:35am when we got in. We sat down and waited for each of the scheduled appointments. It was fully packed with people trying to get their Visas, DNA testing, adoption appointments and passport appointments. Everyone had a scheduled time-slot. We were waiting for our names to be called. For the I-600 appointment, there is two processes. The first process is to hand them all of the paperwork pertaining to the I-600, which I prepare ahead of time for the adoptive parents. Then the second process is where there is an officer that questions the adoptive parents on their adoptive child and also their own background. This normally should not take more than 2 to 3 hours, but of course, we are in Haiti, so things are always dragged out. Long story short, we were at the U.S. embassy from 8:30am to 2pm. It was a ridiculous amount of time, because the actual interview and paperwork time only amounted to about 40minutes for each parent. It was all about waiting. At one point, everyone in the office went on their lunch break, some an hour, some more than an hour. This only happens here in Haiti.

After it was all done, Roberto came and picked us up. He had already gone to the airport to pick up another set of adoptive parents, who will be taking their children home to the U.S. in just a week. I was so excited to see them and talk to them about their adoptive children. It was such a bittersweet feeling. It was hard to see the children go, but at the same time, so happy for them that they are finally going "HOME." We all met up with Lucien at Petion-Ville and switched cars. Roberto and I both got a sandwich to eat in the car. He dropped me back off at Delmas 41 office at 3pm and once again, I waited and waited for Dieudonne to come pick me up. I was so tired. Just physically drained. I went on the roof again and just laid down in the sun light. I dozed off a little bit. The warm sun light felt so great, just beaming down on to my body. The guards and neighbors must have thought that I was crazy. Like "why is this Asian girl wearing business attire lying down on the dirty roof?" I am starting to become the master at taking 20 minute power naps, literally ANYWHERE! Dieudonne finally pulled into the office at 6pm and we took off. We had many errands to run before actually heading back to Lamardelle. We went to the grocery store for Manmie, where the people looked at me like I came from outer space, because I had a lot of dust and clay on my clothing from lying on the roof earlier, which I could care less. Then we went to the gas station to get diesel for the generator back in Lamardelle. The drive back to Lamardelle was long, especially with all the traffic. We finally got back to Lamardelle at 8:30pm. I took a cold shower and started to write reports at around 9pm. Finally by midnight, the batteries to my laptop ran out. I continued to write on a piece of paper with my flashlight. I finally went to bed at around 2am.

What a long day! 

Weekend as a Haitian Tzu Chi Volunteer

Whenever Tzu Chi SG and SB come back to Haiti, they will always come and pick me up at the orphanage. This gives me the chance to be able to take hot showers and have awesome Chinese food at OECC. I can definitely relate to Haitians who have starved over a long period of time, because when the food hits my mouth, it just keeps on going one bite after another. I literally had tears in my eyes when eating. It was soooooooo good! So good! I couldn't believe all the flavors that were just exploding in my mouth. It was just pure bliss eating every meal at OECC. 

As usual, a weekend with Tzu Chi is filled with different activities and amazing adventures. This weekend was no different!

Inviting Major Roland of the Brazilian Troop to our Ground Breaking Ceremony

Every Saturday, there is a Market Place outside of the Brazilian  Peacekeeper Base
(Brabatt II). 

There are so many different wooden souvenirs that they sell every weekend. 

After the Brabatt II trip, we headed over to the Route Neuve area, where our shelters were located. 

One of the Manmies of the Route Neuve area still remembers me. She was so happy to see me come. She couldn't wait to talk to me and show me her shelter. 

Got to play with all the kiddies again. They are growing up so quickly!

It was so nice to see the familiar faces again! 

We also had a volunteer's meeting. We talked about many different issues and projects proposals. It was a very long meeting, but very productive. It was very nice to see all the volunteers again!

I served as the translator during the meeting. At one point, three people were talking about three different things. How fun!

The volunteers all jumped on the back of the pick-up truck to go back home!

Another big project here in Haiti is the Moringa project. We went and visited the Great Love Moringa Farm and saw all the great planting progress!

We visited a home that was making coffee. They roasted the coffee beans and then  started to mash the coffee beans into powder. It smelled so good! I gave it a try. It was such interesting work. Turns out the family makes ground coffee for people in New York. So this is where all that Haitian coffee comes from. 

