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.
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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