Back to Work!

Mariette poses proudly with the Easter cake she made for the children here at Be Like Brit!

Easter Sunday started like most mornings here at Be Like Brit do.  As the roosters started to crow and the chirping of birds began to fill the air, the sounds of the children rising from their slumbers mixed in.  From my room in Be Like Brit, I listened carefully as the children exchanged words filled with excitement:  "It's Easter Sunday!", or "my new dress is so beautiful!" - Indeed, there is an anticipation and an excitement in the voices of these children that is so refreshing and so rejuvenating.  They wear this anticipation and excitement openly on their faces each and every day.

Ready for Church!

I just returned to Haiti and to BLB after my first week off after 3 months here as Program Director.  I can't really believe it.  Here we are, swiftly moving into April, and the changes in my own life are far too many to count.  My own reality between September 19, 2012 when I applied for this position up to today is one that I still can't quite grasp entirely.  Five months ago I was working in the Sociology department of a state university, teaching undergraduate classes to some very well-off (mostly) American teenagers, and today by 8a.m. I've spent two hours helping orphaned children in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere get ready for church in their donated clothes with smiles more genuine than any I have seen before.  It's quite a shift from life in the States.

We take so many things for granted.  I think that may be what struck me the most during my visit home last week.  Surrounded by family, friends, food, drink, all of those comforts of home we in the developed world "need" in order to survive.  A hotel bed, king sized of course; wifi a necessity; a rental car (because who wants to walk in the cold!) - all of these things seem so wasteful when you return back to a place like Haiti.  While I don't fault myself or any of us who know this as our own realities, it really is so trivial and so selfish to think we need any of those things.  That's something that Haiti has taught me, we really don't need much.  We just need to know different.

I definitely feel a bit rejuvenated after my first week off.  Part of my contract mandates that every three months I take a week to avoid burnout and fatigue.  This is a good thing, really, because Haiti demands the most from a person both mentally and physically - especially in a position like mine.  Living where you work brings a whole new meaning to being dedicated to your job, and the children at Be Like Brit mean very much to me like I imagine my own children would.  Watching things happen here at Be Like Brit on Facebook while I was away was so strange for me - and being removed from it only underscored how much these kids mean to me.

Rolson, Alexander, Kervins, Medlens, and Whenly (L-R)

I was so blessed my last two weeks in Haiti before my vacation to have Debra Pallatto-Fontaine on hand, as well as a visit from my cousin, Giovanina.  Debbie is a member of our Program Committee, and she wears many different hats!  Debbie is a Minister and an educator.  Her expertise and guidance over her two week stay was invaluable to our staff and children here at Be Like Brit.  Through caregiver training, modeling of behaviors, helping to implement schedules and routines, and her overall guidance have made life a bit less chaotic and much more ordered!  Our caregivers and our staff alike miss Debbie already, and we can't wait for her return again this spring to lend another hand in her gentle, patient, and generous way.

Debbie with Saradina and Kervins

My cousin Giovanina Bucci from Plattsburgh, NY decided to spend her spring break from her master's program in School Psychology here at Be Like Brit.  Part of me is convinced it's because she missed me so very much (Ha!) but I also know how excited she was to get the chance to work with the children here!  Giovanina and I are cousins, but we are and have been inseparable for as long as I can remember.  Something like kindred spirits comes to mind - At any rate, Giovanina wasted no time in jumping right in with our children, bringing along with her hundreds of dollars worth of art supplies, paint, brushes, paper, etc., so that she could share her talents and skills with Brit's children.  For those of you who missed it, she and one of our own caregivers, Willman LaGuerre, were able to paint an incredible mural in our courtyard - in just two days!  This mural has brightened up an area in the orphanage where the children spend much of their time playing, and together they produced a magnificent and culturally relevant piece of art which will remain on these walls for years to come! Bon Travay!

Willmann and Giovanina work hard on their mural which now brings new life to the courtyard at Be Like Brit!

