Haiti CSR

Bonjou from Jacsonville and what an action-packed month this has been!  Here’s all about it…

<drum roll please>

            The second roof on the Mission House is now complete!  We literally worked for three straight days with a couple hours of sleep each night preparing for the groundwork for the roof, consuming enough red bull to raise the dead.  We greeted 26 cement workers at 3 am on Tuesday May 12^th.  They started pouring the roof at 5 am and did not finish until 5 in the afternoon.  Two nights later we threw a grand celebration on Gaby’s roof with the construction workers and the Radford group.  This was complete with live music, dancing, and lots of prestige and moonshine made from sugar cane.  Now that’s how you party Haitian style!

The second roof of the Walter F. Sullivan Mission House!

            Karen Melendez brought down a group of 11 people from Radford to stay with us for a couple of days.  We quickly put them to work on the water distribution system at the school, and in one day laid about 200 feet of pipeline.  Barry Welch commented, “Now that’s pretty good work coming from a guy with hands hardened by years of computer programming.”  We still have to build the cistern and lay pipeline from the well to the school.  We will be finished in time for Leo and Steve’s arrival the first of June.  Mike quickly made friends with the kids by helping to collect backpacks full of mangoes, but Brian Po was pissed at me for eating all the grapefruit before he got there.  Among many items, they brought down a laptop for the school, a flood of stupid Radford t-shirts, soccer balls, jerseys, and Barry left his UVA hat to my friend Emannes, so I’m forced to look at this every day now.  And a special thanks to Judy and the Simpsons for the wealth of nutella and clif bars!

            We held an important HaitiCSR meeting with Karen and Barry in attendance.  This helped both sides understand the history of the Goy Foundation and streamline our goals.

            First communion was held Sunday May 10^th.  Father Carlo came down from Pignon to advance 16 kids in the walk of faith and also inducted several members by baptism.  Mass was held in the school auditorium.

The offertory brought in by dancing girls carrying baskets.

            Alison Smith started a pen pal project with students from Brookline Catholic School in Pittsburgh.  Students from Saint Rose of Lima got to write back to their new friends and tell them all about life in Haiti.  Also, the Jacsonville soccer team played the team from Pignon and ended up tying 1-1.  This is good experience for them and they keep practicing for more matches.

Jacsonville is getting ready for it’s newest resident.  Chris Vanderhoof from Virginia Tech will be coming down in June to help us out for six weeks.  After this he starts Vet school in the fall.  Please keep him in your prayers.

            Well that’s it for now!  Thanks for all the support and know that it has been put to good use.  And keep up the good prayer because you are in ours.