To Love a Child, Inc.

  • HOME & DONATE
  • Leadership & Partners
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
  • PROJECTS
    • Thyme to Thrive >
      • Local Kids! & Adult Classes
    • Sustainable Development
    • Mberengwa School Zimbabwe
    • Solar Power
    • Quality Education for All
    • Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Hunger and Nutrition
    • Health is Everything
  • Events & Fundraising
    • Golf Event 2023
    • Annual Dec Angel Match
    • 2022 Annual Dinner
    • 2023 Annual Dinner
  • Connect & Volunteer
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Volunteer
    • Contact Us
    • Kids Helping Kids
    • Travel With Us
    • Press Releases
    • BLOG

Report on Rantlamouaie – February 2011 Mission Trip

3/6/2011

1 Comment

 
Picture
On February 22nd, Father Milor drove us to Rantlamouaie in the vehicle that was purchased for him.  The journey took about two hours.  The roads were as rough as usual and we carried many supplies.  Father Milor’s vehicle had some problems along the way and at one point, after crossing a creek, we had to push the vehicle up the hill.  The vehicle was parked on the main road and all the supplies were carried about ¾ mile to the house and school.  The road that had begun to be built last year is still being worked on.  Every Saturday folks from Rantlamouaie work together to make the road wider, smoother and longer.  This is all done in anticipation of future projects by TLC and the work is done by hand with simple tools.

Several people helped carry our supplies the 3/4 of a mile to the school where we were met with great anticipation.  TLC forwarded money to have a storage unit built to house the batteries for the solar panel project.  We were so happy to see that the structure was built with great care and planning.  It was wonderful and far beyond our expectations.  The main man that built the unit, Hermann, is very talented and we feel he can hired in the future for more masonry jobs as well as teach other men the trade.  The storage unit is built of cinder block and next to it is a cement tower for the solar panels.  Tim and Scott immediately started work to install the solar panel system and the wiring for lights.  Hermann shadowed their work and did very well.  The system was completed except for the installation of the panels themselves as they were still being held up in Customs.  The panels will be installed by a trusted company in Haiti in the next two weeks.  Just imagine, the excitement when there will be light in the school and church for the first time.  Soon this area can be a gathering place for study, education and social events in the evening.

Tim and Scott did a lot of research for a future water project.   We walked to the lower water hole and also hiked to the top of a hill where there was a second water hole.   The water was tested and both holes contain bacteria.  We will work toward installing a gravity fed water system with a filtration system. 

We provided art supplies for the kids to use and collected many nice drawings.  The kids will continue to work on art pieces and we will collect them on the next trip.  Both adults and children made peace cranes and we hung them in the church where they will look beautiful not only for Sunday services but also for an upcoming wedding.

Picture
We ran a sports program and it resulted in loud laughter by the students and the teachers.  The kids participated in a sack race, three legged race, ball toss and relay race.  Although the rules had to be adapted a bit everyone had fun. 

We served canteen twice which was greatly appreciated.  The meal consisted of rice, beans, a red sauce and sausage.   The school was presented with their first computer and the teachers grinned from ear to ear.  We also presented them with a digital camera so that we could have more frequent updates on our projects.  We gave the teachers English/French dictionaries and English/Creole dictionaries. 

Picture

We met with the village nurse, Janet, who was thrilled to work with us on a maternal health program.  There are 50 women pregnant in Rantlamouaie all needing vitamins.  We managed to supply the women with the tablets.  Janet was given a “history” ledger to maintain on the women and their children so that in the future this program can be expanded.  Next we will provide "Bundles of Love" home birthing kits and "Bundles of Joy" newborn baby kits.  They need the items so desperately.  The women also need maternity clothes . 

Picture
Time flew by really quickly as the littlest projects take a lot more time than expected due to language difficulties.   The time in between projects was spent helping out with the cooking and washing dishes.  A great investment for the school would be reusable plastic plates, spoons and forks.  We found ourselves washing the Styrofoam plates over and over again leaving them to be very fragile and difficult to serve food on.

We were also blessed to be able to attend our first Haitian wedding and reception.  The bride was dressed in a beautiful white gown with lots of lace and a train.  She had a veil and wore white lace gloves.  The groom wore a nice suit.  Guests wore their finest clothes and shared a lovely service as well as a traditional meal of beans and rice after the ceremony. 

We presented the family whose house we stayed in with many gifts to share(hot pads, soap, washcloths, lotions, clothes, aprons, etc.).    I know this was greatly appreciated.

Exilent, the lay leader, told Father Milor that the people in the village are more enthusiastic than ever because now they see “hope” through our work.


1 Comment
Troy link
12/6/2020 10:28:08 pm

Great bllog you have

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Donate Now!

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    April 2022
    February 2022
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    April 2020
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    September 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

To Love a Child, Inc.
P.O. Box 165, Clifton Park, NY 12065
(518) 859-4424     
​
directoratTLC@aol.com
Picture
Photo used under Creative Commons from LauraGilchrist4