TOHH Summer Camp - Week Three

We had an amazing, fun, and successful week 3 here at Tree of Hope Haiti! The kids are doing so great in their summer camp program, and are working so hard writing letters for their sponsors!

 Monday, we did a super fun activity that the kids loved: weather wheels! They learned the English words for sunny, cloudy, windy, etc, then made a wheel with an arrow to choose how the weather is each day.

Tuesday, at camp if the kids wanted to have a turn throwing the ball, they needed to answer a Haitian/Creyole question. We are so proud of these kids learning. Many kids had a turn thowing the ball which means many are learning the english!
A very sunny Haiti day goes along with our craft for today. Reviewing the word "Sunny" making a sun plate.

Wednesday, as we do every morning the kids start with reviewing english phrases and learning the month, day, date and year. Here is a picture from this past monday. 

Thursday, was math day and the kids reviewed math problems and put their answers in a box. Then to check their math they used water color paint in the empty box to reveal the correct answer. Older kids had more math problems than the younger kids. After math, the kids learned english for He/She, They, We, I, You by making a rubric cube.

Friday, to finish up the week the older kids wrote up their own Math Word Problems and the younger kids completed Math dots. All week long we have been teaching the kids a special song that they will share with everyone at the end of our summer camp. They are learning english for this song and they love the actions to this song. Stay tuned in for the special video to be released at the end of our program.

Saturday we had all the neighborhood kids come for a special Movie Night at TOHH. These kids come from living in houses with no electricity, no running water and most don't even have bathrooms. So for them to come out and watch a movie is a real treat! We set up our Projector and screen and popped some popcorn and watched The Croods in french.  It was a blast. The kids were laughing and they all enjoyed a night together. 

This Saturday for #SponsorSaturday we featured Wilberto! 

He is a very smart 5-year-old boy! He loves to be silly, and his laugh is absolutely contagious! He lives in a one-room house with his mother, 3 sisters, 2 brothers. His father has passed away. In their house, they have two full beds. One has a mattress, and the other consists of consists of clothes covered by a sheet. He brings one gallon of water on his head each day, and his favourite food is rice with bean sauce and meat. ...This year, he hopes to continue school going into 2nd year preschool (in Haiti, children who can go to school attend 1st year and 2nd preschool before moving on to kindergarten). His favourite thing to do in school is write - he’s already writing almost all of the letters in the alphabet! When he grows up, he wants to be a writer! If you are interested in sponsoring Wilberto today, email tohhsponsorship@gmail.com! 

This week we visited Berlandie and Widlerson's house. They are so thankful to have sponsor's who care for them and invest in their future. Berlandie lives in a one room cement house with her mom, dad, 4 older sisters and one brother. They have one bed in their house and the children sleep on the cement floor with a thin carpet. They gather 6-8 buckets of water each day for washing clothes, cooking, drinking, washing dishes and bathing. 

 Widlerson lives with his mom and baby sister. He helps out with everything since they live without a father. We affectionately gave Widlerson a nickname of Wili. Now, all the kids in the program call him Wili. He smiles cause he knows everyone here loves him. He is such a smart and loving boy. He has such a bright future. Thank you to all our SPONSORS!!  You make the difference in these children's lives!!! 

ALSO we want to say a BIG Thank You to SOO many of you who have donated to TOHH's Build-A-Backpack program. 

Rebecca Miller with The Erving Church sent me these pictures and report to share of a total 44 backpacks and supplies have been shipped. They also shipped new/gently used clothes and shoes.


We will continue to gather backpacks since we do have 60 children in our program. If you'd like to help with the next barrel shipment of supplies, please contact Rebecca Miller by email (Erving area) rvmiller@crocker.com or Laurice Fournier by email (Holden area) lauricefournier@hotmail.com to set up arrangements. Thank you and God bless you for your help!




Stay connected through the week on facebook or twitter or instagram

@treeofhopehaiti

TOHH Summer Camp - Week Two

We had an amazing week here at Tree of Hope Haiti, and we can't wait to share it with all of you!! Cassandra has been organizing more activities each day for the children, and we've been doing lots of house visits to check in on our sponsored children! (And they've been writing lots of letters for those of you who sponsor a child!)

