TEAMS OFFER HUGE HELP

February was a busy month with teams coming in from Urban Refuge and Evergreen Churches from Minneapolis... they helped with repairs to our vehicles, including installing a transmission, new brakes in several of our vehicles, oil changes, tires and much more... much painting was done at the Orphanage, Jacmel and Chabin schools ...one of the team members was teaching welding and the building of a swing set for our Chabin school...these teams help facilitate the feeding program with Kids Against Hunger... thank you for making a difference... one child at a time.....
Bob, Linda & Teams

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

This holy night is radiant with the brilliance of your one true Light. May that Light illuminate our hearts and shine in our words and deeds. May the hope, the peace, the joy and the love represented by the birth in BETHLEHEM this night fill our lives and become part of all that
we say and do. May we share this divine life of your son Jesus Christ, even as he humbled
himself to share our humanity.

May God be glorified and may people of goodwill once again experience his peace.

When the song of the angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone
When the Kings and Princes are home
When the shepherds are back with the flock
then the work of Christmas begins:
...to find the lost,
...to heal those broken in spirit,
...to feed the hungry,
...to release the oppressed,
...to rebuild the nations,
...to bring peace among all people,

...and to radiate the Light and Life of Christ,
every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say.

Then the work of CHRISTMAS begins.

God Bless ...... Bob, Linda,
AND ALL THE LIFELINE HAITI TEAM

Update Manitoba trip

Click on picture to enlarge





We had a wonderful trip to Manitoba... it was great to see many of you that have been supporting our work in Haiti... we had meetings at the University of Winnipeg, St. Mary's Academy, and others in Selkirk, Steinback, Winkler and Cascade Colony ... we are excited to announce the partnership we have with the University of Winnipeg with there Lost Prize Program... Professor Dave Bell will be our University Professor and Student Coordinator for Lifeline Haiti... bellfrit@mymts.net ... as you look at the picture, Dave is on the left and the Dean/Professor, Faculty of Education for the University of Winnipeg is Ken McCluskey, PhD is on the right side of the picture..."Kari McCluskey, Community Liaison Worker with Interlake School Division, will be supporting our efforts to connect with the public schools."

Below is an outline of the goal and objectives of the Lost Prize Program...

OBJECTIVES OF LOST PRIZES INITIATIVES

- To use research to guide and inform planning, and employ best practices in the gifted education and at-risk domains.

-To establish innovative academic and social programs to identify and develop the talents of high-ability, at-risk young people.

-To help the students learn more effective coping and problem solving strategies.

-To take a strength-based rather than a deficit approach for vulnerable youth.

-To embrace and respond to the diverse set of student needs and challenges.

-To encourage staff to become "talent spotters," who look for positives in their students on a daily basis.

-To develop the skills of educators working with marginalized young people.

-To utilize a variety of assessment strategies to gauge and improve student academic and social progress in tangible and specific ways.

-To share lessons learned with the field (through P.D. sessions, courses, and publications.)

STAGES OF TRAINING FOR INTERNATIONAL SITES

- Initial, on-site training. Educators in partnering countries will receive training from University of Winnipeg faculty and staff (and from some provincial and international "program associates".

- Start-up guidance, direction, and mentoring. After our foreign partners have been prepared for the challenge, seasoned veteran administrators from Manitoba will work in the school or alternative program - for one to two years - to help set the tone, overcome initial obstacles, and provide tangible, in-the-trenches assistance.

- Assumption of full responsibility. After the periods of training and mentoring have been completed, our partners will take full charge of the schools and programs in their country.

- Follow up. In an effort to prevent gradual programmatic erosion and deterioration, Manitoba educators will provide on-going follow up and assistance as necessary. To ensure sustainability, younger, prepared-at-UW teachers will be training to carry on the work over the long term (as the seasoned veterans and project initiators take the time to secure the gains by, in effect, replacing themselves).

I have more beautiful art work donated to us from one of the girls at the Cascade Colony. We will post them on line another day to sell on line....

Thank you to each for making a difference...

CINDER BLOCK PLANT ---- CHABIN

We have just returned from meetings in Manitoba... photo's are of the cinder block plant at our Chabin location... photo of the gate going into the plant, the cinder block press, finished cinder blocks and the piles of crushed rock... this has been a long process but so worth it.. we will be able to produce 1500 cinder blocks per day... thank you to all that made donations to help us complete this project......

