September 18, 2011

THANK YOU!
First, I (John Engle) want to express gratitude for the many birthday wishes I received last week. I’m both touched and encouraged!

I also want to share my recent joy of being part of WOZO Choir’s first trip to US. They performed formally seven times in schools and a church but sang informally wherever they went. They received a number of standing ovations.

This was a dream come true and we can’t thank our friends at Calvary Church, Allan and Mary Klotsche, Lisa and Eva Victor and others enough for making it as wonderful as it was.

A DREAM COME TRUE
Our dream with the children has always been that one day we would travel to US to perform. It took five years but the goal was accomplished. WOZO members have worked so hard! Not only to develop their skills but also to improve their neighborhood through picking up trash and planting trees. These are great kids. They have learned dialog skills and collaborative leadership and are examples in the community.

CHOIR’S HISTORY
We began our neighborhood choir in 2006 with the suggestion and matching gift of $5,000 from good friend Bob Hadley. Many others got involved too. Kayla Werlin and her husband Wayne have played key role in choir’s development and in development of Choir Director, Alex Myril.

THE KIDS IN WOZO
The 37 children and youth (ages 8-17) in WOZO come from desperately poor families. They’ve lived hard lives and many lost their homes and family members in earthquake. Their name, WOZO, is perfect for them: a type of Haitian bamboo that will bend but will not break. This past Friday, the 14 original members of WOZO who traveled to US and their parents came to our home to watch these and other videos and view photos projected on a wall. We celebrated!

The parents are so proud of their children and so grateful to all who have made this experience possible.

POWERFUL IMAGES
I hope that you’ll have time to view some of these joyous images and to listen to their songs of strength and determination. They write most of them and sing them in Haitian-Creole. Click here for WORDS TO WOZO SONGS

INVITING YOU TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE HAITI PARTNERS EMAIL UPDATES AND TO “LIKE” US
We send out an email every three weeks or so highlighting positive things happening in Haiti. We don’t ask for money in these updates. If you are not already receiving them, we invite you to add your email address in the space on left and click the arrow beside it and to click “Like” us on the right column. Thank you!

AGAIN, I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THESE POSITIVE IMAGES BELOW.

Click here to see photo album of their entire trip.