Today was our last full day in Haiti and it was a great one. We spent the whole day at the beach with the kids from Pastor Vincent’s Orphanage and Jude’s family’s orphanage. Late last night we made sandwiches for the kids to eat at the beach. The sandwiches were raw hotdog, ketchup and mayonnaise on while bread. We also had chips, water and cookies. The lunch for the orphans was purchased with money that the students raised before our trip.
We picked up the kids from Pastor Vincent’s orphanage first and had a very happy reunion with them. Then we traveled to Archaiae to pick up the kids at the other orphanage. Of course, in true Health for Haiti fashion, things did not go exactly as planned. Our bus got stuck in a big hole. We had to get off (all 50 of us) and some of us had to push. We did make it out of the hole, and then headed to the beach! It was a crowded but exciting ride to the beach. The beach was gorgeous and we had so much fun with the kids. We swam and played, ate lunch, and then swam and played some more. It was a wonderful way to end out time in Haiti. However, it was really difficult to say goodbye to the kids. We have all gotten close to the kids from Pastor’s Vincent’s and there were quite a few tears shed when we had to leave. The kids had written us letters and made us pictures and we opened them after leaving. They are such wonderful, sweet kids. We will miss them very much.
Tonight we are packing up and getting ready to leave. We will head to the airport around 11am tomorrow and head for home. It has been such an amazing trip. We all worked so hard and accomplished a lot, but still have lots of work to do.
We are working with Jodi and Paula to plan for another “Team Water” trip so that we can finish the installation of the water system. Hopefully we can have the system working and the operators trained within the next couple of months. It was a major feat to get the container and all the equipment safely delivered to Grande Saline, and we are well on our way to bringing clean water to the people of this community.
The solar panels are up and working an we have received out first pictures of the new expanded and solar powered computer lab in Grande Saline! We saw hundreds of patients at our health clinics, offered computer literacy lessons to children and adults, taught the kids in Grande Saline how to use digital cameras, enjoyed every minute of our time with the kids from the orphanages, made many new friends, and helped welcome a new life in Grande Saline.
Stay tuned for a final Health for Haiti 2015 post when we return, but here are a few pictures to remember our trip.
SUNY Broome Health for Haiti 
Well done to all of you. I have followed the blog everyday and cannot believe how much you have achieved. A special mention for my dear Son Jodi Tate and his team. Well done we are proud of you! Love Mum x HazellTate