Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you love, goodness and the knowledge of His grace to us!

The Lynch Family

Haiti - Birthing Center

There are so many things in Haiti that don't speak of goodness and joy.

Yet, in the middle of so many things that seem hard for us to understand there is one thing that still remains wonderful, bringing hope and life.

Part of the women's program is to care for the whole woman. 

We have cooking, literacy and business on one street and one block away there is the birthing center that speaks to the other part of a women - the mother.

This part is truly at the heart of helping women and children in the third world.

Bringing healthy life to a helpless child.

Creating a healthy pregnancy and a safe clean place for a child to takes it's first breath.

It is amazing what extra protein and iron can do to bring up the birth weight in a baby.

The mothers are allowed to labor with love and support around them.

Getting full medical care and monitoring before, during and after they have their baby.

After all my trips to Haiti I was finally able to be there for the birth of a baby (or two).

It has been a running joke that no babies have been born while I am in Haiti so the midwives will have a break for a few days.  But not this time - yay!

Hours are spent caring for these ladies and their babies to make sure everything is good.

They are given help with breast feeding as well. 

You would think that for women living in such poverty bottle feeding wouldn't even be a thought but it is a major issue that needs to be addressed with every birth.  

Dirty water, incorrect amounts of formula and unsanitary conditions for washing bottles are cause for great concern that can take the life of a baby with in days and yet it is a battle for many reasons.

In this high-tech, quick paced life we live in babies are still such a gift!

Haiti - Cooking Exams

The container of fabric was almost sorted, we would soon be finished.

The first phase of the sewing exams had been taken. 

Now it was time for the very first cooking exams and I was going to be there to participate.

These ladies started cooking classes in September and now it was time to see what they had learned.

They would be responsible to bring in dishes, clean them, clean their cooking area and make sure they knew all the ingredients and directions by memory. 

Aprons and chef hats all in place, every one was busy and working hard.

So worked with great confidence others not so much.

I was happy to see how neatly they worked.

Fresh coconut, peanuts, limes, and sweet potatoes.

Things began to smell really good.

Overall they progressed quickly.

As I walked through I took notes and tasted batters.

Before I knew it they had finished.

Now for the fun part - tasting everything.

I have to say, I think it was a great success.

A few minor adjustments needed to be made but all in all they did great!

Yet another phase of the women's program up and running and doing great!!

Haiti - 7000 lbs

After you have worked in Haiti you will hear yourself  and others saying - "This is Haiti (TIH)".

It isn't that you don't know that you are in Haiti it has more to do with how things work in Haiti.

For example: we shipped a container in February of 2010 and it finally got out of customs so we could unpack it in December of 2010.  

Why?  

There is a never ending battle in the saga of containers coming into Haiti. 

Most of the saga is because of what we will call "fees".

Hidden fee's, not so hidden fee's and just more...TIH type things.

When we left for India I said to Dan I promise you the fabric will finally be out of customs just about the time we finally get back from our trip after I have been waiting for it for months.  

Sure enough we got home on a Thursday and on Tuesday I got an email saying, yes, come the container was out.

Yet, with all of that I have to say, I love it when a plan finally falls into place and we can get tons of hard work done and work we did. 

Lots of us for a week. 

It took a lot of sorting, re-sorting, packing and un-packing but it is finally done.  We have fabric for sewing school, the sewing ladies who sew outside of the program and the ladies that sew inside of the program plus some.  

We should be set for several months.

The great thing about this fabric is that it is very different and will allow us to come up with some new and creative things we haven't been able to make in the past.