Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I arrived in Haiti today, and it is wonderful to be back! It was so great to see everyone. They had...

I arrived in Haiti today, and it is wonderful to be back! It was so great to see everyone. They had all decorated welcome signs for me posted around the clinic. I met with Mike about the recycling program. I look forward to learning more about all the changes and everything that’s going on and excited to get started with my new job here.


-Lizzy

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Tomorrow Lizzy goes to work in Haiti For a year. I am very grateful for her dedication to Haiti and...

Tomorrow Lizzy goes to work in Haiti
For a year. I am very grateful for her dedication to Haiti and the work of PID.
Vanessa was suppose to join us in Guatemala tomorrow but had to postpone her trip. Hope she can join us soon. Tali and Abby worked on small business today.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Working our way through Quickbooks today.Abby received the small business payments. Marcelin is...

Working our way through Quickbooks today.Abby received the small business payments. Marcelin is stuck here until next Tuesday. I will be out Friday. Tali continues to get rid of thinks and get ready for the move. A lot of happy people in the village with new beds.

Friday, August 26, 2011

This week continues to be a hard week for all the PID Guatemalan staff. The reality of Tali and...

This week continues to be a hard week for all the PID Guatemalan staff. The reality of Tali and Marcelin leaving Guatemala is upon us all as Marcelin will leave on Sunday. As people in the village are finding out everyone is crying,even Carlos, the construction supervisor. At the debriefing meeting today, Carlos summed up the feelings of everyone in the village as he said to Marcelin and Tali, “You are not just my bosses, but you are my brother and
Sister , my mother and father and my friends. ” Tali ended the meeting by telling the staff, ” If I come back and PID is not growing with Abby as the director and becoming better , than it is because I have failed at my job. ” There was not a dry eye at the table as they all promise to help Abby and become her friend. Abby has big shoes to fill, but I think she is up to the task.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Today while driving through the streets of Mazatenango, after navigating the newly inserted rotary which nobody knows what to do with, we stumbled upon this truck carrying the reigning "mr. and mrs. elderly"



a little strange, but cute nonetheless.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Today, I worked on creating another exam room at the clinic. The depot we originally built has...

Today, I worked on creating another exam room at the clinic. The depot we originally built has turned into a classroom so one exam room turned into a depot. Tali and Abby continued to work on transitioning Abby in. Abby drove alone today.
I worked on Manuelas house. Nailed and chalked the windows so they wouldn’t leak. Brought shelves , a table and two chairs. Put hooks on doors to hang wet things. Little Carlos struggles with severe asthma and so we are trying to eliminate at least some of the mold. When I do this it reminds me of why I love this work.

So today I have been to the grocery store 3 times today. =) Once I drove there and back all by myself. Baby steps.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Yesterday the leaders group did a presentation for me because I haven’t been coming to...

Yesterday the leaders group did a presentation for me because I haven’t been coming to Guatemala very much since the earthquake in Haiti. They planned it themselves , a mix of original Mayan dances as well as modern Mayan . It was so wonderful.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

I'm currently in the process of learning Quickbooks - a computer program to help me manage the finances. It's a bit messy getting it started but I think it will work out really well once it gets all straightened out.

This morning the Leaders Group put on a dance performance for us. We ended up going home with baskets of fruit. I made friends with some of the girls although they were not impressed with my dancing skills. But they were impressed that I knew the words to a Justin Bieber song. Fortunately the little girl whose hand I pinched in a door seems to have forgiven me because she was all smiles today.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Today 3 new kids joined the after school tutoring group. They were so excited to be there. Went to...

Today 3 new kids joined the after school tutoring group. They were so excited to be there. Went to visit Manuela and it started pouring so much, it was like walking home through a river.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

It was great to see the after school program in action today ....



It was great to see the after school program in action today . Kids were so happy to study. It was sad to
See one family in our program struggling so much because her child is so sick and had to
Be hospitalized. As a result the mom lost her job. This evening the kids in the family were catching minnows to make a fish sauce for their corn. They had run out of good and money.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Made it to Guatemala . It was great to see Tali and Abby working so well together. The clinic looks...

Made it to Guatemala . It was great to see Tali and Abby working so well together. The clinic looks fabulous. The new tutoring room is divided in two
Sections: one a computer media center,
The other a little classroom for the elementary school kids in our program who are having trouble in school. Alahandra, our social worker, started an after school program to help them catch up.

We are all here anxiously awaiting the arrival of Gale/Mom/Grammy/Abuelita/Gel. Her and Marcelin are on their way back from the airport as I type.

