Our KOFAEL women’s micro loan program has 10 recent graduates (8 out of the 10 are featured here)! We have been planning a special getaway for these hard working women who very rarely if ever get a day off. Most of the ladies had never been to this part of Haiti just an hour and 1/2 from Port au Prince where a few lovely un-trashed beaches can be found. Thanks to some friends who hooked us up with half price buffet tickets, membership passes that got each group in for free to the resort, and the women being willing to come on a Tuesday and take the local bus and tap-tap to get there, we were able to pull off this grand adventure for $200 total! We didn’t tell the women how much it cost. $200 is a fortune to them, but to celebrate them in this beautiful place was priceless! It was SO worth it! What a blessing to watch their eyes widen as they entered the resort, hear their squeals of laughter in the water, have them ask me to take pictures and genuinely smile without me asking, and for Eric to teach a few who wanted to learn how to swim! Everyone kept telling us thank you over and over and saying “Mwen kontan anpil anpil! Kè m kontan!” (I’m very very happy! My heart is happy!) even as they were getting on the bus to travel home. I pray the memory of this day will continue to encourage their happy hearts for many days to come! We want to pass along their many “mèsi” thank you’s to you who have prayed for and supported these and the other KOFAEL ladies through your prayers and support over the past few years! Their progress and reward of this day would not have been possible without you too! Here are some pictures so you can share in the graduates special getaway!
Fara and Elien lounging beachside while enjoying a “ti manje” snack!Sweet and reserved Julianna smiling big while soaking up the salt water!Alerph is obviously NOT one of the KOFAEL women. But he is a big help to KOFAEL and helped us get the women from Port au Prince to meet up with us at the resort. Alerph has been a volunteer at KOFAEL since the beginning of the program and we were happy to reward him for his diligent service by including him in this special trip! His favorite part was the buffet!The buffet was a big hit for everyone! How wonderful to eat a delicious variety of foods they didn’t have to sacrifice to purchase and prepare!Walks on the beach!Fun in the Haitian sun!Marie Iveraine was such a riot! She was so excited about swimming, diving, splashing, and let everyone around her know just how excited she was with her dancing and whooping!Smiling Doroty asks me to take her pic! She can’t swim but sure enjoyed herself!I wish you could hear the laughter that accompanied this picture!This group simply could not believe they could take as much food as they wanted. When they asked Eric if it would be ok if they had seconds on rice he said, “You can eat the whole pot of rice and ask for another pot if you want!” They definitely ate a few pot fulls after that! This picture was taken after a few rounds as they were feeling pretty stuffed!Eric couldn’t resist putting on a show for the group by hoisting the hilarious Marie onto his shoulders and carrying her to the deep end!And watching her fly! Since she is the only one who could swim she had to be the one!Happy hearts!Thank you very much for helping us help our families and earn this special day!
