A Week in Bolosse

I was fortunate enough to travel with a group of 6 others to build bunkbeds at the Marion G. Austin Pension in Bolosse, Haiti, which is run by a US 501(c)(3) corporation, Hope for the Children of Haiti. (A pension is an orphanage with a school.)

While at the pension, we spent LOTS of time with the kids. Imagine my surprise when the kids remembered all the members of our team from 2 years ago, myself and my daughter included. The kids are now teenagers and are a bit more hesitant to try to use their English skills. But a few of them agreed to try if I would try my Kreyol skills. So, we conversed in broken English, broken Kreyol, and in very well written notes they can write in English.

I have so many memories. My favorite memory is of the night before we left. I FINALLY had time to just sit with the kids who had come back up to the guest house with us. As I went to sit on the couch, 2 girls quickly grabbed a spot on either side of me. Mikenlove, a 15 year old boy, was upset because he wanted to sit and talk as well. I offered him my lap and he sat back against me, with his head on my shoulder, and we all began to talk. There were 5 Haitian teenagers, with 3 more as back up to the conversation, whenever we hit a rough spot. It was such a great evening!