So this is the blog entry I've been looking forward to writing for months! Earlier this year I met a group of artists who don't live too far from the children's home. This creative group of Haitians have formed a sort of artists guild and I was inspired by them before even having met them! After visiting their workshop and seeing them in action, I asked them if they would be interested in teaching the kids at Hope For Life how to make some of the crafts. I told them how I had been teaching them how to make jewelry and they'd been selling it to visitors to help provide income for the children's home. The group was interested--thankfully!--and we made a plan to get started once I could help gather all the necessary materials. Thanks to my trip to Miami in May and to many of you for donating supplies, I finally got it all together and was able to give the green light to start the project. Yesterday was day one of Paper Maché 101. Three of the ladies will be going two mornings a week for four weeks to teach them how to make paper maché birds--the craft I fell in love with the most and specifically requested that they teach the kids.

This morning (thanks to the holiday Carnaval des Fleurs which gave me a day off) I was able to go to the children's home to see the craft making in action! Did I mention how excited I am about this?! I'm ecstatic! I'm just hoping and praying that the kids learn well and are able to replicate this after the artists finish their "class". Judging on how well they picked up making earrings, I have high hopes!