From September 29, 2018

During this trip Billy and I purchased a projector and a DVD player for out teachers to use in our little schoolhouse. This week we managed to set up and test it out. The kids were truly excited. As a test we used a DVD of my film The Smile of a Sick Kid. Madame Frances, our primary
teacher, will be get special learning DVD to play in the school. Meanwhile it was fun to play the first ten minutes of my film for the kids. The film opens with some scenes from Nairobi, Kenya and Port-au-Prince, Haiti…and the kids clearly recognized the Cite Soliel slum.

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From September 27, 2018

Leobel is slowly recovering from typhoid fever. While Nurse Rose does not think he is contagious, we’ve decided to err on the side of caution. His mom came to visit him on Tuesday. We asked her if Leobel could stay with her so she can take care of him for a week. Nurse Rose gave the mother specific instructions on what to feed him and the times and amounts of his medication. Yesterday, Billy and I drove mother and son to her place in Petionville. I told the Mom she could only have him for a week, two at the most, because we need him at Santa Chiara. She is so grateful that we have taken suck good care of her some for the last three years…and, she is also grateful that we have given her other son, Adrian, a second chance to live and work at Santa Chiara.

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From September 26, 2018

Fr. Hugo, the Passionist priest from Haiti, celebrated Mass on Sunday at Santa Chiara…our first Mass at our home. Fr. Hugo was great. The kids loved him. And he made it sound as if he would like to come on a regular basis. One staff member said that he had not been in a church in at least 10 years…but he was moved by Fr. Hugo’s homily. He celebrated the liturgy in Creole…so I had not idea what the homily was about, but afterward a few people gave me a synopsis of what he said. As the MC sister said, “We love him. He speaks from the heart. He is very real.” After the Mass the priest toured our facility. He also said he was glad he did not have to drive up and down those dreadful roads every day.

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From September 25, 2018

Thank you for all the kind, supportive responses to yesterday’s long, hard JOURNAL. More people (19) responded to yesterday’s JOURNAL than any other entry in our history. I appreciate all the concern and prayers. Part of the reason for yesterday’s detailed report and today’s follow-up was to gather together the full history of this mother’s inability to care for a child like Tamysha. Ecarlatte plans to share the full story with two police commanders, one who lives near us and the other an old friend from our time in Peguyville. Yesterday a two-year-old girl said: “Papa
Gerry cries for Tamysha.” The kids know we care deeply about them.

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From September 24, 2018

My world had collapsed. I found myself seated in the backyard surrounded by about 50 kids…all of whom were crying. I too was crying. I was the first to cry. I cried the longest. Days later, some random thought or memory of a sweet, joyful child who was no longer among us brought tears to my eyes. The very heart and soul of Santa Chiara had been ripped from our presence and the void was too horrible to absorb.

. . . What I am writing about can be reduced to three painful words: Tamysha is gone. Yanked from us by a mean-spirited, vindictive, ignorant mother and a hate-filled, angry, venomous grandmother.

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From September 21, 2018

Billy and I spent about $1,800 on furniture we really needed. We bought three more large bunk beds with six mattresses, a large desk for Nurse Rose, a cot suitable for an adult to sleep on, and a dresser for Bency and Naïve. It was delivered Wednesday.

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From September 16, 2018

“Our life in this world consists of a wonderous mixture of good and bad.” -Julian of Norwich

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From September 15, 2018

Yesterday we learned that we were poor enough to qualify for special medical assistance in a county program designed to help with financial aid for lab tests, medications, dental work, and other routine medical needs. In a visit to her primary physician, Ecarlatte was told that the doctor thinks she is anemic and so she ordered blood tests…which will now be paid for.

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