During my week off, of course I attended to some business.  I am fortunate to Skype with members of the Program Committee every week back in the States to seek their advice and guidance on a whole range of issues I run in to on a regular basis.  From sponsorship policies, to visitors, rules, discipline, staffing, issues with children, etc., I have unwavering support from our Program Committee which includes a nurse, child psychologists, a priest, a minister, college professors, and more!  After a few days back in my hometown, where I was lucky enough to visit the 4th grade classroom of a good friend to talk about Be Like Brit and after visiting and catching up with my amazing and supportive family and friends, I set off for Boston to meet with a few members of the Program Committee.

While they are all important and valuable assets to me, I speak most regularly with Christine Steinwand, Len's older sister and the Chair of the Program Committee.  Chris and I Skype two times a week - sometimes for just a few minutes, sometimes for more than an hour.  Chris is a great source of support and guidance for me - and so meeting up with her while I was up north was wonderful!  Along with Susan Johnson and Suzanne Brady, we had a great dinner and evening together.  We even ran into Bernie Gengel while we were out grabbing dessert from Modern Bakery in Boston's North End.  I think it's safe to say we were all pretty content that night!

Susan Johnson and I in Boston

Suzanne Brady and Christine Steinwand, Program Committee members (and dinner dates extraordinaire!)

Blurry, but group!

While in Boston, I was even able to meet up with Tim and Mike, Team Leaders from the St. John's Group of Britsionarys we had here back in February!  We went out for dinner and had a great evening catching up! It was so nice to see that the relationships we formed while they were here as Britsionarys carried over into life after the fact.  The next night, two of the students, Tim and Quinn drove out to Boston from Shrewsbury to say hello and catch up, too!  These trips are about more than just coming to Haiti and doing some work - they are about forming lasting friendships and connections and common bonds - and seeing these guys put forth the effort to meet up was so awesome!

So, after some brainstorming and some rest (okay - a LOT of rest - gotta love those king-sized beds, the ones with the pillow tops - worth every penny!) it's time to get back to work!  As most of you know, we have 20 children.  Our goal is to bring another 12 children in by the end of May.  This, of course, requires us to bring in and train an entire new group of caregivers.  Rosenie and I will begin the process of identifying children and families in need, venturing our into the community to visit and interview them, and making those tough decisions all over again.  This time, however, I will have the benefit of some practice and some experience - and definitely the advantage of speaking enough Creole to know when I am being talked about!  This round will be different.  As the number of children grows here at Be Like Brit, my role shifts.  As much as I love being hands on with the children and being a part of their every day lives, I know realistically that working in that capacity is not sustainable nor is it in the best interest of the children who will call Be Like Brit home.

As I shift a bit and delegate more responsibility and autonomy to our caregivers, I do so with some anxiety.  I know with the help of my co-director Gama (Mr. Incredible, indeed!) and through supports from the Program Committee that in just a few months I will likely be reminiscing and exclaiming my disbelief that we now have 32 children - how I can't believe it was only January 21st when we brought our first child home to Be Like Brit - how I can't believe what little hair I have left hasn't fallen out!  I know the support and prayers from all of you who have been so good to Be Like Brit will help along the way, too!

We have lots of exciting new things in the works at Be Like Brit! I'm in the process of working out relationships with several U.S. universities who are considering Be Like Brit as a placement for graduate level social work and public health students.  We have other long-term volunteer (Britsionary) applications in the works, projects being considered, and networking and collaborations in progress.

Stay tuned for some great new happenings here in Haiti - and remember that it's only because of the support and generosity of our friends and the hard work of those committed to our cause that these wonderful things are possible.

Happy Easter! Please enjoy some photos from our Easter Egg Hunt, and stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Thanks for reading,
Jonathan

How many eggs did we hide in the toy box?

Nashca is looking!

Sherly found her two!

Loobens!

Saradina ignores an attempted high five from Giovanina! Ha!

Saradina found her two eggs!

Ephesiens is all smiles!

Gotta love that Love na! 

Shnaider is proud!

Mirna!

Whenly!

Socrate!

Daphney!

Madame Sintana wanted in on the hunt, too. Tisk, tisk!

Caregiver Carline snuck in on the hunt after Sintana! 

Three Months On...

