Intro continued

My Haiti History began shortly after the earthquake when the new chairperson of the Our Lady of Nazareth (OLN) Haiti group, a friend from bible study, asked me to join the OLN group on a journey to Haiti in 2011. My answer was "I can't go to Haiti" followed by a multitude of reasons why but she did not give up easily. After multiple refusals on my part because I work full time as a restaurant manager, did not have enough vacation time to go, could not take time off from work during busy seasons, etc she convinced me that none of those excuses were valid and so I agreed to go.  I had seen the TV coverage of the earthquake and read some brief information on Haiti but had no idea what I was going to "do" in Haiti or what I would see or experience during the trip.   I had been told we were going to Build Relationships with our twin Ecole Normale d'Instituteurs Hinche Papaye, the Normale school, a teacher training school in the Central Plateau.  

What I experienced during the trip was an amazing journey to a materially impoverished country, stripped of natural resources that is Rich in Strength, Faith, Hope, Joy and Beauty, especially in the People of Haiti.  The Joy and Hope of the people who have so little material wealth and work so hard just to live day to day inspired me to get connected and think about how I could help, what could I  to help support their work.  

I decided I could work on finding Grants from Foundations to assist the school with their mission of improving education in Haiti.  With no training or experience I began an internet search and trusted that I would be guided in the right direction if this was the work I was intended to do.  It was trial and error but with help from friends and family I have had success in receiving funding in 4 of the 6 grant proposals for the Normale School.  

I since have moved back to NJ to be closer to family but I am still connected to the Normale school and OLN and continue to work with the Haiti group to support the work of the Normale school by writing grant proposals for projects.  Last year I was unable to travel with OLN to Haiti because I was opening a new restaurant the week of the trip so I decided to take a solo trip at a different time.  The solo trip was a very different experience for me expanding my experiences and language skills since I had no translator with me I had to communicate on my own.

This trip with the HEF will also be a different experience for me and is very exciting since I am interested in the "big picture" of education in the Central Plateau, as well as Haiti.  I am looking forward to visiting other areas of Haiti and seeing new schools, meeting new people and making new friends and rounding yet another bend in the road to see what lies ahead.

This will be my 4th trip and I will be making my 5th in January 2014 with the OLN group so what began as "I can't go to Haiti" has quickly become "When Can I go to Haiti again".

I hope we find the time to be able to share our experiences during the Journey.