Visiting Sakala!!!
The trip to Sakala was everything we hoped- the organization and its founder, Daniel Tillias, are amazing. He literally constructed a sanctuary of hope and peace in the middle of an area of Haiti that is considered "trash." He talked again and again about how his goal was to build the self-confidence and resiliency of these kids so that they may have bigger dreams and a pathway to achieve them. We only delivered equipment and stayed for a day, but he told me directly then and since that our visit and the knowing that so many people were behind the donations, had a profound impact on the children. To know that people you've never met think you are WORTHY of new things and DESERVE to have a safe place to play and be a kid is, in itself, valuable.
Speaking of playing- these kids were amazing! These kids, mostly playing barefoot on hot concrete, had crazy footskills and stamina, despite not having sufficient equipment. When we arrived, they were all playing with one ball and they couldn't believe that we were opening bag after bag of NEW and gently used balls for them to practice. They included our kids immediately and although Dane and Stanley mostly kept up, they struggled to play as aggressively- I mean, who wants to dive for a ball in goal on blacktop??? We watched these kids laugh and play- and be kids. We watched girls who are not typically encouraged to play sports, rock it on the field. While the practices were going on, kids were periodically pulled away to spend time with tutors working on schoolwork. Daniel explained that the kids in Cite Soleil do not have access to good schools (although I got the impression that his goal is to support each of his program participants to at least go to school, which costs $150/year). Many of his former participants come back as tutors and coaches. There was a very small library, with a few shelves of books. There was an even smaller room set aside as the computer lab.
Then, we made our way to the garden, "Jardin Tap Tap." It is like nothing I've ever seen. We learned from Daniel that Cite Soleil was built to house factory workers and when the factories closed, the land became a dumping ground- except that families still lived there. They have limited access to hospitals (one man explaining that the only doctors that they can get to are from Doctors without Borders), schools, etc. Everywhere you look, there are broken buildings and the smell of burning trash. Apparently, the dumping site directly adjacent to Sakala was owned by one of these factories and Daniel asked on behalf of the kids if they could have it to build a garden. No one believed it could be done. Well, take a look for yourself. This remarkable space is a place for kids to come and be quiet, to learn about agriculture and container gardening, and to plant the seeds (literally) for entrepreneurship. Perhaps my favorite part of the garden, in addition to the brightly painted tires-turned-containers, was the "peace stick," which included messages of peace translated into many languages.
As our visit came to a close, Daniel called the kids together and we talked about the way that we are more similar than different. As we passed out the jerseys for the youth to see/try on, we talked about how the names on the backs (those of famous peacemakers) were chosen to represent the values that Sakala stands for. Stanley and Dane had the chance to read the English versions of the biographies that we put together and a program participant, read the Creole translation. We passed out the blessing bags that the Hillcrest Kids in Action kids had assembled. Some of the kids were very confused by the consistency of the protein bars! One kid raised his hand and asked when we were leaving and was disappointed that were leaving so soon, not giving him time to make thank-you presents for us. Another asked if they could do their Sakala team cheer for us. We each took turns writing messages on the wall of peace. We said our goodbyes and left feeling both empty and full.
The pictures below are from this very special day.
The trip to Sakala was everything we hoped- the organization and its founder, Daniel Tillias, are amazing. He literally constructed a sanctuary of hope and peace in the middle of an area of Haiti that is considered "trash." He talked again and again about how his goal was to build the self-confidence and resiliency of these kids so that they may have bigger dreams and a pathway to achieve them. We only delivered equipment and stayed for a day, but he told me directly then and since that our visit and the knowing that so many people were behind the donations, had a profound impact on the children. To know that people you've never met think you are WORTHY of new things and DESERVE to have a safe place to play and be a kid is, in itself, valuable.
Speaking of playing- these kids were amazing! These kids, mostly playing barefoot on hot concrete, had crazy footskills and stamina, despite not having sufficient equipment. When we arrived, they were all playing with one ball and they couldn't believe that we were opening bag after bag of NEW and gently used balls for them to practice. They included our kids immediately and although Dane and Stanley mostly kept up, they struggled to play as aggressively- I mean, who wants to dive for a ball in goal on blacktop??? We watched these kids laugh and play- and be kids. We watched girls who are not typically encouraged to play sports, rock it on the field. While the practices were going on, kids were periodically pulled away to spend time with tutors working on schoolwork. Daniel explained that the kids in Cite Soleil do not have access to good schools (although I got the impression that his goal is to support each of his program participants to at least go to school, which costs $150/year). Many of his former participants come back as tutors and coaches. There was a very small library, with a few shelves of books. There was an even smaller room set aside as the computer lab.
Then, we made our way to the garden, "Jardin Tap Tap." It is like nothing I've ever seen. We learned from Daniel that Cite Soleil was built to house factory workers and when the factories closed, the land became a dumping ground- except that families still lived there. They have limited access to hospitals (one man explaining that the only doctors that they can get to are from Doctors without Borders), schools, etc. Everywhere you look, there are broken buildings and the smell of burning trash. Apparently, the dumping site directly adjacent to Sakala was owned by one of these factories and Daniel asked on behalf of the kids if they could have it to build a garden. No one believed it could be done. Well, take a look for yourself. This remarkable space is a place for kids to come and be quiet, to learn about agriculture and container gardening, and to plant the seeds (literally) for entrepreneurship. Perhaps my favorite part of the garden, in addition to the brightly painted tires-turned-containers, was the "peace stick," which included messages of peace translated into many languages.
As our visit came to a close, Daniel called the kids together and we talked about the way that we are more similar than different. As we passed out the jerseys for the youth to see/try on, we talked about how the names on the backs (those of famous peacemakers) were chosen to represent the values that Sakala stands for. Stanley and Dane had the chance to read the English versions of the biographies that we put together and a program participant, read the Creole translation. We passed out the blessing bags that the Hillcrest Kids in Action kids had assembled. Some of the kids were very confused by the consistency of the protein bars! One kid raised his hand and asked when we were leaving and was disappointed that were leaving so soon, not giving him time to make thank-you presents for us. Another asked if they could do their Sakala team cheer for us. We each took turns writing messages on the wall of peace. We said our goodbyes and left feeling both empty and full.
The pictures below are from this very special day.
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| Peace Stick in Jardin Tap Tap |
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| The library- books are also shared with local schools |
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| tutoring sessions |
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| kids hard at work |
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| Jadin Tap-Tap |
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| Brand new jerseys for the players |
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| Reading about the peacemakers whose names are on the jerseys |
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| Children state their dreams- many want to become doctors |
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| Signing the wall of peace |
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