UPATE ON CINDER BLOCK PLANT --- CHABIN

This has been a long time in the making but finally starting to take shape... the rock crusher is in place at the plant and it is working great.. our new gravel truck is picking up rock to run through the crusher... we sell the finished product locally... this will take place till our equipment has been mounted... we have all the equipment on site but our skid steer is down and we haven't been able to find any equipment that is able to pick up and put in place the cement mixer and the block press... this hopefully will happen soon as we are waiting for parts for the skid steer... thank you to each that have made the project come together... will post updates on the other equipment as soon as it is in operation... Thank you for making a difference... one load of sand at a time.......

HEALTHCARE UPDATE....

Please if you have a burden for the health of the families in Haiti please send a donation to our office made out to Lifeline Haiti putting a note with it directing it to  healthcare support.

BOAT HELPS TO KEEP SCHOOL OPEN

We want to give a big thank you to Lis and her family for raising funds to purchase this boat and motor.. you may ask how this will help... the Pastor from the Anse-a-Pitres school will fish and the proceeds from the fishing will help us keep the school open... also it will be used to transport supplies and people from Jacmel with a 2 hr. boat ride rather than a 10 hour truck ride...Anse-a-Pitres is locate at the bottom right of the country on the Dominican boarder... thanks again for making a difference...
Bob & Linda

MacKenzie Porter Benefit Concert

Thank you MacKenzie for lending your voice for the children of Haiti...What a great evening!!!
A big THANK YOU to all who attended in making this a very successful evening...
Proceeds will help in the expansion of the coffee plantation.....Once again
"thank you" for your continued support...... Bob & Linda

MAKING A DIFFERENCE ONE CUP OF COFFEE AT A TIME

just an update about fund raising through our coffee sales...

You will love the quality and flavor of this amazing coffee roasted up by one of the best Master Roasters in Canada.

We have a new blend out called Pappy's Blend ...

We sell this at fund raising events and through some of the schools... we also have locations in Medicine Hat, Calgary, Eastend, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan along with Abbotsford, B.C.


We also sell our coffee in the Co-op stores and Sobey's in Medicine Hat... all are labeled CREEKSIDE COFFEE

CALGARY.... Bodo Store at the Cross Iron Mills Mall

MEDICINE HAT... Posh Wash,..... Cash & Carry Carpets

Eastend, Saskatchewan... Shannon's Closet

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan ... you can order through me via e-mail and we will get it
to you... lifelinehaiti@gmail.com

Abbotsford, B.C. ... you can also order through me and I can get it to you for those
at the west coast..

THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE ... ONE CUP AT A TIME.....

Bob & Linda

On the road...

Linda and I will be on the road with meetings in Manitoba and Saskatchewan over the next week... University of Winnipeg and a Missions Conference in Swift Current...

Bob & Linda

Update from team members

one of our teams into Haiti.... Garry & Kelly report..

WOW. What an amazing continuation of the story in Haiti. Over a year ago I was there a few weeks after the earthquake and amazed at what I saw. Lives lost, homes shattered, families obliterated and yet the people had a resolve to go on. I had never been exposed to a culture so poor in wealth before, never mind one that had experienced such devastation. I went there to help but found their resiliency and desire to rebuild and go forward encouraged me. Now after going a little more than a year later, the hearts and efforts of all the people through lifeline have made changes I wouldn't have thought possible. Little children that were starving and playing in muddy , garbage filled streets and that were dying of disease and starvation are laughing and playing in school yards and playgrounds that didn't exist before. The orphanage my wife and I stayed at had about 30 children there and I think half of them were preschool. I asked the head of the orphanage how many of them would have died had there not been intervention. He thought for a minute and replied that probably all of them except for a couple. I wish all of you that have supported this orphanage through Lifeline Haiti could see what your support has done. We talked to junior high and high school students that were just trying to survive a year ago and now are being clothed and fed and educated. Their eyes sparkle as they share their dreams of someday becoming teachers and mechanics and lawyers. It is not just life changing. It's life saving. Like Bob Davisson always says. 'changing one life at a time'. There is so much more to be done but there are also miracles being done every day as we in North America continue to change lives

MacKENZIE PORTER IN CONCERT OCT. 23/2011 7PM

we are so privileged to have the incredible talent of
MacKenzie Porter... in concert in support of Lifeline Haiti.. concert will
be at the Medicine Hat College Theatre starting at 7PM.. rush tickets...
for those in the Hat you can purchase and pick up your tickets at Action Auto
Parts and if your coming in from out of the city you can phone to make your
reservation and pick up your tickets at the door by calling Red Carpet Events
403-878-3635.... thank you for making a difference... see you at the concert...