On Monday, the children started the day with one of their absolute favourite games - Fishy Fishy Cross My Ocean. Then, they worked on making an adding machine to practice their math! They used beads to make math problems and added them together to make sums.









On the second day, the children worked on their English some more! They wrote down each color in English, then did a flower craft. The wrote a different color in English on each petal, then glued all the petals onto a piece of paper to make a beautiful flower! The children also had snack and a Bible story, as they do every day. Today they learned about Jacob and Esau!

On Wednesday, we took a day off from class because we had a family wedding! Congratulations to Gama's cousin Nathalie and her husband! Later that day, we paid a visit to two of the homes that Tree of Hope Haiti has built in the past. We were overjoyed to see the families so happy and doing so well! Thank you to Team Toro and Team Vitello who built TOHH's first and second houses!

On Thursday, we had another successful day! You might have seen the kids using a large poster board that says "Today is..." Cassandra is using this to help the children learn their days of the week, months, and dates in English! Each day, a different child come to the front of the class to choose the date, and then reads it aloud for the others!











Next, the kids worked on a color-by-number page to help them learn both addition and English. They had to color the flower, but couldn't find out which color to use until they did addition problems.

On Friday, we did an activity that was definitely fun for the children! To review our colours in English, each child made a rainbow bracelet! They were so proud to show everyone what they had made at summer camp!

The children also played a musical chairs game with colored pieces of paper. Cassandra named a color in English and, if they were standing on that color, they were out!







On Saturdays, we host activities for the children in our community. This Saturday, Cassandra showed the children how to make an elastic bracelet. They loved this!! The children here in Haiti are crazy over elastics - they even play a game where they win elastics from other children and compete to have the most.



This week, we visited the homes of four sponsored children. On Monday we visited Claude, Nathan, and Peterson's home (they are all brothers). They live in a home with 11 people - six brothers, three sisters, and two parents. They live in a two-room house with only one bed. They do not have a mattress for the bed - they store their clothes on a a bed frame, then cover them with a sheet. Three people sleep on this bed, and eight sleep on the floor.





We also visited Gisson's house! Gisson sleeps in a one-room house with ten people. There are two beds. Gisson's older sisters sleep in a twin bed, and his mom and youngest siblings sleep in a full bed. Gisson and the rest of the family sleep on the floor. They are very lucky to have an outhouse and a water tank to collect water when it rains.  This family is so full of love and so grateful for everything they have!



Next, we visited Emmanuel's house! You may have seen Emmanuel's older brother, Wilzer (not present in this picture), helping out with summer camp as well! Also, Emmanuel's older sister, Celitha (far right), works in the kitchen here at Tree of Hope! Emmanuel (purple shirt) is 14 years old, and already in seventh grade (this is great in Haiti)! He, along with three sisters, four brothers, and his two parents, live in a one-room house.






The last house we visited belonged to 9-year-old David Edmond (center). He lives in a one-room house with his parents, two sisters, and one cousin. They have two beds - one full bed for mom, dad, David, and the cousin. The two younger sisters sleep in a twin bed together.








This Saturday, we also started something new and exciting: #SponsorSaturday ! Each Saturday, we will be highlighting a different child in need of a sponsor. This week, we focused on Penthia! Someone reached out to sponsor her within 37 minutes of the post!! Isn't that amazing?!






Lastly, we wanted to remind everyone about our backpack drive! The children are in need of the following items: backpacks, pencils, crayons, notebooks, erasers, pencil sharpeners, glue, scissors, pencil holders, and rulers. The Erving Community Church will be sending a barrel to Haiti in August. To arrange a drop-off, contact Rebecca Miller at (413) 422-2660 or rvmiller@crocker.com. If the Holden area is closer/more convenient for you, please contact Laurice Fournier at lauricefournier@hotmail.com . Thank you in advance for all your support and kindness! Have a blessed week!

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TOHH Summer Camp - Week One

This summer we are so excited to be hosting a summer camp for the children in our community! Our long-term missionary, Cassandra Clemente, will be working with these kids to teach them Math and English! The camp is comprised of half sponsored children and half children from our community that are still in need of sponsors.

