I signed one myself, and felt really good that I could thank one USA soldier for the courageous service they do to protect our country and help other countries. Our student ambassadors learned that some of these soldiers have no one, not even family, who may remember them at Christmas.
As one of our staff members said in an announcement promoting the event: Thank you in advance for making Christmas a little Merrier for those who have given so much for us.
The proceeds from our Haiti Carnival, which took place in our commons area for an hour or so, before dismissal, go to help pay a Haitian carpentry teacher's salary. Our Rotary Interact club sponsors a carpentry program in a mountain village, Bordes, near Cap Haitien. Because we are a career training school, we wanted to help others learn a skill to support themselves and their families. We hooked up with a church in Lima, who was doing mission work in Haiti, and learned of the need. The church built the primitive cinder block building, which houses our training program. After two years, students "graduate" and are presented with hand tools with which they can get started earning a living, using their new carpentry skills.
I've had the privilege of visiting our carpentry school in Haiti once, a few years ago. It was more than heartwarming to see the young and older male Haitians learning so earnestly. And we produce beautiful furniture pieces, with no electricity, as there is none available. Some students ride bicycles for hours each way, to get to the school on the mountain side. Below are two of the hundreds of pics I took while visiting Haiti. More from the carpentry school itself and the teacher, coming in future blogs.