We all took a picture with the Moringa seedlings at the Great Love Farm. 

On the way back to OECC, me, Lesly, and Jean Denis, all rode in  the back of the pick-up truck. There was so much dust tonight. Our hair and eye lashes were all covered in dust and clay! Look at the color! Doesn't it look like we dyed our hair and put make-up on! How neat! 

WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND! 

UNICEF/IBESR Drop-Off

Today was a very very chaotic day! I was very excited to wake up today, because I knew all of the things that I needed to get done before 5 pm, because at 5pm was when Tzu Chi was coming to pick me up. I was extremely motivated to get things done. Everything was going the way it was suppose to be and my things on my To-do list was getting checked off one after another. At around 4:00pm I was getting ready to wrap things up and I get a phone call saying that UNICEF/IBESR is going to be there in about 20 minutes with the 20 children that were suppose to already been dropped off before Christmas last year!!!!! Oh what??? Of course this would happen on the one day that I really need to leave at 5pm. Of course, life, and all the curve balls of Haiti. So I start to go check out everything in room 4 to see if everything is all set up. Today is just me at the orphanage, since Ms. Saint-Fort is out on vacation. I was the one that was in charge of the orphanage. She was suppose to be back already, since I was scheduled to leave at 5pm. Of course, once again, plan B and plan C have been put in place. 

So needless to say, Tzu Chi arrived at around 5pm and I had to at least wait till the children come and sign all the necessary papers and made sure they were fine before I could leave. I waited and waited. IBESR finally arrived at around 5:40pm and we got all the necessary paperwork signed off. I made sure we had all the necessary clothing, shoes, and hygiene products for the children. There were not enough mattresses, so I had the nannies double up the smaller children. The 20 children included 11 girls and 9 boys. They range from 2 to 12 years old. What a big difference 20 extra children makes at the creche. 

There were a ton of paper work that needed to be signed. I made sure all the children's names and ages were matched correctly. We do not know any of their birth dates, only approximate ages.  Many children didn't even know how old they were either. 

I was showing Kathy SG around the orphanage and explaining the difficult situations UNICEF/IBESR often puts us in. Everything is always last minute and with minimal support. 

The children arrived in the big UNICEF/IBESR bus. All the children had cokes and sprites in their hands. For many of them, it was their very first time tasting soda! One child told me that the "black drink is very spicy!" 

20 adorable children! They actually came from another orphanage that was shut down by UNICEF due to  abuse allegations and malnutrition cases. When we were bathing the children you can see old and new scars from belt beatings. Some of the kids told me that the people beat them when they would misbehave and also never had enough to eat. Seeing their scars on their little bodies really broke my heart. Many of them also had fungal infections and scabies. Everything was documented and we will share all of these findings with the doctors. 

A great big thank you goes out to the Tzu Chi volunteers for waiting around for me to finish all the paperwork. I made sure all the children were bathed, fed, and situated before I left for the weekend. There is a lot of work waiting for me when I get back to the creche on Monday morning. I can't wait to get to know each and every one of the new children! 

Goodnight my dear ones! You are safe now! Sweet dreams! 

Moment of Silence: 1.12.2010

Today marks the two year anniversary of the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake. I can still remember, where I was and how I was feeling on that day two years ago. I was in my apartment in Chicago writing a paper for Child Development class. Taking a break from school work I started to browse the internet. Coming across the CNN page, horror appeared in front of my eyes. The sight of what was happening in Haiti seemed like it was not happening in another country, but right where I was sitting. My heart was aching at seeing all of the bodies piling up on the streets, the blood drenched people walking in the rubbles, and the children's cries echoing deep within my soul. I looked at the images and videos that were broadcast all across every single news site! I was broken! Completely broken. I hit my breaking point when I saw a photo with a child's shoe washed ashore. The children of Haiti were suffering and I was so far away. That was when I decided that I would do everything in my power to go to Haiti and help. I felt like I could do more in Haiti than if I was in Chicago. I had no money to give, but I had my skills and time to give. I immediately within two weeks, signed myself up to five active international disaster relief teams. The final decisions came out to be with the Tzu Chi Foundation. I grabbed my bags and flew to Haiti and the rest is history!

