So...I have been married for a little over a month now. We still don't have a house together...still working through the landlord issues and looking for another place to rent for now. Currently, I stay the night at my mother in law's house and return to my house to work during the day.
I have another contract to build some furniture for a "Transition House" for a friend of mine. My friend Mike Leland has an orphanage just outside of town and they are preparing two houses for the children that age out of the orphanage. When a child turns 18, he or she is no longer able to stay at the orphanage, but they are usually not ready for real life. I am building some beds, dining room furniture and some benches for one of these houses.
For this project and some other carpentry projects, I am renting the shop again that I used to build all of the beds last time.
Pursuit of Happiness -
We have rented a new location for our school! We will now be able to offer classes at more convenient times for our students. Our current location is a school that we can use in the afternoons on Monday through Friday...it kind of limits what we can offer. Our new location will be available for classes whenever we want...but it has no furniture yet. I have begun to build benches and other furniture that we will need. I have had a couple of sponsors for benches already - they are about $40 each for material (I am donating the labor) If you would like to sponsor a bench, click on the one time donation button on this page and specify that the donation is for benches in the special instructions to seller link before confirmation.
Visa for my Wife -
Yesterday we went to the American Embassy for our Visa interview. I was a couple of documents short of what I need, but I should have everything to them within a week...then they will let me know if they will grant her a Visa to come to the US with me. If the Visa process is successful, we will come back to Omaha for a while (probably 6 months or so) so that she can know my family and so that I can earn some money for life down here. We will stay at my parent's house or my sister Renee's house and I am open to suggestions of where I should work...I have had a couple of offers already - thanks Seth and Mitch.
I look forward to seeing all of my friends and family this Summer. I miss you all and I can't wait to introduce you to RuthCher!
Just a quick update...I will write more and get more pictures to you soon...but now I have to get back to building!
Thanks so much for your support and prayers
Scott
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
The BIG News
Well, many of you already know it, but if you didn't...let me present...My wife, Ruth-Cher.
We got married at a ceremony at her cousin's house and had a reception at a place that we rented in our neighborhood. It was a wonderful ceremony performed by her pastor, Pastor Ronald Theophile. It was in French, but I understood what what happening. I couldn't be more excited.
I met Ruth-Cher soon after I arrived in Haiti...in February 2012. I was volunteering at a friend's English school where she was a student. When I first arrived, I did not know any Creole. One day after class, I thought her and a friend were asking for a ride home from school...they were giving me directions from the back of the motorcycle and we ended up at my house!
So, we hung out at my house for a while and I walked her home. She didn't know it then, but I did. Our friendship grew and we spent a lot of time together working on her English lessons, working in my garden, she even helped me build some things in my yard. We also spent time vising her family in and around Gonaives.
So, my life is changing! We are currently looking for a place to call our own and getting ready for our first child. I have spoken with many of you personally about these changes in my life, if you want to discuss any of this with me, feel free to send me an email and your phone number and we can talk person to person.
Culture
Haitian culture has been giving me many surprises. When my parents came down in January, we had a big meeting of the families to discuss our marriage plans. There was her parents, a spokesperson for her parents - the best man from their wedding, and several other family members along with me and my parents in a living room of a family friend. The meeting lasted almost three hours and was filled with emotion. The end result was a blessing from everyone present to proceed with the wedding plans.
This culture demands different things from different parties in the marriage...one surprising requirement was the furniture. I am expected to provide a bed, dresser with mirror, armoire, night stands, china cabinet and dining room set prior to our moving in together. I have been working feverishly on the list with my carpenter friend Jean Philippe. We are done with the bed, the chairs for the dining room table are in progress, I have a dresser - just need a mirror...and we will see how the rest goes!
Future Plans
The family I am about to have does not drastically change my goals here. Ruth-Cher and I have discussed my dreams of starting a professional school here. She is all aboard to help me with those dreams. One of my long term goals is to have several professional schools around the country. I would like to mentor one or several of my students to manage and run the school without my constant supervision, leaving me free to start another school in another area. I would improve each new school with lessons I learn from the previous school...build on what works, quit trying what doesn't!