God bless.. Bob & Linda

Team making difference at Orphanage

following is a report from the team this summer... thank you for making a difference... Alexa, Andrea and team...

We were relieved to be greeted by Wisner and friends right in the airport. They helped us with our bags and they had the vehicles waiting for us inside the airport fence. It was a very smooth process! Driving through Port-Au-Prince we could see that there had been some improvements since last year but it was still a city in trouble. Outside of the city, we were all blown away by the beautiful mountainside drive to Jacmel. The mission house in Jacmel was equipped with bunk beds so we could all stay together. We were welcomed with warm hospitality. We knew our trip would go fast so we got right down to business in planning out our week  that first evening. The biggest project we wanted to make happen was to build a playground on the orphanage grounds. Christ the King church in Shaunavon, SK graciously donated the funds to have it built with leftover monies going towards the finishing of the fence. Both the fence and the playground will help to keep the children safe and within the view of their caregivers. We did a number of painting projects at the orphanage including a banner for outside created partially by our Canadian students and partially by the orphans. We also painted a large mural upstairs in the children's area as well as the bedroom doors. The kids were very intrigued by the paint so they were each able to make their own creation using small canvasses we had brought with us from Canada. It was their first painting experience! We took a some time away from the orphanage to go to Basin Bleu. It was one of the most beautiful places we had ever seen. Our guides were extremely helpful in our hike and descent to the main basin. We enjoyed a swim and a jump off a waterfall into its crisp, blue waters. Our free hours were spent playing with and caring for the children. They all seemed much happier and healthier than year before thanks to some great caregivers. The playground was being finished in our last minutes at the orphanage. Although it was a frustrating project at times, due to the language barrier and lack of playgrounds for examples in Jacmel, it was so worthwhile to see the children so happy to play on it. It was a beautiful sight to see! Thank you Christ the King!!!

Technical problems...

Hi Everyone... sorry we have been having technical problems with our blog site ... all is working now and will have updates following... the children start school this coming week in Haiti... it has been a huge challenge raising enough funds to open all the schools.... thanks to all that have continued their support through prayers and finances... thank you to the teams that have gone in and made a difference.... thank you to Christopher that put a lot of work into a fundraiser he had in Calgary this last Thursday... the playground the team from Medicine Hat and Shaunavon had built at the orphanage has been a huge success.. we have room to expand at this location and also to build the same at some of our school locations...report from Tim & Chad from Minniapolis that 550,000 meals will be arriving in PAP this coming week... we will need a total of 4.3 million meals this year .....

For those in the Medicine Hat area there will be a benefit concert put on my MacKenzie Porter on Sunday, Oct. 23rd.. at the Medicine Hat College Theatre 7PM...you can purchase ticket from Action Auto Parts or phone Red Carpet events 403-878-3635... it will be an awesome performance by one of the best... book your tickets early as we will sell out fast.. tickets are $40. ... this will be a huge help for our projects ...

Photo is from the Rodeo and Exhibition in Medicine Hat where I was honored to be the Parade Marshall.. in the photo with Linda and myself is our 4 yr. old grand daughter... Avery Lynn...

Thanks again to everyone for making a difference... ONE CHILD AT A TIME...... Bob & Linda

Geography (HAITI)

Continuing on my series of Haiti to help you understand more about Haiti and her precious people... facts from the CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
I would encourage everyone to explore this beautiful country... make sure your connected on the ground with a mission organization....

Location:
Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
Geographic coordinates:

19 00 N, 72 25 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:

total: 27,750 sq km
country comparison to the world: 147
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km
Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:

total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km
Coastline:

1,771 km
Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Climate:

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain:

mostly rough and mountainous
Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m
Natural resources:
bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 28.11%
permanent crops: 11.53%
other: 60.36% (2005)
Irrigated land:

920 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
.
14 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.99 cu km/yr (5%/1%/94%)
per capital 116 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:

lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues:

extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment - international agreements:


shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

Thank You

Thank you to so many have come together to help with funds need in our projects in Haiti.. over the last while we have been traveling and speaking at schools.. so many young people have been helping out.. children helping children... that is awesome.. still so much more needed but every dollar helps..
in the photo is Ivan, the owner of the Harley Davidson Shop in Medicine Hat who held a fund raiser for our Orphanage in Jacmel... thank you to Ivan and your staff for making a difference...
ONE CHILD AT A TIME...

Bob & Linda

A LITTLE HISTORY ON HAITI

I will be doing a series of a little history on Haiti over the next while.. read and enjoy.. they are a resilient people .....