Sometimes it's hard to believe that I have been here in Haiti working for Be Like Brit for 3 months.  In so many ways the time has flown, while in others it feels like I've been here all along.  As I prepare to take my first week off, I wanted to reflect a bit on what has happened here in this building, in this community, and the impact this experience has had on my own life.

The 'B' from above, October 2012.

For those of you who don't know where I came from and why I am here, I'll start by telling you that never in my life would I have imagined I would find myself living and working in Haiti.  I first got in to international work back in 2001 when I went to work in international business, spending much of the year working and traveling all throughout Asia.  I loved so much about the travel - new places, new cultures, new friendships.  As my work in China's manufacturing sector went on, I started to struggle with the conditions factory workers were forced to spend their days and nights in.  Finally giving way to my conscience, I left my job in Asia and returned to my hometown to go back to school.

A few years later, I ended up in graduate school at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA.  I chose to pursue a master's degree in social work, as my commitment to issues of social justice and human rights naturally led me in that direction.  I chose Tulane because in a post-Katrina environment, the need was great for people looking to do the kind of work I hoped to get involved with.  The city of New Orleans had always fascinated me; a unique blend of cultures coexisting in an environment not quite like any other place in the U.S.  Tulane offered an accelerated program and offered the chance to concentrate in global social work and development.  All of these options attracted me to the program.  After my first year of grad school, I applied to Tulane's select global social work program and found myself placed at an orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda, where I was to assist the staff social worker with the development of a social services program.

Me with some of the boys from the Rwandan Orphans Project in Kigali

My experience in Rwanda sparked something inside of me, and from the moment I arrived there, I knew I wanted to do this type of work - international setting with a vulnerable population.  After my final semester of grad school in Rwanda, I returned to New Orleans, graduated, and took a position as a lecturer in the Department of Sociology with the State University of New York system.

In September of 2012, I started to feel that overwhelming desire and need to "get out" - to get out of my comfort zone and find something which would challenge me.  I so wanted to work with a sense of purpose and appreciation.  Social Work in the United States doesn't always foster a sense of thanks - in fact, it seems in our "developed" society, we've managed to bury all the good effort in piles of paperwork, red tape, and unwieldy bureaucracy.  I wanted to be somewhere on the ground and working hands on.  As I started my job search, I came across an opening with Be Like Brit.  I applied and hoped for the best.  A month later, Len and Cherylann brought me in to Haiti to check out the orphanage and interview.  A week after that trip, I signed my 3 year contract!

Signing my 3 year contract!

I finished the year out teaching, and in the midst of a massive snow storm, flew out of Burlington, VT on December 26, 2012.  20 hours later, I had arrived at Brit's Orphanage in Grand Goâve - only this time, it was to stay.

Since then, I've been so fortunate to come to know so many amazing people.  From the Gengels to our staff, friends, supporters, and members of the community, each new relationship makes Haiti feel a bit more like home.  The work that I am doing here is not easy - it requires so many different skills and qualities - some of which I have and some of which I need to improve upon.  The learning curve is certainly present, and no two days in Haiti are ever the same.  Perhaps that is what I love the most - new challenges requiring new approaches and new resources.  Living where you work of course brings with it its own stresses and demands, and so when Len and Cherylann insisted that I take a break every three months, I felt encouraged by their keen awareness to things like burnout and fatigue.

Looking back over these 3 months, I can't really believe how much we as an organization have achieved.  We started the year by having our opening and dedication ceremony, successfully hosting over 60 friends from the States and around 40 guests from Haiti.  After the craziness and chaos from that weekend wore off, we welcomed our first child, Kervins, on Brit's birthday!

Kervins! 

In the past three months, I have personally interviewed 60 families with children they were hoping to have brought in to Be Like Brit.  This has been done through community outreach - using contacts and stakeholders in the community to help us identify families in need and some of the most vulnerable children in the area.  From these 60 families, we have brought 20 children home to Be Like Brit.  We are almost a third of the way there - and it's incredible to me that we have come this far in just 2 months! As our family has grown, our staff has too - and we now have 34 full-time staff helping us to maintain and manage Be Like Brit in Haiti.

