Valiente, La Romano

More from Shelley-Ann, in her own words
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Okay, There is some internet access here but it's not that good and if it rains, good luck!

So, I told you about Valiente but what did I miss telling you? I think I didn't tell you that the bus, affectionately named "La Paloma" had quite a hard time getting there!  It had rained that day and rained HARD! As in most Caribbean countries, it makes it difficult to get around afterwards due to the abundance of new found swimming pools in the road!! Thank you, pot holes. Add to that mud, and steep hills and you've got yourself quite the combination! Valiente actually means Valiant in english. The running joke there is that it takes true courage to come to Valiente!

At one point we were trying to get up this incredibly steep hill and the bus just couldn't make it.  We tried EVERYTHING! As a last ditch attempt, the bus driver tried to go BACKWARDS up the hill, yes, driving in reverse!  Now, I've seen it all! That didn't even work.  Fortunately, some of the people in that village were able to tell us another route that we could possibly take and we ended up making it just fine.

Before we left for Valiente Juan, Iris, Peter and I went shopping for groceries for the people in Valiente. We bought enough food and supplies to last for about two weeks for the people there. We had two shopping carts full to the very brim and packed underneath as well.

La Romana was amazing. I was able to run a game loosely based on some Camp EDIFY.  It was a ton of fun and the kids really enjoyed themselves.  Me too!

Iris and I have sat down and discussed "Campimento" EDIFY at length. It is going to be SO great. They are going to do it this year just for a week. Next year, we'll go full steam ahead with t-shirts and everything!  I DO have to learn Spanish though, so now I really have some incentive to learn this language quickly!

Oh, and guess who sang at church on Sunday with the worship team?? ha ha! Can you imagine. "Cantare de tu amor por siempre!" meaning "I could sing of your love forever!" I just happened to be in the room when they were practicing and I was like, "Oh, I know this song!" and suddenly it was "Sherely" (that's what they call me most of the time :) "you sing the verses!" Ummm....okay....ulp!

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Haiti, Eye-Opening

It's not always been easy communicating across the miles but I have communication from Shelley-Ann and these are in her own words....

Haiti has been quite eye-opening.

I understand that I really just don't understand.

There was so much that I didn't expect. I expected the people to be beautiful, but I didn't know that they would look so much like family. They are so varied in so many ways. There are buildings that are completely untouched by the quake. Others, like the ones that are completely devastated or the ominous piles of rubble standing by roadsides that make you clutch your chest and leave your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth.

I didn't expect the country itself to be this beautiful!! Watching the news media you would think that the hot, dusty inland cities pulsing with people and teeming with piles of garbage was all there is. There is more than the scenes of the thatch roofed market places and open sewers running with dirty water.

The views here are breathtaking. The country is green and luscious and the soil has a fertility that our bustling metropolis and industrial farms could only dream of.  Our row upon row of monogenetic plants cannot compare to the beauty of these rolling hillside farms stretching upwards from gigantic yawning valleys and surrounded by fruit bearing trees.

I didn't expect to be late.  It is already business as usual.  When survival is first and foremost in your mind and when you are reminded daily that your life is your most precious commodity, you have no time for rocking back and forth on your heels. There is no time for an existential crisis. Human beings are resilient. Haitians are resilient. When you need to feed your family, you do.

Life has changed for them, yes. There are football fields full of people sleeping in tents. I am worried about what will happen in a couple of days when the hurricane season begins.

Life has changed. But life, TRUE LIFE is comprised of more than what is currently happening to you.

I will never say "Why me?" again.

Lesson Learned. Life changes, and the beat goes on.
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Photo Story

Shelley-Ann in Haiti with children, her favourite people

Hatians Learning English
Shelley-Ann brought some lined booklets with her thinking
that she would need them for the children activities she planned. 
Instead, they came in handy for the ESL classes that she taught.

Some ESL Students from Haiti, now residents of the Dominican Republic.

Haitian girl showing off the toothbrush from Shelley-Ann.

Game on! Children at play with Shelley-Ann and Staff

"Campimento" EDIFY

What a Ride!!

“The English class was awesome!”  I was unable to get more information immediately about the ESL classes that she taught to Haitians but the one line above says a lot.

Let me continue by saying, although Shelley-Ann's heart has been for missions, she’s never actually had experience working in the field – well, not that I know of.  She now completely understands why there are few people who feel called to do Missions....

"Who could keep up this pace for any length of time??" she says.  She affectionately nicknamed Pastor Iris "Iris 'wastes no time' Hernandez!! That woman does not stop moving if she can help it."

Shelley-Ann went to Valiente and mentioned that it was fantastic.  She says the kids were simply fabulous!! They put on several dances and sang many songs. They were young but they were like little dynamos!"  She was able to to speak to the kids a little bit and although she didn't tell me what was said, I can imagine that she inspired and encouraged them to be their best selves.