My future plans do require help from friends and family in the rest of the world. I have spoken to many of my supporters about the changes in my life...some supporters felt that I am no longer doing what I said I was going to do down here and they withdrew their support. Other supporters pledged to continue helping me reach my goals down here. As I said in the previous post, my funding now comes through my corporation in Nebraska that my sister manages or through Much Ministries in Georgia. Here is a link to Much Ministries donation page - just include my name in special instructions to the seller before you confirm everything. To donate through my corporation, use the buttons at the top of this blog.
Thanks for following my activities, may God bless you as He has blessed me. This is THE opportunity of my lifetime and I thank you for helping me live this dream.
WHOA - I almost forgot...
I also got a puppy! She was a gift from a doctor friend in Port. She is mostly Mastiff...she's gonna be big. Her parents and a sister from a previous litter all have a great temperament, so she shouldn't kill any goats like another dog I know. Her sheer size will be a deterrent for any unwelcome visitors to our yard.
Scott
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| Ruth-Cher and one happy dude! |
We got married at a ceremony at her cousin's house and had a reception at a place that we rented in our neighborhood. It was a wonderful ceremony performed by her pastor, Pastor Ronald Theophile. It was in French, but I understood what what happening. I couldn't be more excited.
I met Ruth-Cher soon after I arrived in Haiti...in February 2012. I was volunteering at a friend's English school where she was a student. When I first arrived, I did not know any Creole. One day after class, I thought her and a friend were asking for a ride home from school...they were giving me directions from the back of the motorcycle and we ended up at my house!
So, we hung out at my house for a while and I walked her home. She didn't know it then, but I did. Our friendship grew and we spent a lot of time together working on her English lessons, working in my garden, she even helped me build some things in my yard. We also spent time vising her family in and around Gonaives.
So, my life is changing! We are currently looking for a place to call our own and getting ready for our first child. I have spoken with many of you personally about these changes in my life, if you want to discuss any of this with me, feel free to send me an email and your phone number and we can talk person to person.
Culture
Haitian culture has been giving me many surprises. When my parents came down in January, we had a big meeting of the families to discuss our marriage plans. There was her parents, a spokesperson for her parents - the best man from their wedding, and several other family members along with me and my parents in a living room of a family friend. The meeting lasted almost three hours and was filled with emotion. The end result was a blessing from everyone present to proceed with the wedding plans.
This culture demands different things from different parties in the marriage...one surprising requirement was the furniture. I am expected to provide a bed, dresser with mirror, armoire, night stands, china cabinet and dining room set prior to our moving in together. I have been working feverishly on the list with my carpenter friend Jean Philippe. We are done with the bed, the chairs for the dining room table are in progress, I have a dresser - just need a mirror...and we will see how the rest goes!
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| The headboard is being clamped while the glue dries, there is a matching but shorter footboard. |
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| This is my prototype chair. I think I will pad the seat. |
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| Here is a stack of six chair backs...after the jig saw, before the router. |
Future Plans
The family I am about to have does not drastically change my goals here. Ruth-Cher and I have discussed my dreams of starting a professional school here. She is all aboard to help me with those dreams. One of my long term goals is to have several professional schools around the country. I would like to mentor one or several of my students to manage and run the school without my constant supervision, leaving me free to start another school in another area. I would improve each new school with lessons I learn from the previous school...build on what works, quit trying what doesn't!
My future plans do require help from friends and family in the rest of the world. I have spoken to many of my supporters about the changes in my life...some supporters felt that I am no longer doing what I said I was going to do down here and they withdrew their support. Other supporters pledged to continue helping me reach my goals down here. As I said in the previous post, my funding now comes through my corporation in Nebraska that my sister manages or through Much Ministries in Georgia. Here is a link to Much Ministries donation page - just include my name in special instructions to the seller before you confirm everything. To donate through my corporation, use the buttons at the top of this blog.
Thanks for following my activities, may God bless you as He has blessed me. This is THE opportunity of my lifetime and I thank you for helping me live this dream.
WHOA - I almost forgot...
I also got a puppy! She was a gift from a doctor friend in Port. She is mostly Mastiff...she's gonna be big. Her parents and a sister from a previous litter all have a great temperament, so she shouldn't kill any goats like another dog I know. Her sheer size will be a deterrent for any unwelcome visitors to our yard.