HAITI IS A DRAMATIC COUNTRY in its terrain, history, and culture. In comparison with other countries in the Caribbean, Haiti is described in superlatives: it is the most rural in its settlement pattern, the poorest, and the most densely populated. It is also the only country in the region that was born of a successful slave rebellion, and it is the first modern black republic.



Many observers have described Haitian society as stagnant, but in recent years, changes have begun. By the 1980s, the population of Haiti surpassed 5 million. Although the country continued to be overwhelmingly rural, urbanization was accelerating as the impact of soil erosion and land fragmentation on agricultural productivity forced increasing numbers of peasants to migrate to Port-au-Prince and even overseas. The population of Port-au-Prince was expected to reach 1 million by the end of the 1980s. Haiti's peasants had traditionally relied on the extended family and cooperative labor as a means for taking care of each other, but by the late 1980s, this aspect of the culture had disintegrated. Deteriorating economic conditions were forcing the poor to find new ways to eke out a living from the land, or to survive in urban slums. An unstable, but politically significant, black middle class had emerged between the traditional, mainly mulatto, elite and the peasantry. Migration and the penetration of foreign missions and nongovernmental organizations to the more remote parts of Haiti created new kinds of relationships with the outside world. The transportation and the communications systems had been greatly improved, and Creole-language radio brought news of domestic and international affairs to the country's isolated villages.

The weight of the past bore heavily on the daily lives of all Haitians in the 1980s. The country's legacy of slavery and French colonization had left a lasting imprint on the culture. In the past, members of the upper class cherished Franco-Haitian culture because the French language and manners separated them from the masses whom they wished to rule. At the same time, former slaves created a peasant culture, but always in the shadow of their urban superiors. Haiti's dual cultural heritage resulted in negative attitudes toward Haitian peasant life, particularly toward the Creole language, traditional marriages, and voodoo, the folk religion. The recent emergence of a middle class has only exacerbated the debate over what should be considered "true" Haiti.

SCHOOL IN BAIE D'ORANGE

On this trip into our mission in Haiti.. a 3 hrs. rough ride from Jacmel to the region called Baie d'Orange... if you remember from one of my earlier postings I had explained how we were in such need at this school in Baie d'Orange.. only one book per class, no desks, tarp for a roof, unable to pay the teachers, etc... since that posting we have since had funds donated to cover the cost to operate this school for the next year... most of the uniforms have been made, the tarp has been replaced with tents... they have desks and books and are getting a hot meal each day... teachers are being paid... the food was donated to us from EVERYONE at Prairie Gleaners from Medicine Hat, Ab. and their supporters .. .... thank you to everyone for making a difference.. one child at a time......
Bob & Linda

Water system for Jacmel

Cam along with Nature Zone..www.naturezone.ca
will be raising the funds for a water system for our Jacmel location... water is a huge need for the country of Haiti... they will be bringing in a system that will do a reverse osmosis purifying the water... we will have a location along the main street in Jacmel where we will sell this water.. funds raised will help with our costs of running our orphanage, and schools in Jacmel and surrounding area... Cam collected water at the pumping station where we purchase the water and haul with our water trucks to various locations throughout Jacmel and area... this water was then taken to a Lab in North America to check to see what is needed for the equipment in the purification process... Cam brought many soccer balls and soccer equipment for the children...thank you to all that helped with the soccer balls and equipment... thanks also to Nature Zone and all your supporters for making a difference... one child at a time... more information will follow as the system is brought into the country and hooked up...
Bob & Linda

Water System for Savanette

 Savanette is a location where we started our second school... the water system is a vision of Donny Mowatt, from Camberland Bay, New Brunswick... here is a short version of how it came together... Don was the one who started it then during the year he brought others into it namely his grandson Donnie Ferris & Sheldon Spencer who did all the GPS work, surveying, laying the pipe line and hooking it up to the reservoir (Sheldon doing the GPS work) these two have went three years getting all the information needed, this year Jody Graham (Renew Canada.com) where the solar system was purchased by Don, and he went to Haiti this year and installed it, Armand Cormier (Armlin@rogers.com) operates a Geo Thermal business he was interested in the project and wanted to go with Don this year, he was a valuable asset with getting water hooked up to the pump and helped with the solar panels, these four men were very professional and helpful to Don. Three years ago Don began this on his own and met many barriers also a great expense. Brad Howland from Easyclean in Sussex donated all the pipe and the pump which was a great help.
Thank you Don and team for making such a huge difference in the lives of the people in the Savanette region...