As the Program Director, I am responsible for all things related to the children.  This includes the staff that works with them and our visitors and Britsionarys who want to spend time with them.  While boundaries are important, I can't help but feel very personal about these children - with the help of Rosenie I'm the one who has found these children, met their families, visited their homes, and ultimately decided to bring them in to Be Like Brit.  They are all of our sons and daughters - but I have a unique emotional connection to them and a sense of duty to protect them.  It makes doing good work all the more important when it comes to these kids.

Kervins and Love na - our youngest two!

I recently finished the book, Heartache and Hope in Haiti.  I had to pinch myself as I sat on the roof of the building and read the final chapter - in disbelief that I am such an integral part of the Be Like Brit Orphanage.  It's such an awesome project.  It's so inspiring and offers so much hope to not only those children who will call Be Like Brit home, but to anyone who has faced loss or tragedy.  The ability of the human spirit to persevere and grow and the nature of good people are all represented at Be Like Brit. To be a part of it is truly humbling.

I'm looking forward to my week off and being able to share my excitement and stories with my friends and family. At the same time, I am anxious about leaving and will miss each of those precious faces every day!  I understand the value of a break, and a place like Haiti definitely requires them.  After working hard for 3 months with no days off, I most look forward to sleeping in a day or two!

Thanks for reading! See you all next week!
Jonathan

Community Building

Students from Becker College and Boston University work on a house in Grand Goâve, Haiti, as part of their Britsionary service trip

This past week, we at Be Like Brit were fortunate enough to host a group of 22 students and faculty from both Becker College and Boston University through our Britsionary program.  This was our first group of this size and our first venture into hosting a group coming from two different places.  Being able to brings these two groups together to work towards a common goal proved that despite where we come from and what differences we may have, we all can be a force in strengthening communities together.

We started out the week with some intense labor, in true Britsionary fashion.  As many of you know, we at Be Like Brit are committed to community enrichment and reciprocity - giving back to those who have given so much of themselves throughout the process of building Be Like Brit and helping us to feel welcome here in Grand Goâve.  Part of this community enrichment piece is reaching out to a local family or two and identifying a need, brainstorming, and together with the family deciding how we can best serve them.  This week we were able to join forces and help two families in very simple but very meaningful ways.

Gama, our "Clerk of the Works" helps secure tarps to keep the house dry during Haiti's heavy rains

With the help of Gama, our groups were able to find two families in need.  Many families live in one and two room "houses" made up of little more than sticks, banana leaves and mud.  With the rainy season just around the corner, Gama thought it would be helpful to help make two of these houses a bit more secure by wrapping them in tarps and rope in order to protect the children and families inside.  These tarps cost little more than $20.00 each, but would otherwise be unobtainable for the families to whom they now provide added shelter.

While our groups were busy building relationships with members from the community, it was also great to see how these two groups sort of became one throughout the course of their Britsionary experience.  It's not always easy to bring large numbers of people together in a place which demands so much from you both emotionally and physically.  These two groups of college students, along with several faculty members did a great job at coming to Haiti to do the kind of work that Brit felt so passionate about!

The end result!

Securing the walls.

 The two groups took things beyond just protecting the family and their house from the elements! While touring their respective houses, the students noticed that neither family had proper table and chairs for dining, and asked if the families could benefit from this sort of contribution.  After it was decided that this would be useful, the teams went out and purchased the necessary supplies to build each of the families they were helping a much needed table and chairs.  They even built a crib for one of our security guards who recently had a baby and was sleeping on the floor!  It's this kind of work that makes all of us here at Be Like Brit proud and exactly the kind of project that keeps Brit's spirit alive and strong!

A very proud group!

Another part of our Britsionary program includes the building of a given number of homes per year in the community of Grand Goâve.  This year, we have plans to build four houses!  Our groups from Becker and Boston University helped with an important first step:  Building a security wall!  The groups started by loading blocks by hand into the pickup truck, hauling them up the mountain, and laying them out one by one. This is an arduous and labor intensive task!  Aside from the unforgiving Haiti sun, the group found themselves up against a mighty force.  Tarantulas! Our Haitian crews got a good laugh at watching the students scatter every time they found one - which was rather often!