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| Lucy at 8 weeks old. |
Scott
Friday, March 7, 2014
It's been a warm winter!
It has been warm here, and it has been a while since I last sent out an update. Since my last update, so much has happened, and some things still have not happened.
What has not happened is getting in my house. I mentioned in my last update that I was renting a house for a year. Well, I rented it, but I am still not in it. The landlord promised several things would be done before I moved in, and they still are not done. It is getting very frustrating, especially since I had to pay for the year in advance. The landlord is an experienced connected lawyer, so it will be very difficult to remedy the situation through a "legal" process. I am praying that he will just give me my money back and tear up the lease...or finish all of the things he said he would do and rewrite the start and finish dates on the lease.
My Mom and Dad were here!
My Father and Mother arrived on my Father's birthday, January 10. They stayed for 10 days, what a great time. My Mom got to spend some time with Jan, my Dad got to spend some time with me in my workshop. It was my Dad's second trip down here and the first trip for my Mom. I was very excited to show them what it is that keeps me down here. While the lifestyle is not for them, they were able to see why it is just right for me.
I eased them into things by spending the first night at a resort on the beach about an hour north of Port au Prince. Kaliko Beach Club. What a great place...if any of you come down to visit me, we will have to spend a night there...very reasonable prices and great food!
The beds are done...on to other projects.
The bed projects have finally finished. After we finished, we had built 48 high quality bunk beds for 4 different customers. We have two designs of beds and we have the construction and installation process down to a science. When I say we are finished, I mean we are finished for now...everyone that visits an orphanage or guest house with our beds is very curious where in Haiti can they get such a strong, good looking bed.
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| Some beds up at Good Shepherd Orphanage in Marose |
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| Happy customers! |
While we were building our beds in our rented shop at Mission da Vie Orphanage here in Gonaives, a music teacher that works at the orphanage approached me about building a "Cajon." A cajon is basically a wooden box that you can beat on and make noise. He gave me a link to a youtube video showing the do it yourself cajon construcion. I have plenty of bed scraps and I like a challenge, so I built a prototype for him. It is a little more complex than just a wooden box. The drum head is very thin plywood (1/8") and there is a snare mounted on the inside that rests on the head.
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| Jean Philippe and I working on some drums. |
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| My cajon features an adjustable snare for a custom sound! |
I built the prototype and he was thrilled. I asked him to find me a decent market price for the drums here in Gonaives, and I told him that he would get a significant discount on that one. Looking on amazon.com and other places on the internet, I found that you would have to spend at least $100 US to get a simple cajon. He told me that he could probably sell them for $50 here in Gonaives. I told him that I would sell them to him for $40 and he could keep for himself whatever profit he makes. He eagerly pulled out $40 to pay for the first drum, but I refused payment...Heck, it was a fun challenge...It was my first musical instrument. Two days later he ordered two more, last week he ordered seven more! I have sold four others before they were even finished and I have orders from several churches that would like some simple percussion for their worship teams.
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| Kathy Brooks, drumming away on a nearly finished cajon. |
Since the beds are finished, I can't justify renting the shop for little projects here and there, so I am back to working in the front yard of Beaver and Kathy's house. I string up a tarp and drag my tools out every morning! It is nice to have such a short commute.
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| Good morning workshop! |
Rolling cabinet is rolling along as well. Jake from CoreLuv ordered a couple of large rolling kitchen cabinets that he can use to prepare meals and then to move to the dining room and serve the meals. They are turning out beautiful, but as usual, I under bid the project...If I have the guts, I will ask him for some more money, but I did tell him a price before I started...live and learn.
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| Jean Philippe put a decorative skirt on the roller cabinets |
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| Stayed up late to mount the doors on this one |
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| Here is one of the rollers waiting for stain and varnish. Lots of drums in progress too. |
Support
After two and a half years of support from my church in Gretna, the financial relationship we have is coming to an end. From now on, the support I get from family and friends will go through a corporation that I have set up in the US called "Tools for Success." The paypal buttons on this blog will no longer direct you through my church, they will go directly to an account for the Tools corporation. My sister is the president and a few of my other friends are on the board of directors. The corporation does not yet have 501(c)3 status, so the contributions are not currently tax deductible. If you want to give a tax deductible donation, you can do that through Much Ministries. Just go to this link, it is a paypal transaction, before you are finished you will have the option to send special instructions to the seller. This is where you would indicate that the funds are for Scott in Haiti.
