The subject of Enigma is Haiti, qualified with narratives shared by its residents. Although raised in a house rooted in Haitian culture, I was already 19 when I first traveled to my homeland. The stories imparted to me as a child were contradictory. My grandmother shared stories of a compassionate people and scenic land, yet […]
INDIEGOGO LINK SUPPORT THE CAUSE ENDS 7/16/2012 It has been a blast working with these children the past couple days. Whether it was Rebekkah’s smile, Guidlou’s mischievous smile, or the group simultaneously asking a goat if they can take its picture (an inside joke; we ask our kids to always request permission before taking […]
For an extended period of time I got to attend a meeting wherein we would get to honestly exclaim “Glad to be here!” It’s a statement I’ve gotten to repeat rarely since then with complete and utter honesty. Two weeks ago we began to use a similar statement to close personal checkins before we […]
It’s a pleasure to see the energy that with which participants throw themselves into drills after they finish their cleaning. I literally would drop dead after 15 minutes of drills but the coaches do a great job of getting the kids to really push themselves. I take a particular joy in watching one coach work […]
I spent 8 hours at Destra today. With the unforgiving sun and temperatures it could have been hell but the community truly made it enjoyable. Today they made me feel truly at home. Whether it ws the coconut they brought me when I looked a bit dehydrated, or the plate of spaghetti my kids came […]
I thought I’d escaped teaching 😉 but as I walked over to GOALS’ Shatulet site I was informed Jolinda Hackett that I would be helping her teach an English class. It was quite fun even when Elsye, a participant from last year, shyly refused to speak to me in English. Jolinda calmly coached her through […]
Apart from Kona, Jolinda, and my workshop participants what truly keeps me inspired and motivated are the local staffers like Emilio and Jean Kennedy. The joy and love they carry in their hearts literally spills out into the world. Since my first visit, they have welcomed me into this tight knit organization with open arms […]
I got a chance to cook Sauce Pwa today. I’d be lying if I said sauce pwa (bean sauce) is my favorite haitian dish, though I did use to enjoy immensely the boy(dough boys) my grandma used to include. Random Aside : In my child’s head I somehow mixed up the haitian boy and english […]
Rarely do I ever get to see the fruits of my labor. I wont know for years whether my 6th graders go on to college, or even stay in school…but luckily this summer I’ve gotten to see the potential fora successful endeavor. Going to the school that 8 of the 30 GOALS DREAM TEAM SCHOLARSHIP […]
Over the next couple of weeks I will be releasing the work of these young artists in the FOTO GOALS ’12 workshop. You met these participants last year and it is with great joy that await their new work. There have been many changes in their lives, even a baby, and I hope this summer […]