During this first week of summer camp, the kids had so much fun! They learned new games, did crafts, read stories, and more!







On Day 1, Cassandra set up stations for the children. We had stations for chalk, soccer, reading, making name tags, and playing cards.

After the children finished with the stations, they got to play with a class parachute, and they absolutely loved it!! Their favorite parachute game is Cat and Mouse, where one person (the cat) is on top to the parachute and another person (the mouse) is under the parachute. The cat must crawl around and try to catch the mouse! Check out the videos of the kids playing this game on Facebook and Instagram (@treeofhopehaiti)! :)







On Day 2, the kids started with learning some expression in English! We learned "How are you," "What is your name," and "Good Morning" among others. Each day, the kids also listen to a Bible story in Creole. Today, we read the Creation Story. The kids are so precious listening to each new story!

On Day 3, the day started with an icebreaker game! The children passed a ball around and said a fun fact about themselves! Next, the kids did a coloring activity to help them practice number recognition. Several numbers were read aloud in Creole, and the children had to color each number a specific color. In the end, they made a picture of a beautiful butterfly!

On Day 4, Cassandra gave the children special notebooks with their names on them! The kids love them!! Inside, the children wrote about what they love, or love to do. The younger children practiced writing letters and the alphabet.

Next, the children did another colouring activity, but this time we read the numbers in English! The kids were able to learn English numbers one through six using a color-by-numbers worksheet. When they were finished, they had made a colouring page with fish on it! Each day, we are also grateful to be able to provide the children with a snack and a drink!


On Day 5, the children began the day by playing a favorite game of theirs - Fishy Fishy Cross My Ocean. In Creole, we say "Pwason pwason traverse lamer mwen." After this, they came inside to start learning the days of the week and the months in English! The children wrote these down, they made a wheel that they can use to show the date!

Each day, Cassandra has also been working with our sponsored children to write letters for their sponsors. This week, we worked with several children including Donadoni, Kavensky, Samantha, Netuna, and Thedson. The child that stays each day eats a meal at Tree of Hope. In the afternoons, we  travel to each child's house to see where and how they live.

 Samantha and her family

Kavensky with his mom, brothers, and Nathan and Nyah (who is making a super silly face!)

Donaldoni with his mom and dad

Stay tuned for more updates! We are also posting daily updates on Facebook (Tree of Hope Haiti) and Instagram (@treeofhopehaiti)!

Build a Back-Pack for OUR Sponsored Kids!

Our educational program has 60 children enrolled with 28 fully sponsored.  You can make a difference in the lives of these children.  By donating a back pack with school supplies you ensure that these children have the supplies they need in order to make the most of their school year. Each child is required to provide their own supplies. Please consider helping the mountain children of Grand-Goave, Haiti.  God bless you for your kindness.

Items listed below can be donated all together or separately:
*BackPacks  *Pencils  *Crayons  *Notebooks  *Pens   *Erasers   *Pencil sharpener   *Glue   *Scissors  *Pencil holder  *Ruler

The Erving Community Church will be sending a barrel to Haiti in August. Please contact Rebecca Miller to arrange drop off at (413)422-2660 or  email her at rvmiller@crocker.com

Update on Sponsored Children - June 2016

Our 1^st celebration with our sponsored children was held on June 16^th. The children and adults came in their Sunday best clothes.

 We shared about what TOHH’s responsibilities are for their education and explained our expectations for the parents and children. Gama also shared with them the summer program we will be having for the kids that will last 6 weeks. 

The kids were very happy to hear that we will be having activies for them. We had a total of 27 children show up with their mother or father. The meeting ended with rain so we packed in our guesthouse and ate a feast together of traditional Haitian dishes.

June Newsletter 2016

THE PARAYSON FAMILY

God is faithful and we are so grateful that on June 14^th Angela and the kids (Nathan and Nyah) have been reunited with Gama in Haiti. It was a quick and easy travel into Port-au-Prince and out! Thanks for all those who prayed!!

Please consider financially supporting our mission through a one-time or ongoing donation. As of January 2016, Gama is dedicated full-time to Tree of Hope Haiti leaving the family without a steady income.  Previously the family and mission was supported through his full-time position with Be Like Brit orphanage.  Donations are tax deductible and can be made via PayPal on our website or mail a check or money order.

