I hope that you are doing well. I just came back from Haiti, totally exhausted. The cultural day of art on June 20th included music by a DJ and La Vallee school band - made possible by the Angels for Haiti, food. Children came to learn how to paint. And they did. They eventually painted 8 beautiful 12 x 5 foot murals and hundreds of something to take home as a souvenir. It was a real. The event took place at one of the biggest schools,a parochial school for boys.When I realized that there were no sponsors to be found for the project, I refused to cancel it. The people in La Vallee had been working hard for months and registered 800 children. Many of them had to be transported via
buses from surrounding villages. They had already put together a set of volunteer to cook, protect the school benches with paper, clean up, etc.I got help from some of my friends, colleagues, patients, and especiallyBertice

Berry and her husband Maiga. I also went to every 99-Cents Stores,Big Lots, Wall-Mart, Michaels, Aaron Brothers looking for bargains. Brushes, paints, Crayola, paper, pencils, canvases, etc, were purchased mostly on my
credit card. I also wire funds to Haiti to buy food and other accessories. That morning, after the 800 children were admitted, many continued to show up at the gate of the school. When I was asked what they should do about
them, a quote from Jesus "Laissez venir a moi les petits enfants," "Let the little children come to me," came to mind. The people were willing to go and buy more food and the cooks were ready. I had no choice than to open the
gate and let them in, welcoming them with a smile - they were so afraid to be rejected. I could see it on their anxious faces. By mid day, we hadn registered over 1,150 children.

They were given a snack, juices, cold water, and for lunch they ate their favorite recipe: a large plate of rice and beans and a big chunk of salmon from a large can which has been simmered in a gravy made of spices, tomato
paste, pepper, and onions. I was told that most families could only afford just one piece at a time, and that most of the kids may had never eaten so much in one day in their whole life. Some were seen taking home a piece of
salmon that they kept closely in their folded paper plate.

Children from all walks of life - the son of the Justice of Peace, the only doctor in one of the villages, the mayor's daughter, and the poor woman who sold her small wares by the roadside - all gathered together on what they
called "the most beautiful day of joy, fun, painting, and eating of their lives. They all went home happy, asking that they be provided art materials because they want to become artists, and requesting that the event be repeated next summer.

In one of the poorest country of the Western Hemisphere where most children have no opportunity to play, and be fed, that day life was grand, everyone who participated had the same opportunity, the pain and suffering got erased
from their faces.

I thank god for you who had the vision to make it possible.

Love,
Dr. Carolle