I have some big plans, I could definitely use your help to make it happen. But, that being said, I do have a goal of being sustainable in the near future. Thank you for investing in our lives down here!
Scott
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Rented Workshop, Rush Order, Renting a House
We finished negotiations and started working in our rented shop. There is an orphanage about a half a mile from my house that has a great carpentry shop. It took a lot of talking, but I managed to rent half of it for a month. We are able to work without interruption there...plenty of room to spread out and do many parts of the project at the same time.
On Saturday the 21st of December, as I was cleaning up the shop from a productive week, I got a call from a friend in Port au Prince. He was in the market for some beds! I was very excited until he told me that he needed them before the first of the year. I took a page from my old boss's playbook and said..."Sure, we can do it...We would love to!" I made a few phone calls and rescheduled delivery dates for the other beds. I told my team that we would have to work fast! We did it...we brought 6 beds to Port and installed them while Beaver was picking up Jim Warren and the team from Gretna at the airport.
And we now make drums! A music teacher at the orphanage with the shop commissioned a cajon...basically a wood box that is a drum. You mount a part of a snare to the inside and you can get quite a range of sounds out of it. The music teacher was thrilled...even more thrilled when I would not accept his money for the prototype. I just asked him to help me find a good market price for a drum like that in a place like this...he did some asking around and he told me that $50 US would be reasonable. I am making these things mostly out of bed scraps, so I told him that if he found any buyers, I would sell them to him for $40 and he could mark them up and resell them. I honestly didn't think that anyone would pay that much for a wood box...but...he came by yesterday and placed an order for two of them ASAP.
Video took too long to upload...video coming sooon!
So, now I am finishing the order of 13 beds for one orphanage and beginning the order of 16 beds. My time at the shop will be over around the middle of the month, but I think I can finish the project for a few extra bucks of rent there. For the next set of projects, I will need a new place to work...and I found one! The house that I wrote about last time is the place. Apparently there was a little confusion on the rent, it is just under $5000 for a year. I am still going to try and negotiate it down a little next week. It will be a great base of operations for all that I have going on down here. There is plenty of room in the yard and shade all day for building all things wood and metal. There are some extra bedrooms to turn into an electronics lab and a computer lab where I can teach small groups those skills. The house sits on a road with a lot of foot traffic, so it would be a good place for some kind of store in front in the future.
It is time to ask for some help. I am renting this house for a year with an option to buy it at the end of the term. I would like to buy this house in 2014. I would also like to start construction on my school in Bayonnais. This will all take a considerable amount of support from you and your friends. I believe that what I am doing down here is making a difference and there is not much (zero) administrative expense in my operation down here. Please consider signing up as a monthly contributor with the button on the top right of this blog, or making a one time contribution following this link to Journey Church's Donation Page. Select Scott Peters - Haiti from the drop down. These two methods of contributing both go through my church, but every dollar is passed through to me. Or, if you would like, and you know her, you could contact my sister Renee...she handles my financial stuff on the US side of things.
Thank you so much, please check again for updates, I am living a dream down here.
Scott
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| I get the right half and we share the center area. |
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| I brought my own tools, but they do have a lot of nice tools there. |
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| A stack after the first coat of varnish and a stack waiting to be sanded. |
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| Plenty of room outside to varnish. |
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| Jean Philipe and I rode to Port on top of our bed parts |
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| Here is one of the rooms with three finished products. |
And we now make drums! A music teacher at the orphanage with the shop commissioned a cajon...basically a wood box that is a drum. You mount a part of a snare to the inside and you can get quite a range of sounds out of it. The music teacher was thrilled...even more thrilled when I would not accept his money for the prototype. I just asked him to help me find a good market price for a drum like that in a place like this...he did some asking around and he told me that $50 US would be reasonable. I am making these things mostly out of bed scraps, so I told him that if he found any buyers, I would sell them to him for $40 and he could mark them up and resell them. I honestly didn't think that anyone would pay that much for a wood box...but...he came by yesterday and placed an order for two of them ASAP.