I am so happy and grateful that I have had the chance to be able to active help in Haiti for the past two years since the earthquake. I feel very lucky that I can actually make a difference in many people's lives everyday, especially children's lives. The past two years have been a struggle for the Haitian people and for many, it still continues today. I will keep on helping anyone and everyone that I can each and everyday, to the best of my abilities!

To the people of Haiti: Thank you for sharing the laughter and tears with me. Thank you for showing me what real strength and resiliency is. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives! We are all one big family. Together we can conquer! You have shown me what life is really all about. It is love and determination that makes us able to feel. It is with each breath that we take, our eyes are opened to the surroundings. It is you and I, together, that make the world worth living for.

Please keep on praying for the Haitian people! Pray to give them wisdom in combating difficult situations. Pray to give them strength in standing up by themselves again! Pray to let their great love blossom in helping one another in this wonderful country!

Today is for you the people of Haiti! 

Keep on holding on! I will never give up on you! 

Tap-Tap Filled With Tzu Chi's Love

Today the local Haitian Tzu Chi volunteers rented a Tap-Tap to bring some emergency food supplies to the orphanage! How awesome! The orphanage has been running low on food and the food budget is definitely been in the red for a while now. This was a nice breather to be able to have some food help. The U.S. team is going to come back this month to do a final assessment and hopefully it will be established that Tzu Chi is going to help support monthly food expenditures for the orphanage! That would be awesome if that could happen. The children really need to eat more nutritious foods and on a more regular basis! Most of the children here are all malnourished and just getting empty calories.

So the Tzu Chi volunteers brought a total of 10 sacs of rice, 2 sacs of flour, 2 sacs of sugar, 2 sacs of beans, and 6 gallons of cooking vegetable oil. We did a small ceremony with the children and it was so nice to spend a couple of hours with like-minded individuals! It has been a while since I've seen all of them. It was like seeing family members again! We all hugged and had a great time. I gave them all a tour of the orphanage and took them to look at all the Moringa plants, as well. Good news is that the Moringa are all growing tremendously and it has actually reached the point where we can start harvesting and eating them. This is going to be a great addition to the children's menu and overall health improvement.

A great big thank you to all the volunteers who came today and also to Tzu Chi Foundation for making this donation possible!

I am forever grateful for each and everyone of you! Especially Master Cheng Yen! Woo Xian Gan En!

Visitors Come and Go

Last night two visitors from Miami came to spend a week with us here in Lamardelle. They are actually here to look at the different canal systems in Haiti, especially in this zone. There is a river called the White River and many different canals that connect to it here in Lamardelle. They are here doing different assessments of the whole water system. They will be making daily trips to various parts in the zone to assess different sections of the water organizational scheme. One of them, Chris, speaks Creole. He was here in Haiti in 2002 with the Peace Corp, back when there was still a site here. Peace Corp left in 2004 due to the instability of the government and economy. It just wasn't working out as a volunteer site and definitely was lacking on security measures. Chris was also an Haitian Studies major in college. How cool is that? Not many universities have that as a major choice. Way cool.

Today was also the day that Will's fiancee, Lauren, headed back to North Carolina. She has spent about two weeks here in Haiti with us. I hope she had a good time, while she was here. Too bad Will was sick for half of that time, but at least she was here to take care of him. I gave him tons of medication, came in handy to be well prepared!

January is going to be a big month with many visitors! I can't wait to meet more new people!

Bappy Woo Bear

Happy New Year everyone! May all your wishes come true this year.

I wish all of you happiness, good health, joy, and increase in wisdom in 2012!

Today was not only a celebration of the New Years, but also it marks the 5 month notch for me here at FEJ. I am almost at the half way point! Let's keep it going!

In Haiti, traditionally on the 1st of January, the people eat Pumpkin Soup! This is because before, when there were slaves in Haiti, they weren't allow to have Pumpkin soup at all. When they conquered the French and gained their independence, they celebrated by having Pumpkin soup. So it has stuck as a traditional celebratory dish for the 1st of January! We had it this morning and it was delicious!

The children and I celebrated today by having them practicing saying "Happy New Year," both in English and French. They were as cute as can be. It was a happy day!

From the children of Haiti (this was what they were saying after hours of practice):

BAPPY WOO BEAR!