Blocks (and spiders!) 

We're very proud of our Britsionary groups!  Every group we host is different.  Some get along great, some take longer to warm up to each other and form a sense of group identity.  These two groups of young adults had quite a few differences - yet as the week progressed, the common bond they shared allowed them to form an organic solidarity - a natural transformation born out of the desire to serve others less fortunate.  Through their compassion, their differences were set aside, and the work they did delivered real, necessary and lasting change to families a world away.  Indeed, their presence here in Grand Goâve from a far away place will not soon be forgotten.  We are so very grateful to them for their service, and their commitment to "Be Like Brit".

For more information on our short-term or long-term Britsionary programs, please go to our website at www.belikebrit.org/britsionary

Please enjoy some more photos from the week, and as always, thanks for reading!

Jonathan

The Women of Be Like Brit

This week, women around the world were celebrated on March 8, International Women's Day.  As I sat down to write this blog, I couldn't help but think about the women who work for us here at Be Like Brit.  So many of you have followed this journey from the very beginning.  You are coming to know us and our children, but it occurred to me that most of you don't know much about what happens behind the scenes!  In the spirit of celebrating women, this week, please meet the women of Be Like Brit!

Rosenie

Meet Rosenie.  Rosenie's role has evolved here at Be Like Brit.  Rosenie is essentially my assistant when it comes to child-related work.  Rosenie and I go everywhere together!  She is well known and highly respected in the community of Grand Goâve.  Nobody messes with Rosenie!  She really has taken the lead on locating children and families to interview to determine eligibility for enrollment into our program here at Be Like Brit.  Once a child is approved for enrollment, Rosenie and I work side by side through that process, including everything from intake paperwork and translating to enrollment in school, shopping for books, uniforms, setting the child up with new clothes, shoes, personal items, the list goes on and on!  Rosenie is also a nurse, and great to have on site 40 hours per week in the event we need someone to tend to scrapes and bruises.  With Rosenie next to me, I know that I can go anywhere in Haiti and not be worried!  As she always reminds me, "I will protect you!"  And she does!  Through me, Rosenie keeps everything else in order with the staff and has proved to be an invaluable resource and has also become a great friend!

Elsie (with a very happy Kervins)

Elsie is a school teacher, and works with us at Be Like Brit as a primary caregiver.  Elsie takes the lead in after school enrichment.  She has the sometimes challenging task of getting our older children who are in the Haitian equivalent of elementary school to review their lessons and study after school every day.  The children come home from school around noon everyday.  After they eat lunch, they get free play time for about an hour, and then it's time to hit the books!  Elsie has done a great job with helping our children preform well in school.  She proudly reports the day's scores to me and brings any educational issues to my attention.  She has the patience of God Himself and we are so blessed to have her here!

Carline and Love na

While Elsie is busy working with our older children, Carline heads up the preschoolers!  All but 5 of our children are in preschool, and so keeping them busy and learning is no easy task!  While she has help from other staff, Carline does an amazing job with managing 14 little ones and keeping them happy, clean, and engaged in healthy play and learning.  Elsie and Carline also have the gift of voice and spend about an hour each day with all of our children together practicing childhood songs in English, Creole, and in French! Trust me when I say that a building full of children is usually very loud, and there's nothing sweeter than the sound of 19 little ones singing along in near perfect unison!

Yranie

Yranie has been with us for about one month now at Be Like Brit.  Yranie officially works as a caregiver's assistant, but really her work is very much directly with the children.  Yranie is here every day to meet the children as they come home from school.  She helps them all change out of their school uniforms and makes sure that each child puts them away neatly.  She teaches them things like how to make their beds, where to put their belongings, and maintains order in the children's bedrooms.  Most recently, we started a program with Yranie and the children where she now spends a few hours a week teaching them basic life skills, including washing clothes, shoes, etc.  In Haiti, it's the norm for children to do laundry - as laundry is done by hand, it's a great opportunity for the children to sit together, completing a task, learning about responsibility and what it means to contribute to the household.  It's also a great chance for them to sit and talk, sing songs, and laugh!  I was nervous about the idea at first, but the kids look forward to this every week!