She mentioned that the poverty of the kids was evident and that the church which is their main meeting place was basically a poured concrete floor and wood walls.

She talked about how there was only one light bulb hanging somewhat precariously from the ceiling.  Pastor Iris explained that they were just recently able to provide electricity for these children and they were so proud of the light! Everyone brought a flashlight though just in case the generator ran out.

When reading her note, I started to think about how privileged I am and that I take everything for granted. 

I remember last year sometime that the electricity went off.  I was beside myself with confusion….. and was not impressed that they (whoever they were) waited until it was getting dark to cause the light to go away.  I grumbled as I scrounged around to find the candles that are always so elusive when I really need them. That wasn’t all, the TV wasn’t working, the radio wasn’t working…. now what? What am I suppose to do?

When was the last time you turned on the light and didn’t expect it to come on? In 2003 when power was gone for days maybe?.

These children didn’t even have light much less have the chance to expect it.

Shelley-Ann shared with me that it is not unusual for the power to be gone for hours at a time, every day, at certain times of the day.  I puzzled over that for a while because I know that there is a lot of tourism there yet the locals sometimes don’t have electricity daily? I can only imagine why.

She also went to La Romana and described it as ‘REAL poverty’. and indicated that “it's hard to explain”.  I read through several articles myself on the internet and Haiti has been described by the majority of the articles as “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.”  When she was talking about the poverty in Romana, all I could think was, oh boy, she’s going to see more REAL poverty today when she lands in Port Au Prince.

Booked and Ready to Go

The arrangements have been made, accommodations are in place. Shelley-Ann will continue on her mission to Haiti and cross the border. The earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the region. After a brief stop in Port-Au-Prince, she'll be heading off to Jacmel.

Shelley-Ann is joining a group from Plan International who have been working in Haiti long before the earthquake - since 1973. Plan states, "Our experience and long-term presence in Haiti means we could respond with emergency relief immediately after the earthquake hit, and that we are remaining in the country to rebuild for the future. Our main focus right now is on helping children and their families build strong, resilient communities and create a better future for all Haitians." It's good that she's able to join this group and will meet up with Ngozi who is an Ambassador for Plan.

I'm not sure how much we'll be able to communicate with Shelley-Ann as she moves to the next part of her journey but one thing is certain, she is there being the best that she can be to whoever needs her help.

What Preparation!

Before visiting Haiti, it was important that Shelley-Ann receive vaccinations and medications for vaccine-preventable diseases and other diseases that she might be at risk for. 

She had to visit a clinic 4 weeks before the trip to allow time for the vaccines to take effect.  Medications recommended were:  Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Cholera, Rabavert, influenza, Tetanus, and Malaria pills (she has to take these up to 1 or 2 weeks after she returns).

Because Shelley-Ann is going back to the bobsleigh circuit, she had the added responsibility of ensuring that she would only be taking vaccines/meds mixed with acceptable ingredients so that she would continue to pass her random drug tests. 

She visited a clinic that specializes in Travel Medicine, squeezed her eyes tightly, flung out her arm, received her needles and pills and she was ready to go.  She will be visiting Port-au-Prince and Jacmel in Haiti. 
 
Did anyone see that article in the Globe and Mail about the struggle that Haiti is having to keep schools open?  There's also a blog from Jessica Leader from the Globe and Mail that I found interesting.  She gives an interesting account of her assignment in Haiti.

Camp EDIFY reaches across the miles

When it was discovered that Shelley-Ann has experience teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), they could hardly believe it. Plans changed for a reason! Here she is at the border of Haiti and the Dominican on the Dominican side and still in a position to help the Haitian people. 

Many many Haitians have left Haiti and crossed over to the Dominican to find work and rebuild their lives. Shelley-Ann will be teaching English today and Friday to Haitians who are in desperate need of work and whose chances of getting a job depend on their ability to have some English skills.  I am glad she is making a difference - but wait a minute, look what happens next.

On Saturday, she will be in La Romana where she will put together, get this... a program based on Camp EDIFY for 100+ children.  After she returns from La Romana she will meet with the officials in charge to discuss how to implement EDIFY on a permanent basis. Hello! This is too good to be true. Her dream to share her vision to children and youth worldwide to be whole in heart, whole in mind, whole in body and whole in spirit started in Scarborough, Ontario and is now in the Dominican.  What a great opportunity to help meet many needs. I'm so happy for her. Did I tell you how happy I am for her already?  Well, I am.

Ola! and that's probably the only spanish word you'll get out of me :)  Shelley-Ann tells me that her Spanish and I quote, “which is absolutely nothing is already starting to get better! I think I'll tackle that language next".

I made the comment that since she speaks French, she should be able to manage in Haiti but she had a different story to tell.

"Creole is hard! And not exactly like French at all... I understand some, but other times it is completely different. There are SO many Haitians here!”

