Greetings as we head into October. (quick note; I have tried to take out all the extra spaces, but wasn't able to do it, sorry!)
We headed out to the IDADEE orphanage for a simple photo shoot this morning. A beautiful, sunny, hot day. Temps were in the upper 80’s which is normal right now. But so thankful there wasn’t rain to keep us from doing the pictures.
We started at the school. We sat with Peguy Jusner, the head secretary. Very nice lady with her hands full of work, but she took time with us. She did have a lot of work sitting on her desk and was very busy, but her smile lit up the office and she asked us to sit down. Pastor John, the principle was not there this morning, so at this point no photo of him, but we’ll get one for a future post.
First is Mme. Jusner and then the administration building.
The school operates from September through June. This year they have 194 students. All 40 of the IDADEE children attend here. They teach in French, which is the school language in all of Haitian schools. The children range from pre-school (3 years old) through grade 5. Each year they are adding another grade. The school building was built with this in mind. Aside from the 2 existing school buildings, there is an administrating building. As grades are added, some of the rooms (now used for storage) will house more and more grades. They have ample room for expanding. Each building also has adequate rest room facilities for the children, including the orphanage.
The smaller building was the original school building. It now houses the pre-school, and kindergarten children. There are three classrooms with a total of 74 students. I wanted to get pictures of the children looking at the teacher, but when someone comes to visit, all eyes turn that way.
The next building houses the grades 1 through 5. It is 2 floors. This building has 120 children attending school. We were there during recess. The kids were really running off excess energy, with teachers in each of the areas of play. The children also have access to drinking water. Like children all over the world, they love to run, climb and play all sorts of games.
The chapel on the compound is really nice and so well ventilated. Breezes flow through a lot. It was open air designed for that reason. They not only use the chapel for the school, they have Sunday services there as well. And of course when special events occur, they use it frequently.
On to the IDADEE children’s home. Decided to start with the kitchen. It amazes me to see them cooking in such huge pots and not burning things in the process. Today’s meal was a cornmeal dish with beans and a tomato sauce. They have meat 3 or 4 times a week. The children come home from school, change and eat their big meal. Leah is the head cook and she has a helper working with her to feed the 40 children and the workers.
I only took a few pictures of the bedrooms, so you can see them. There is a solar system, so there are fans for children in all the rooms, and they are really nice fans. Very powerful. I was amazed at how much air was flowing and how cool the rooms were. One of the pictures I sort of got the ceiling in it to show you the art work the builders did. The three house moms were very open and helpful when we got there. The children do help clean their rooms, but the mom’s take up the rest of the work when the children are in school.
I wanted to get a picture or two of the property for you. It is difficult, with all the trees. But such a great place for the children to play! It is huge, and I obviously could not get it all in photos…but wanted to show you what I could. These were taken from the 3rd floor balcony. Years ago, when they were first looking at this land, they asked me to come and see it. There was a very little tree in the middle of the land. I sat down under that tree and cried. I told them, “Do you realize how the Lord has blessed you with this wonderful land? On high ground, with a creek nearby, fruit trees everywhere, and room to grow!” That little tree is now a big cashew tree, still almost in the middle of the yard. You can see the bay from the porch. I was told by Dr. Hodges, an American doctor who spent most of his life with his family in Haiti, (and he was also an archeologist), that Christopher Columbus first pulled into this bay to make land fall, but then decided it wasn’t protected enough and went further east to an area called Lemonade (lemon-odd). This was where he lost his ship. It is so beautiful sitting here and looking at the mountains, the bay and see God’s wonders in His creation. These two pictures were taken from the 3rd floor balcony of the orphanage. The 2nd floor has a similar balcony. The children can play here when the weather is bad, and still be outside.
This picture is a Google Map one. but I don't think it's real current. The administration building is finished and it doesn't look like it there. The dotted line is "approximately" some of the boundary of the property. It goes further up the mountain from here, where the guest house is.
I hope you enjoyed our excursion into the IDADEE compound and Children's Home! Remember to pray for the children, the committee and the workers who keep this organization following the Lord's leading!
James 1: 27b "...to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
