The Lazarus Project's July Enrichment Program 2007

July 2007 Program Info - October 2007 Program Info - July 2008 Program Info

The first ever July Enrichment Program at Village of Hope in Gantier, Haiti was a huge success! Sixteen volunteers from all over the US (three from Haiti) taught classes in English, Art, Dance, Woodworking, Cross Stitch and Singing. Only one of the volunteers was a trained teacher. The rest of us just bravely jumped in to teach what we know as best we could!

The English teachers were able to teach vocabulary, some grammar and, most importantly, pronunciation, which is very important when they normally learn English with a French or Creole accent! Christy Howlett taught for 3 weeks and has many stories to tell!

Marni Maree taught Art for 2 weeks. She taught drawing and painting to most students who never had a chance to paint. The class ended with a mural painted by the new artists on a very prominent wall at Village of Hope School. The children are very proud of the beauty they created. Some of the students gave Marni their art to show the people in the US what great artists there are in Haiti. You will get to see it very soon. One student gave Marni the greatest gift of all when she proclaimed, "I feel the artist in me!"

The Woodworking class was taught by Marni's father, Tom McCarthy. The children in the class never held saws, hammers, squares or drills before this class. By the end of 2 weeks they were making trays to be used as gifts for visiting teams. This class opened up a whole new opportunity for them to be able to create something that could be sold to make money for their families!

The other volunteers who taught were: Margaret Bollinger, Haiti (English), Cara Frame, VA (English), Vicki Glaesner, Juno Beach, FL (Art), Evelyn Torrey, FL (English), Liz Schuch, Faith Lutheran, VA (Singing), Tom Lambiase, Prince of Peace, VA (Cross Stitch), Nelson Latona, Prince of Peace, VA (Woodworking), Erika Quinn, Prince of Peace, VA (Art, 3-D), Sherry and Liam McLaughlin, Fon du Lac, WI (English and Art), Brian Fisher, Philadelphia, PA (Service Learning) and Walnes, Haiti (Dance), Youdell, Haiti (English).

Thank you to Thrivent for donating $1000.00 through "Operation:Socks" (May 12, 2007) to be used for teaching supplies for the classes.

If you are interested in learning more about the Lazarus Project or are interested in going on a mission trip to Haiti, please contact Marni Maree at 703-569-5731.