Denise

It was truly an amazing week in Haiti. Meeting the ladies who we would be teaching the class to, I was very moved by how eager and excited they were to work and learn something new. They wanted an opportunity to be able to take care of themselves and their families. It gave me a lot of hope for the future possibilities of what an art co-op could be in the mountains of Haiti and what it could mean for the people who live there!

One of the ladies who came to the class is Denise. She is a victim of the earthquake and is living in Cazale with Lori, who runs the clinic there. Lori actually gave up her own house so that several people who needed a place to recover would have a place to do so. A lot of people who were taken to the Comfort Ships for care with very serious injuries had nowhere to go after their surgeries and amputations. Thankfully Lori welcomed them in and they are doing SO much better now.

Denise was trapped under her house for four days. Even more amazing than that was her newborn baby, Annika, was with her. Her parents were also in the house but they did not survive.

Isn't her baby gorgeous?

Annika had to have her arm amputated because of severe injuries. Denise had many injuries on her arms and legs and also had a badly infected bed sore from being trapped for so many days in the same position.

She tried so hard to learn the process of making the bracelets during our class and was really good at it. She has nothing right now. She has clothes and food thanks to RHFH, and she hopes to be able to have a house for her and her baby someday.

I was privileged to be able to spend some extra time with Denise the day after our class and her positive attitude and smile were infectious. Even after everything she has been through, she has hope and a lot of that hope has come through RHFH and all they have done for her.

We will be listing the bracelets we made in Haiti in the very near future. The money will go to help Denise and other women like her.
Thank you for your purchases and for helping the women and children of Haiti!

Making Bracelets Today in Cazale

I wish there was time to write more, but soon...
Lori, the lady who runs the clinic in Cazale helped to translate, which was hugely helpful and was really the only thing that had slightly stressed me out about teaching this class. I really wish I spoke Kreyol and I hope to learn more before I return.

The ladies learned quickly and really enjoyed making them.

Here's the whole group.
They were all wonderful

In Cazale

We had a productive day of painting, weighing the kids, and sorting LOTS of baby formula. It was much different driving from Port au Prince to Cazale this time, seeing all the tent cities everywhere. I can totally understand why people don't want to go inside, after seeing all the crumbled buildings and cracks in the walls.

Tomorrow we will start painting the mural in the eating area of the Rescue Center. It's so wonderful to see some of the kids we spent time with in December and to see so many new kids that are receiving the care that they so desperately need.

On Our Way...

We are on our way. To Haiti that is!
We hope to be posting from Haiti if the internet and electricity and all that cooperate. It will be an amazing week and I'm so excited about the beginning of an art co-op in Cazale and all that can mean for helping families in the mountains of Haiti.

Thank you to the artists who have contacted us recently and please continue to tell your friends about Artists For Hope and the children in Haiti that are searching for Hope in their future.

Check back soon!

SO Excited

We are working on some exciting things here at Artists For Hope. In a week I will be flying to Haiti, for many reasons, but one of them being that we are hoping to start an art co-op in the mountains of Haiti where the Rescue Center is located. One of the things that impacted us the most while we were in Haiti was the lack of jobs. That lack of jobs leads to the horrible cycle of poverty that results in starving kids and we don't want to stand by and just watch the cycle continue.

We will be teaching some women a few simple art ideas to begin with and then we'll continue to teach more projects in the future. We're really excited about being able to provide some women with much needed income and we'll be posting from Haiti to share about this and those sweet kids that are living at the Rescue Center and fighting to get better.

We'll be looking for different venues to sell the items made in Haiti, so please let us know if you have some great ideas for us! Continue to spread the word and let's help even more kids (and women!) in Cazale.

Haitian Proverb

Men anpil chay pa lou.
Many hands make the load lighter.

Kwashiorkor

Whenever I used think about malnutrition, I always envisioned children with round little bellies and almost every bone in their body showing. I had never heard of kwashiorkor and I had no idea how deadly it was. I was shocked at what it could do and how it was that I had never even heard of this. It's definitely one of the most tragic, awful things that are a result of extreme poverty.

Kervenson just came into the Rescue Center with severe kwash. His body is rotting from the inside and he is extremely swollen with fluid.

It's so bad that his skin is starting to break down and fall off.
As you can imagine, this is extremely painful.

We are hoping and praying that this baby will be able to recover. They tried to give him medika mamba and some juice, but his stomach couldn't handle it and he threw it all up. He is now in a place where they will do everything they can to get him better.

Maybe you are asking WHY did this happen?
Imagine if all you have is a small amount of rice to feed your family and nothing else. Rice will at least fill up your belly and make you feel full, but it doesn't give you any of the protein or vitamins that you need to live. If this is all you have to eat, eventually your body won't be able to take it and the symptoms of kwashiorkor take over. Such a sad reality of what people deal with every day.

If you would like to help us help children like Kervenson, please spread the word about Artists For Hope. Donated and purchased artwork gives funds to help feed nutritious meals to these children and provides medical help to them so they can get better. ALL the proceeds go to these kids. Everyone who works with Artists For Hope are volunteers. So if you want to know that your money is really going to make a difference~ this is the way to help!