Video took too long to upload...video coming sooon!
So, now I am finishing the order of 13 beds for one orphanage and beginning the order of 16 beds. My time at the shop will be over around the middle of the month, but I think I can finish the project for a few extra bucks of rent there. For the next set of projects, I will need a new place to work...and I found one! The house that I wrote about last time is the place. Apparently there was a little confusion on the rent, it is just under $5000 for a year. I am still going to try and negotiate it down a little next week. It will be a great base of operations for all that I have going on down here. There is plenty of room in the yard and shade all day for building all things wood and metal. There are some extra bedrooms to turn into an electronics lab and a computer lab where I can teach small groups those skills. The house sits on a road with a lot of foot traffic, so it would be a good place for some kind of store in front in the future.
It is time to ask for some help. I am renting this house for a year with an option to buy it at the end of the term. I would like to buy this house in 2014. I would also like to start construction on my school in Bayonnais. This will all take a considerable amount of support from you and your friends. I believe that what I am doing down here is making a difference and there is not much (zero) administrative expense in my operation down here. Please consider signing up as a monthly contributor with the button on the top right of this blog, or making a one time contribution following this link to Journey Church's Donation Page. Select Scott Peters - Haiti from the drop down. These two methods of contributing both go through my church, but every dollar is passed through to me. Or, if you would like, and you know her, you could contact my sister Renee...she handles my financial stuff on the US side of things.
Thank you so much, please check again for updates, I am living a dream down here.
Scott
Sunday, December 1, 2013
More beds on the way...and an interesting couple of days.
How about the interesting couple of days first?
I have been looking for a place to live on my own. I have lived with Beaver and Kathy for two years now, I think I am ready for a little independence. There are not any apartment finder magazines at the supermarket or places for rent on Craigslist - Gonaives, so you have to find a place by other means. Word of mouth is the best way, the other way is to just drive around and look for "Maison a louer" with a phone number spray painted on the wall.
I saw one the other day when I was driving around. I circled back and stopped in front of the property to take down the number. A guy came from across the street with the keys to show it to me. It was downtown, with not much of a yard to speak of and it was pretty small. I thanked him and told him that I was not interested in this property. He asked why and what I was looking for...I told him that it was too small and there was nowhere for my garden. He told me that he had the perfect place for me and I should come back in an hour so we could go and see it. We exchanged names and phone numbers...his name was Garry.
So, around an hour later, I went to see Gary again. He hopped on the back of my motorcycle and directed me to another part of town. When we arrived, I told him that we don't even have to get off of the motorcycle...I can tell from here that this property is out of my price range. He insisted that I see the property anyway...he said that he built the house himself. I agreed...the house was amazing. Everything was finished, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, big kitchen, dining room, living room, lots of balconies. Good plumbing, electricity...every modern convenience that I would need. The initial asking price was $1000 a month...sounds good, but it is a little high for me...to rent here, you pay for a year up front...$12000. I reminded him that I knew this was out of my price range to begin with, he laughed and told me that he could drop it to $8000 for the year if I wanted. I told him that it was still too high for me and I would have to keep looking for something a little less expensive.
He then told me that he knows of another piece of property that he would like me to see. In another part of town (an older part of town) we arrived at a fence and a gate with nothing but trees behind it. Peeking through the gate, we could see a huge yard, all in shade, and a nice older house toward the back of the lot. We were able to walk around the outside of the property, but the guy with the keys was in Port au Prince. We would have to come back later to look at the inside. The exciting part was the price. I could rent the upstairs of the house for $2000 for a year, or the whole house for $4000 for the year. I am looking for somewhere that I can spread my tools out and work...so the whole house is the way to go for me. I need a secure place for my carpentry business to start...I can't be worried that the kid in the other family that lives with me left the gate open and my tools walked away.
After we looked at the house, he asked me a little about myself and what the heck I am doing down here. So I explained it all and what my plans for the future were...mainly my ideas for a trade school out in Bayonnais. He then told me that he was a "Magistra" of an area called Terre Neuve and asked if I have heard of it. I told him that I have seen it on a map, but I have never been there. He invited me to go with him to go and see it...so that is what I did yesterday. A little over an hour of rough roads, across one ridge, then into a beautiful green area. It is great taking a tour of an area with one of the town big whigs...of course now he wants me to open a branch of my not yet started school in his area as well!
