In this video the Haiti Partners WOZO youth choir sings to commemorate the 2 year anniversary of the earthquake.  The song was written and arranged by choir director, Alex Myril, and Merline Engle.  Lyrics can be found below.

January 12th, a day of terror and tears.
Eyes and hearts of Haitians filled with pain,
January 12th, a day of terror and tears.
Eyes and hearts of Haitians filled with pain
A horrific disaster, followed by cholera, and misery
take so many to their death

Your blood spilled,
and your souls live on and you are with us,
Giving your fellow Haitians strength
for the work of rebuilding Haiti

We finish this year with profound gratitude for our friends and colleagues in Haiti, the U.S., Canada, and around the world. We start the New Year excited about what is ahead in our journey together.

We pray that 2011 is marked by peace, joy, and hope for you and your loved ones. And of course we’re praying–and working–for the same in Haiti.

If you and your friends are still looking for ways to give at the end of this year, please consider a gift to Haiti Partners. Any gifts given by midnight tonight will be doubled, up to $100,000, by a generous grant by our friends and partners at the Vista Hermosa Foundation.

Changing lives through education is a great way to end one year and move into a new one: http://www.haitipartners.org/donate/

So, thank you! The choir sings for you in the video below–as a small sign of our love and gratitude for you.

Happy New Year from all of us at Haiti Partners!

At this time of year as we remember God’s love being with us in Jesus, we’re filled with gratitude and hope. It’s also a time for us to thank you for your generous commitment to helping people in Haiti. We’re deeply grateful to have friends and partners like you.

Here is a song from the Haiti Partners Youth Choir, sung for you.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Haiti Partners!

Friend Scott Henderson, or “Scotty Hendo” is doing a daily blog during his time in Haiti with us right now. Below are first couple paragraphs of today’s with link. Thanks Scotty Hendo for partnering with us and for coming to Haiti with us!

#1 Thing to Learn from This Post:
The community school is the foundation for educating children, parents, and community members, giving the people of Haiti the bridge to a better life.

A More Detailed Exploration:
Waking up at 6:00am, our team hit the road shortly after 7:00am to make the drive to Leogane, the epicenter of the 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake and where the Haiti Partners team first began its work here twenty years ago. On a typical weekday, this twenty-five mile journey from Bellevue can take anywhere from 2-1/2 to 4 hours depending on flooding, traffic, and other factors.

Thankfully, traveling on a Saturday meant considerable less traffic and we made it there in 1-1/2 hours. It also helped that most of the highway is a paved, divided four-lane road. Last year, it was still under construction and considerably more arduous. Having a functional system of roads and highways is vital. (Click here to continue)

Local community members were joined by 11 members of major partner Calvary Church, a team from Architecture For Humanity, plus friends from; Haiti’s Ministry of Planning, Hertz, Haiti Allies, and from several Haiti Partners partner schools including CSCS.

It was a beautiful clear day and during the 30 minute ceremony we heard from special advisory to Children’s Academy Mèt Antenor (longtime friend and neighbor and a school principal for more than 20 years), a mother of a child that will attend Children’s Academy, a 14 year old young leader, and Joyce Johnson, Mission Director of Calvary Church. We also of-course heard from WOZO choir, which is made up of children in the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Children’s Academy and training center is a big vision. We invite you and your church or organization to partner with us in realizing it. Click here to download 2-page Children’s Academy description.

Click here to see architectural plans on Architecture For Humanity’s website. Haiti Partners couldn’t be more grateful to Architecture For Humanity and BAR Architects for doing the plan.

Click here to view gallery of photos from ground breaking ceremony.

Click here for more photos taken by friend and photographer Eric Graham.

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.

Yesterday’s performance at Zeeland Christian School made the news!  Thanks to Sarah Genzink and Principal Bill Van Dyk for organizing and hosting and everyone from Calvary Church who has made this wonderful trip possible!

Click here for article.

It’s been a busy two days for WOZO. They performed three times yesterday at Calvary Church in Holland, Michigan for more than 1,300 people and today at two separate schools–Zealand Christian School and Innocademy–for about 750 kids. It was great fun. The welcome and reception from both schools was simply extraordinary. WOZO and the students all seemed to love the experience together. Some photos and a video below.

We are remembering and honoring those who passed on 9/11 and holding their families in our thoughts and prayers.

Wozo sang this morning at Calvary Church a song to honor those who passed in January 12 earthquake in Haiti. It was an opportunity to honor those who passed on 9/11 as well.

It’s also an opportunity to give thanks for safety, food to eat, health and for family and friends. It’s a reminder of the importance of embracing life fully. And that’s exactly what WOZO has been doing along with our friends in Holland, MI who are hosting us.

The performance was wonderful this morning. Photos and videos to follow. Here are images from a beach day yesterday followed by a delightful cook out by a pond. What a time we’re having and what extraordinary hosts Calvary Church folks are!

Click here to to see great pictures of WOZO at the beach.

We arrived on Amtrak train coming from Chicago–a 3-hour trip–to be greeted by dozens of friends from Calvary Church complete with balloons and signs. It was a wonderful welcome and the choir kids looked out from the train identifying all the faces of youth and adults who had visited them in Haiti.

Children at Calvary Schools of Holland were WOZO’s very first audience in the US. And what a wonderful audience they were! WOZO performed at the elementary school and then at the secondary school. The kids, teachers and administrators at Calvary Holland Schools welcomed WOZO with warmth and enthusiasm. Clips from both performances are in video below. Video below also includes clips from leaving our neighborhood in Haiti to all along the way in getting to Holland.

What a wonderful experience we’re all having. WOZO choir members are staying with host families from Calvary Church. The welcome is extraordinary. What a wonderful experience this is and WOZO choir kids are having a blast. Thank you to all who are making this possible, especially Calvary Church.

Click here to see photos from yesterday on Calvary Church’s blog.