Yranie also helps all our children at bath time.  In Haiti, the children wash in the afternoon, as the water has been heated up enough by the sun that it's a bit warmer.  This happens just before dinner, and takes about an hour!  The other caregivers help with dressing and drying while Yranie keeps watch and gives direction and assistance in the tub!  She even started coming in on Sundays (her day off) to iron school uniforms - I told her that it wasn't necessary for her to come and do that, that we have other staff capable of performing this task.  She wouldn't hear of it.  When I asked her why, her answer was so sincere and so genuine.  "They're kind of like my own children.  I want them to learn this from me."

Mirta (L) and Mirlaine (R)

Madona

Mirta, Madona, and Mirlaine are three of our overnight caregivers.  I am always surprised at the amount of work these women do on the night shift.  I had assumed (somewhat naively) that the overnight shift would be easy:  You come in at 7, the children go to bed around 8 or 8:30, and then you're free!  Obviously, this is not the case.  Not only do these women have the task of getting all of the children prepared for bed - but they have the responsibility of getting them all ready in the morning, too!  The two things children hate the most - to go to bed, and to get up - they deal with 6 days a week!  Throughout the night, there are almost always interruptions.  Mirlaine and Madona both go to nursing school by day, and Mirta has a family of her own.  We're so lucky to have them with us here!

Mariette (L) and Evana (R) 

Our kitchen crew is always hard at work!  The kitchen starts things going at about 5:30am every day, and doesn't close usually until around 8:00pm! Gilbert manages our kitchen and does a great job along with the four women who cook for us!  Mariette is the lead cook, and we especially like that she's currently in school learning how to make and decorate cakes!  Along with her, Evana, Betty, and Rolen work hard to make healthy and nutritious meals for our children and our staff!

We also provide one meal a day for some local children who might not otherwise get to eat - in February we served over 30 children from outside Be Like Brit lunch!  We provide one meal each day for all of our staff, too, and have to accommodate for visitors and Britsionarys regularly!  This week we'll be cooking for an extra 30 people every day!  They really do an amazing job putting out our meals.  Each of them has gone through a first aid training as well as a food preparation and sanitation training!  They do a great job keeping us all fed and all healthy!

Betty and Rolen washing up!

Keeping 19,000 square feet of building clean and keeping up with our 19 children is no easy task.  You can imagine that things get pretty hectic and interesting around here!  We have a crew of women who keep things safe and clean: Madame Santana is one of those women.  Santana has been around since Len first came to Haiti to scope out places to build.  We actually have a photo of Santana serving water to people not long after the earthquake - She works 6 days a week and sings along the whole time.  She also teaches me Creole (she doesn't speak a word of English!) ~ Thanks to her I know all about toilets, beds, rooms, sheets, pillows, laundry, soap, washing, drying, wet, dirty, clean, ready, and not!  I secretly try to sing along when I hear her "whistle while she works."

Santana

Zet, letting Susan demonstrate some of our medical equipment in the BLB Clinic

Santana is assisted by Zet, who works just as hard!  Zet can usually be found doing laundry or maintaining our Britsionary rooms.  If there's one thing that Haiti has a lot of, it's dust!  She preps the 6 rooms and 22 beds for our visitors and maintains those areas throughout their stay.  She also works in the dining area and maintains the common areas at Be Like Brit.  She and Santana are great friends and we enjoy sitting with them at Church on Sundays - just like family!

We also happen to have some men working for us at Be Like Brit - we have three male caregivers and they work just as hard as our women do.  We really have a great crew here and what I like best is that at any given time, you might see someone assigned to laundry help one of the children with putting his or her dishes in the sink.  A cook may hear crying and come out to offer some comfort.  Our tasks are specific, but our roles are somewhat fluid.  We hope this fosters a real sense of family, of love, and of security.  

Thanks for reading, and enjoy some more photos from the week!

Jonathan

Carline and Elsie

Betty (standing), Evana and Gilbert

Sunday, March 10, 2013 before Church!

Dance night!

Lined up to walk to Church!

Nashca

Socrate, looking smart!