So that was the interesting couple of days...now for the other news!
My business is taking off! The orphanage that I wrote about in the last blog has secured funding for 13 more beds...they absolutely loved the first 12. There have been other orphanage directors through the place and they have all loved and asked about the beautiful beds. I have another order for 16 beds that I will start on next week...so, as of right now, I have a back order of 29 beds!!! That is a great place to be! I have a meeting tomorrow with the owner of a wood shop to try and rent some space for a month or so. I don't think that building 29 beds at my current residence is very realistic.
So, I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I make some decisions on my future...where I am going to live, where I am going to work, where I am going to start my first school. Thanks for taking the time to read what I have been up to. And thanks to all of you that make it financially possible for me to continue to do this.
I have been looking for a place to live on my own. I have lived with Beaver and Kathy for two years now, I think I am ready for a little independence. There are not any apartment finder magazines at the supermarket or places for rent on Craigslist - Gonaives, so you have to find a place by other means. Word of mouth is the best way, the other way is to just drive around and look for "Maison a louer" with a phone number spray painted on the wall.
I saw one the other day when I was driving around. I circled back and stopped in front of the property to take down the number. A guy came from across the street with the keys to show it to me. It was downtown, with not much of a yard to speak of and it was pretty small. I thanked him and told him that I was not interested in this property. He asked why and what I was looking for...I told him that it was too small and there was nowhere for my garden. He told me that he had the perfect place for me and I should come back in an hour so we could go and see it. We exchanged names and phone numbers...his name was Garry.
So, around an hour later, I went to see Gary again. He hopped on the back of my motorcycle and directed me to another part of town. When we arrived, I told him that we don't even have to get off of the motorcycle...I can tell from here that this property is out of my price range. He insisted that I see the property anyway...he said that he built the house himself. I agreed...the house was amazing. Everything was finished, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, big kitchen, dining room, living room, lots of balconies. Good plumbing, electricity...every modern convenience that I would need. The initial asking price was $1000 a month...sounds good, but it is a little high for me...to rent here, you pay for a year up front...$12000. I reminded him that I knew this was out of my price range to begin with, he laughed and told me that he could drop it to $8000 for the year if I wanted. I told him that it was still too high for me and I would have to keep looking for something a little less expensive.
He then told me that he knows of another piece of property that he would like me to see. In another part of town (an older part of town) we arrived at a fence and a gate with nothing but trees behind it. Peeking through the gate, we could see a huge yard, all in shade, and a nice older house toward the back of the lot. We were able to walk around the outside of the property, but the guy with the keys was in Port au Prince. We would have to come back later to look at the inside. The exciting part was the price. I could rent the upstairs of the house for $2000 for a year, or the whole house for $4000 for the year. I am looking for somewhere that I can spread my tools out and work...so the whole house is the way to go for me. I need a secure place for my carpentry business to start...I can't be worried that the kid in the other family that lives with me left the gate open and my tools walked away.
After we looked at the house, he asked me a little about myself and what the heck I am doing down here. So I explained it all and what my plans for the future were...mainly my ideas for a trade school out in Bayonnais. He then told me that he was a "Magistra" of an area called Terre Neuve and asked if I have heard of it. I told him that I have seen it on a map, but I have never been there. He invited me to go with him to go and see it...so that is what I did yesterday. A little over an hour of rough roads, across one ridge, then into a beautiful green area. It is great taking a tour of an area with one of the town big whigs...of course now he wants me to open a branch of my not yet started school in his area as well!
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| About 15 minutes out of town, you can see Gonaives in the distance |
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| Garry getting on his bike after stopping for the tourist. |
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| We went on a little hike up in the hills...found a pretty stream |
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| And we found some bananas...the freshest banana I have ever eaten |
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| Sitting on the mayor's front porch, waiting on some sandwiches |
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| Catholic Church and town square of Terre Neuve |
So that was the interesting couple of days...now for the other news!