Yesterday was quite the exciting day. We celebrated the birthdays of two children in the village. Carlos turned four last Saturday and his sister Esperanza will turn ten this coming Friday. We had cake and a piñata here at the clinic. Too bad most of the village showed up and the piñata turned into complete chaos. Here are some photos from the festivities.

[caption id="attachment_3476277594" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The whole family (with a few of Tali's kids thrown in as well)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3476277594" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Esperanza with Carlos and their cousin Sebastian"][/caption]

On the road again. I am happy to be going to Guatemala. Abby is still in training as our new field...

On the road again. I am happy to be going to Guatemala. Abby is still in training as our new field director as Tali and Marcelin and kids prepare to come to the US. This trip will be the second transition trip. Emotionally it is one of the toughest things I have had to do.
Tali and Marcelin have been the start team in Guatemala. They have sacrificed so much to do this work.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Tomorrow finishing up Paperwork and then it is off to Guatemala. Can’t wait to see the clinic...

Tomorrow finishing up
Paperwork and then it is off to Guatemala. Can’t wait to see the clinic and new classroom for the English students and the new houses in the village. Working with Tali and Abby will be fun.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Tali and I worked hard along with Meli and Alejandra to finish up one of the murals in the English classroom. It looks great! We had our doubts about how it would turn out and we are quite surprised and satisfied with the end result.



In other news: we've got PUPPIES!!!!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

I left Haiti today and finally arrived home. The last two weeks have been hard. As we look to the...

I left Haiti today and finally arrived home. The last two weeks have been hard. As we look to the hills of Canaan
I see hope and many new challenges.
Yesterday we were to have a meeting with the Haitian Presidential advisor for construction for the Canaan area to talk about funding for houses. Of course it was canceled . But we are rescheduled and hope they will help PID with funding.
We did our first trial run for recycling
And it went well.
Mike and Megan continue to work hard on this and we are hopeful to get rid of a lot of trash in Haiti.
Heres to a trash free Haiti !!

Monday, August 8, 2011

It has been a very busy past few days. Tali and I have done a lot of work on the English program. The classroom is looking great with the new computer desks and shelves that we put in and painted ourselves! Who needs men to do all the work for us? We can do it ourselves. =) The students started helping us paint the mural in the English classroom today and it looks awesome!

Today they started putting on the roof of the new house next to the clinic. The guys are working hard and making a lot of progress every day.

Last Friday was child sponsorship distribution in Concepción and tomorrow they will be distributing the groceries in Zunilito.


Each family in the child sponsorship program went home with 4 lbs. of pasta, 5 lbs. of sugar, 5 lbs. of beans, 5 lbs. of rice and a carton of eggs. =)

Emily, Trevor, Martha and Belem all arrived safely today (Monday). They originally were scheduled...

Emily, Trevor, Martha and Belem all arrived safely today (Monday).  They originally were scheduled to arrive on Sunday, but their flight was cancelled because of bad weather in Miami.


Eva and Lia also arrived at the PID compound today (Monday) after a week of Yoga training in Croix de Bouquet, Haiti.  They along with Martha and Belem will conduct Yoga classes this week for the youth of Damien Tent Village and the local children of Blanchard.


Kevin was the only member of the team who arrived on the scheduled arrival date - Sunday!

Late re-post from Gale (still unable to post from Haiti): The Emory team left on Sunday after a well...

Late re-post from Gale (still unable to post from Haiti):


The Emory team left on Sunday after a well deserved trip to the beach on Saturday. That night we brought a welcome package of food and a suitcase to one of three new families who have moved into PID houses since June. Monday we start to paint the first house finished in Canaan.


Kevin Wasson arrived safely on Sunday. 

Friday, August 5, 2011

Special thanks to Dave, Mark, and Kim at D.F. Clark, Inc. in...



Special thanks to Dave, Mark, and Kim at D.F. Clark, Inc. in Ipswich, MA for use of the storage facility, and help moving over two million doses of donated multi-vitamins into the unit! The vitamins are a grant from Vitamin Angels, and we have already brought many to Haiti and Guatemala!

Update from Gale

I apologize for the missing blogs.  I’ve been writing each day, but for some reason they ended up in “cyberpace”!  Sarah left yesterday.  The rest of the team continues to work on the Children’s VBS program, making blocks and working in the clinic.

This trip has been a struggle with no electricity from the city, so the generator is tired. The Internet is broken as usual. Almost all the plumbing decided to break. Both the car and taptap also refused to run one morning.  For four days the temperature was 100 plus. And the Tropical Storm turned out to be only a strong wind here.  Through all this the team remains cheerful and continues to get an amazing amount of work done!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!