Thank you all for your love and support! We know God is in control and your investment will be sown into eternity!

Sponsor the Parayson Missionaries

We are looking to find 50 monthly supporters to partner with TOHH for $40.00 a month.

Support the Parayson Missionary Family with a one-time or ongoing contribution.  Donations are for living expenses of the family as well as administrative and maintenance costs of facilities.

The Parayson family have answered God’s call to serve in Haiti and help the Haitian people. Their purpose is to sow their  lives as a seed like Jesus did as an example of God’s love. This is the driving force behind Tree of Hope Haiti. They believe “One seed sown produces a harvest of many”. 

Thank you for partnering with them and helping them do what they do, for the glory of God!

Donations can be made online at our donation link or sent by mail.  TOHH P.O. Box 344 Athol, MA 01331

(In Memo write: Parayson Family)

Click here to donate

Tree of Hope Haiti's 1st Annual Meet and Greet and Grand Opening!

Tree of Hope Haiti 1st Annual Meet and Greet

On April 2, 2016 TOHH had our 1st Annual Meet & Greet. There was a great turn out of support and we thank everyone for joining us. It was open to the public and many friends, family members, pastor’s, church members, community organizations and mission committee’s came out. 

Pastor Brian and Marie Richard opened with a welcome and lead us in a blessing over the food. We ate while hearing live music from local worship leaders. Pastor Emy Vazquez of Excel Church (Gama and Angela’s pastor) shared about his partnership and guidance for establishing TOHH.  Gama shared his story and Angela shared the mission of TOHH as it’s a beacon of hope for Haitians by spreading the gospel of Christ through community development rooted in God’s love.

TOHH seeks to: 

• Improve the quality and accessibility of water
• Ensure that every family in the community has a safe and durable place to call home
• See every child in the community enrolled in school
• Increase job opportunities for Haitians

We continued the night with touching testimonies of those in partnership with TOHH. Angela’s uncle, Pastor Peter Vitello of Good News Bible Church in Wilton, N.H. shared how being involved with TOHH has transformed his church, as members have taken trips to Haiti.  CaroleAnn Knetchel shared why it’s important for her to be a monthly supporter of TOHH as her heart aches for those in need in Haiti.  We recognized Pastor Vic Miller and his wife from the Erving Evangelical Community Church who were the first church to partner with TOHH. We gave him a Haitian shell lamp as a token of our love and support. Angela’s cousin, Jon Vitello shared why it was important for him to take his whole family on a mission trip and bypass a family vacation to Walt Disney World to built a house for a local family in need. His son Ethan, 12 yrs old, shared how it amazed him to see Haitian children have so little and be so happy as he played soccer with the local kids. We ended the night by hearing a powerful testimony from Stewart Harmon who recently took a mission trip in Feb. with Good New Bible Church. He spoke about why he was compelled to quit smoking and sponsor 2 children to go to school.

There are so many people to thank! We thank Our TOHH’s Event Committee who worked endless nights to prepare, Rick Plourde with sound and all the talented worship leaders, those who set up and did break down, those who spoke on behalf of their experience and partnership with TOHH and most of all our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has given us this passion and desire to be His hands and feet.

Tree of Hope Grand Opening/Dedication Ceremony Success

We are so happy to announce that January 28, 2016 was our Grand Opening and Dedication Ceremony!

 Haitian and American came together as we celebrated what God is doing in Grand-Goave, Haiti. We had over 250 people gather to worship God in English and in Creole. Then we heard testimony from special guest speakers Pastor Lex Edme, Pastor Brian and Marie Richard along with special prayer from our Haitian Pastor’s, Pastor Edon and Pastor Cauvin.  

President of TOHH, Kervince “Gama” Parayson gave an over view of his story and what TOHH will be doing. Gama’s wife Angela shared thanks to her parents, family and friends for their continued support.  A closing song written by friends (Samantha Shultz, Priscilla Smith and Rich Allen called “Tree of Hope” was sang by Angela Parayson to end the night.

Tree of Hope Haiti thanks all those who came out to celebrate, all those who helped to set up/tear down and all those who prepared food. It was a huge success!