Amitye ~ Friendship

Ekip Amitye, or Team Friendship has been with us over the course of this past week! This great group was a sort of synthesis of a group of friends from Halifax and a group from the Boston area. We were blessed to have many returning Britsionarys, and new ones, too! The dynamics of merging two groups of people is always interesting, and this group solidified a great relationship as friends right out of the gate!

As is often the case, a family in great need was identified ahead of the Britsionary group's arrival to Haiti. This time, we found a mother and two young children living in absolute squalor - a 10X10 area of pieced together scraps of metal, wood, and tarp. The evening rains flooded the home, meaning often the family had to sleep outdoors under a tarp in order to avoid laying in mud - which was the floor of their 'home'. The coming rainy season would surely have wiped away the tenuous shelter, exposing the mother and her two young children to all of the elements. Here, you can see the happiness on their faces, while you can also see what was home just a week before in the background...

The end result is much more suitable for their needs, and we know it will keep them safe and secure for years to come...

Among the group were our great Canadian friends, returning from last year, Gillian and Judy! Gillian came down as our medical Britsionary and worked hard in the clinic! She spent some very long days checking up on our children and seeing almost everyone on our staff - as we are committed to not only our children but to our staff as well. Indeed, we are a family here at Be Like Brit and when we have a resource on hand to share, we do what we can! Judy has incredible organizational skills, too, and so I was so relieved when she offered to take care of some filing for me! They make a great team and we're so thankful for the Ambassadors we have in Jill and Judy ~ they have really brought Be Like Brit's message to Canada and as we grow, we look forward to hosting more and more groups from our friends and neighbors to the north!

As we discuss our friends and our commitment to community, I feel compelled to introduce you to a new addition to Be Like Brit. Two weeks ago, while on a weekend off in Port au Prince, my phone rang after 6pm. It was Gama. He called to tell me that the government entity in charge of the welfare of children was at Be Like Brit, and were asking us to assume the custody and care of a sixteen year old girl. My first response was to protest! "Our program is not designed for children of that age", I argued. "We are not obligated to accept any children from the government without a legal order", I continued. Yet as the inspector with the IBESR office began to explain the urgency of the situation, and essentially begged me to help, I made the decision.

We've enrolled our newest friend, and child number 67 in to Brit's Orphanage. Meet Aseline! She will be with us for a few months, and we want her to feel right at home. We're glad she has already said that here she feels safe and secure. When the government called just yesterday to check on her, I was proud to hear the official tell me how Aseline told him she feels right at home here, that it is a good place that is safe and that the children are very much loved. There's no better compliment to our collective efforts than the praises of a child!

While we welcomed Aseline a few weeks ago, we had to say goodbye to another friend at Be Like Brit! Most of you will remember that we brought Petit Bruno down to Haiti in September of 2014, just a puppy of 3 months at the time! Our thoughts were that having a dog would encourage some of the children to take responsibility. Who doesn't love a pet when you are a child!? Ti Bruno's presence here was very helpful for many of our children. Some of the more aggressive children seemed to find great pride in assuming the responsibility of him, and we noticed many behaviors improve just with this simple addition. Indeed, there is great value in having man's best friend around!

Of course we knew that this breed of dog would require some special attention in a place like Haiti. Not exactly the type of dog that does well here, we know of dozens of people who bring English Bulldogs in to Haiti. The veterinarian's office in Petionville told us of countless customers who own Bulldogs here, and so we figured we could keep him comfortable in the areas of the orphanage which are air conditioned.

This worked, but we soon learned that Bruno much preferred to be outside, running around with the children and playing! Given his breed, that just wasn't feasible, and so we made the tough decision to bring Bruno back to the United States so that he could run and be free no matter where he was! Our children understood, and were remarkably matter-of-fact about it. "So he can breathe better and be outside" one of the children said. There were a few tears at his departure, but we know Bruno is better off with Papi Len and having control of the whole house!

We can't thank the Animal Care Center in Petionville and Missionary Flights International enough for all of their help and professionalism in helping us get this not-so-petit Petit Bruno back to the United States!

Amanda left yesterday morning ahead of our group for a weekend in Florida. She says she went so that she could watch the Superbowl with her father (they are huge Patriots fans!), and we hope she has a great, recuperative weekend in the USA. I wonder what treats she will bring back for me? I mean, for the children!

It's unusually cool here in Haiti these past two days. Cloudy skies and afternoon rains, with a cool breeze sweeping up the mountain. It's the perfect time to grab some light blankets, put on a movie, and enjoy the quiet that comes with this kind of weather in Haiti. People tend to stop and while I know it's nothing like the blizzard our friends in the Northeast just endured, I like to think of it as our own kind of snow day.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and as always, thank you for helping us help the children of Haiti at Be Like Brit!