Joy Filled Living: Today I met Eduardo!

It has been a glorious day in Haiti. We started the day by greeting some cows in the street just outside the guesthouse gate. We then attended opening exercises at TLC Barefoot School and Mr. Nickson, the principal, gave us a tour of the facility. This school enrolls almost 100 children grades pre-school through 8th grade. These children come from very poor families who could not otherwise send their children to school. Public education for all Haitians does not currently exist. Feel free to check them out at http://www.tlcbarefootschool.com/ I can vouch for this place - it is outstanding. We then walked down to the orphanage and did some traditional division of labor. The guys sanded and painted newly constructed metal crib frames for the nursery. The women worked on setting up a catalogue of over 250 wedding dresses and formal dresses for the formal dress rental shop that is being started to give the older girls in the orphanage some vocational training. To clarify, HIS Home for Children not only houses children that are up for adoption, but also has a separate house for 30 preteen and teenage girls that had been living in the tent cities without family protection. In the afternoon, I was so thrilled to meet the young man that my family is sponsoring. Eduardo just graduated from TLC Barefoot School and is in his first year at high school where he is doing very well. His dream is to become a doctor. His mother passed away from cancer almost 4 years ago and he wants to help others avoid such an early death. His father is a good man who has not abandoned his children and struggles daily to support his family. But for the TLC sponsorship program, this very bright young man would not be able to attend high school - public school is not free. We met at the school after he had finished his classes for the day and had a wonderful chat. Then he invited us to go to his home a couple of blocks away and meet his father - this was huge honor. As I write this, I am still overwhelmed with joy. For less than the cost of the laptop that I am currently using to create this post, Eduardo has the support for one year, one grade closer to his dream. So after that, the rest of the day just floated by. Oh, and another story as to why I love Haiti, last night 3 new guests arrived late in the evening at the guesthouse. One of the men looked at me and said that I looked familiar - turns out that Bryan and I were guests here 2 years ago after the earthquake, but that's a story for another day. One last thing, the city electricity is currently off and the roar of the guesthouse generator engulfs us. In Haiti, it is best not to rely too much on electricity.