A Corner For All

Today- Thursday, September 24th 2015 is my favorite day of Haiti Mama in it's 18 months of existence. 

First of all, you need to know Jimmy. 

Jimmy is OUR friend. Bon Zamni. 

He owns my favorite corner on the planet. Thomassin 25, Haiti. 

And Jimmy loves his community. 

Jimmy's house is open. 

He is always feeding people. 

He says to be his friend, you have to let him share what he has- because that's how love works. 

I refused to spend $10,000 a year of the donations you all give to rent a location to run Haiti Mama. 

Haiti Mama is based in the community. 

Jimmy's corner of Thomassin 25 is a part of Haiti Mama's soul. He has always given us the space and chairs needed to hold productive meetings. 

Meetings where Jimmy asks AT LEAST 10 TIMES: 

"Is every-ting alight? 

You need any-ting?" 

Tout bagay afrom, Jimmy. Mesi anpil.

Jimmy has given my family and our organization- COMMUNITY.  

Everest and Miles have friends everywhere in Thomassin 25. Miles scores so much candy on Jimmy's corner. 

Jimmy's tings. Are kind of amazing. 

This is the day I cried to Jimmy for 2 hours about poverty, and then he preached back for an hour about what Haiti Mama is to Haiti. He taught me things I didn't even know about my own organization. This was a "hope" selfie. 

This was just a happy Saturday because Ian was here. 

The night Jimmy taught me to take tings from his hand, because I am not his friend if I do not accept tings from him.  

Met my first voodoo priest at Jimmy's and he explained that a spirit had given him the woman seated next to him in a dream. They met the next day. Till death do they part. 

Our last team meeting before I left my Social Workers for the first time to return home and beg for money. Look how little we were. 

Jimmy's place has beautiful energy. 

Jimmy named it:

"A Corner For All" and he constantly dreamed of everything it would be. 

He didn't need much to make his dreams come true. But, he can't say no to the ones he loves. 

Then Patrick came. 

Jimmy's place is where we welcome all of our guests to Haiti. 

And on Patrick's first night- Tausha, Jimmy and Patrick took a road trip down the mountain to bring a very mentally ill woman home so she didn't sleep on the streets. 

It was the start of what's lead us to today, my favorite day of Haiti Mama. 

Patrick joined Haiti Mama to help train our staff on behavioral interventions with our rough and tough street boys. 

He quickly realized most behaviors could be distinguished if our boys had more opportunity for hands-on learning and skills training. 

Oppression causes behaviors. 

Patrick then decided the best contribution he could make to Haiti Mama was to cut his trip shorter and use his funds to give the boys a project. 

So, Patrick sought out a community development project. 

He didn't have to look far. 

We spent the summer planning three months of vocational school for our boys with our first:

Haiti Mama Community Development Project. 

All the bosses agreed to teach, and Jimmy agreed to match half of Patrick's investment before we started. 

Jimmy agreed to hire our hard workers as restaurant staff. 

Today is my favorite day of Haiti Mama because: 

Community Development = LOVE. 

The community is teaching and training and feeding (because it's Jimmy) "street kids". 

Our 16 year old boys are developing relationships, skills, and a business within the community that will create their first jobs. 

Does love exist without community? 

Look what our boys built today: 

Community Based Vocational School. 

Education. Community. Relationships. 

Clouds of Darkness

Pictured here is Gadlain, a child Haiti Mama works to educate.  

For 31 years, I took my education for granted.
I was completely ungrateful.
It never occurred to me that my birth in the United States was the luckiest thing to ever happen to me.
I can see clearly now.
My K-12 education was an incredible gift. So much so that I can't find more worthy a cause than giving that gift to as many children as I can.

Education SHOULD be free.
Education IS a human right. 
Education LIFTS people out of the darkness.
Education EMPOWERS humanity.
Education CHANGES everything.


The day I woke up:

I sat in the small cabin we call our office one hot June afternoon with a family we found sleeping on the streets the night before.
I sat next to Stevenson, as we worked through an intake assessment that had us both close to tears. But, we remained diligent in making sure that we had the whole truth, truth and nothing but the truth.

Stevenson looked at me and in English said: "Tausha, we've never had a family like this before..."

That day, we learned this humble and tired mother of five had recently lost her husband.
He was killed. Intentionally. After paying for his funeral, she was left with nothing.
Then, she made the most selfless decision a mother could.
With her last $600 she chose to pay the balance of her children's tuition for the year, instead of her rent. For two months she worked tirelessly to come up with the money she needed.
Then one day, the landlord threw all of their things out unto the street and locked the doors.
Three months later, we found five children wrapped in plastic on a sidewalk.
Children who had school in the morning.

That night I asked her if ANYONE had done ANYTHING to help her before me...
Her answer will haunt me forever.
She said "Only Jesus, and now you."

In our hot office during intake the following afternoon, she offered praise to our creator; giving thanks for her children's grades. Although they were homeless, they all did well.
And that was her proof that Jesus had been helping her all along.
This mama didn't need the Footprints poem hanging in her bathroom to know God was holding her.
She didn't even need a bathroom to know that.

God told her to educate her brilliant children, and she obeyed.
She lived on the streets with five kids for three months- so they could learn their ABCs.


For 31 years I took my education for granted...
I can see clearly now.
My K-12 education was an incredible gift.

So much so that I can't find more worthy a cause than giving that gift to as many children as I can.