She feels a bit nervous about whether or not she can do something on such a grand scale and says,

“Part of me is like, "Ummm....this is waaay beyond my scope of capabilities but I suppose that's probably the point. Please pray for me! YIKES!”

Aghh Shelley-Ann, relax, YOU CAN DO THIS!!

Update: ....so I'm sitting at my desk at work wondering if it is time to go home yet and she just called to say, "listen to this" - well, did she not proceed to sing the Camp EDIFY song that she wrote and play her guitar across the miles in Spanish – WoW! Love it, love it, love it and it sounded so sweet in Spanish too. I can't wait for you to hear it.  She tried emailing it to me but the file was too big - she'll try again.

May 12th - It's getting HOT in here

Shelley-Ann got a real sense of what 'hitting the ground running' means when she arrived in Santo Domingo. Under normal circumstances, it would probably take a week to get fully engaged but time is of the essence and she had to plunge right in. This is my summary of what's been happening after communicating with her over the first 48 hours.

“HOT!! It is so hot here” were some of her first words and then the stories began. Listen darlin', I have no problems changing positions with you. I'd rather be in scorching hot weather, yup, including the humidity than cold and it's not exactly warm here.  Really now, come on Summer, what's the holdup?

I have come to the conclusion that the people that Shelley-Ann is staying with are WONDERFUL people. They are making a difference in the lives of many. Their mission is right on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in a place called Brisa Oriental, Santo Domingo. In such a strategic location, they are able to work with and assist people from both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In fact, much of Juan and Iris Hernandez’s effort at this time is focused towards Hatians who cross the border helping them to find work, homes, education, and community. What a journey and how interesting it is that Shelley-Ann's life has been orchestrated in such a way that she is associated with these people!!

Do you want to help?
Juan and Hernandez's say that Shipping to the Dominican Republic has not been an easy task. The best way to send a contribution to them is to ship things to an address that they will provide shortly.  They will organize and ship packages through a local contact to both Haiti and the Dominican.  I have asked for specific details of what the needs are and will post it in another blog as soon as I hear back from Shelley-Ann.

Shelley-Ann shared what she knew of her schedule with me for the rest of the week and she sounds very busy, maybe even busier than she was at home. I hope she's getting enough rest :)

If you want to make God laugh, MAKE PLANS!!!

That’s one of Shelley-Ann’s favorite quotes because in all of her planning, things just didn’t always work out the way she ‘planned’. She planned to be in Haiti for her entire trip but God laughed, he had other plans. I mean other amazing plans where she is able to do things in a way that she might not have been able to had she gone directly to Haiti.

I have to step back and say that during her planning, her Pastor at her home church, Grace Apostolic Church decided to honour her with a fabulous celebration dinner!! Every penny raised at the event went directly to her. What fun!! We met new people, saw old friends and had a great time. Shelley-Ann spoke briefly and sang about God’s grace and how it has no measure and his love has no limit – the banquet hall was electrified and the call for an encore was loud and clear.

Thank You Grace for helping Shelley-Ann. She also had corporate support from several companies as well as friends and family who supported her financially and took the time to share in the celebration.

Special thanks to Naz Sukhram of Uniglobe Key who donated Shelley-Ann’s return airfare. Uniglobe key specializes in corporate travel but if you're booking a cruise or a vacation, I'm sure he would be able to provide a good quote - (416) 665-9063.

When asked why he decided to help Shelley-Ann, he commented that “I am happy when kids are making progress and I always make these contributions to encourage youths to aim high and achieve Excellency.”   Thanks Naz!

Read the upcoming blogs to find out how plans changed, what type of medical preparations she had to make and when she will be crossing the border to continue her mission to Haiti.

Pre-Bobsleigh, Pre-Olympics

Before I start telling you about what is happening in her journey to Haiti, I have to step back a bit to say that if you know Shelley-Ann, you will know that for as long as she can remember in the depths of her heart she has felt called to reach out overseas. Some people may look at that and say well, we have our own long list of problems right here and charity begins at home. I agree wholeheartedly that charity should begin at home and this is where it all started…. at home.

Her passion is with children and she often comments that “children are my favourite people in the whole world”. This propelled her to start a unique and affordable camp in 2005 - Camp E.D.I.F.Y. The term E.D.I.F.Y. stands for Education and Direction for Intelligent and Fit Youth reflecting her belief that children should be whole and healthy in every aspect of their being - whole in heart, whole in mind, whole in body and whole in spirit. She continues to volunteer as much as she can and is also an Honorary Big Sister to the Big Brothers and Sisters Organization of Ajax-Pickering. She still felt the call to reach out overseas.

She had been planning with a few other athletes an outreach trip to Haiti at the end of the 2010 bobsleigh season (after the Olympics) and 8 days before the tragedy struck, she was able to connect with an organization that had a mission in Haiti. She saw and felt deeply the devastation that Haiti experienced to the core of her being and it definitely put things in perspective once again for her.  She had to go!