My business is taking off! The orphanage that I wrote about in the last blog has secured funding for 13 more beds...they absolutely loved the first 12. There have been other orphanage directors through the place and they have all loved and asked about the beautiful beds. I have another order for 16 beds that I will start on next week...so, as of right now, I have a back order of 29 beds!!! That is a great place to be! I have a meeting tomorrow with the owner of a wood shop to try and rent some space for a month or so. I don't think that building 29 beds at my current residence is very realistic.
So, I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I make some decisions on my future...where I am going to live, where I am going to work, where I am going to start my first school. Thanks for taking the time to read what I have been up to. And thanks to all of you that make it financially possible for me to continue to do this.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Beds, Business and Bayonnais
The Beds!
Having been here for a couple of years, I have met some great people. Two of those people are Cathy and Rodney Fitzsimmons. They have been involved here in Haiti for more than 25 years. Their children were raised here. Their daughter and a couple of her friends were down here a few weeks ago. Her daughter's friend started a not for profit foundation in the states to help with funding various activities down here. The foundation's first large donation was for beds at a local orphanage.
They contacted me to help them with the logistics of the operation. First just to see if the price quote from one carpenter was even in the right ball park...lumber is pretty expensive down here...the price was reasonable but they had a short time frame. They asked me to try to find them another carpenter and I thought of Jean Phillipe immediately. We all went to his workshop to pitch the project to him. He accepted on the condition that I would be his partner in it all.
So I agreed...I searched the internet for simple wood bunk bed designs, I found some attractive pictures to base my design on. We got right to it and built the first bed as a prototype right away. They all loved it. So, I bought more materials and we built and delivered the first three. Then I was out of cash...the foundation was sending the money down here so we had to sit on our hands for a couple of days...like I said, lumber is expensive down here! While we were waiting, there was a bit of a design change, they wanted the top beds a little bit lower. We changed the design, reconfigured our cuts for the least waste and moved on when we were able to buy the rest of the material.
The finished product turned out wonderful. They are made from 2x6 lumber with 1/2 inch finish grade plywood for the mattresses to rest on. We puttied the holes, routered the corners, sanded and applied two coats of varnish. We got 12 beds done in around 2 weeks and we were able to squeeze a little profit out for our work.
The Business -
This bed project is exactly what I had in mind for a school and business. I will secure contracts from orphanages, churches, schools and other organizations to build things like beds, chairs, tables, desks, book cases, cabinets...and so on. My students will work with me as apprentices at first and as partners or subcontractors as their skills allow. As they progress, they will gain experience in the trade and knowledge about how their trade can be a successful business. These contracts will allow the school to keep itself funded by producing something instead of it living from donations forever.
Bayonnais -
I have mentioned in the past that I am looking at an area about an hour away from Gonaives to start my first professional school. I have had several meetings with one of the community leaders from the area to discuss mutual goals for the area. They are interested in donating the land for a professional school in their area. Saturday, I wend out there again and walked around the potential school site. I am a little scared about getting something for nothing, but after much deliberation, I am planning to take him up on his offer and start my first school there. It is a pretty good size piece of land right next to the community market. The market area could prove to be a great opportunity for my future carpenters to practice...building tables, chairs, stools, sun shades for the vendors in the market area.
To make this work, I will need some help. I will need to purchase a vehicle, materials for construction of the school and the tools we will work with in the various disciplines that will be taught. My initial plan will start with English, carpentry and computer skills. Our school will have covered areas with light to allow children in the community to study after the sun goes down.
My sister has set up a corporation for this purpose and we are currently wading through the waters of the IRS to get a non profit 501c(3) status. I will keep you informed as to when donations can be accepted by that corporation, but for now...you can still contribute to my work down here through my church. If you would like to make a one time contribution, you can go to Journey Church's Donation Page and select "Scott Peters - Haiti" from the drop down box. Or if you would like to sponsor me with a monthly contribution of $10 to $100, you can do that from the top right of this page where it says "Monthly Support for My Mission"
This area is very beautiful with mountains, trees and small rivers, but it does not have much infrastructure. I think this school could be a great benefit to the area short term and long term.
God bless you and thank you for your support and prayers.
So I agreed...I searched the internet for simple wood bunk bed designs, I found some attractive pictures to base my design on. We got right to it and built the first bed as a prototype right away. They all loved it. So, I bought more materials and we built and delivered the first three. Then I was out of cash...the foundation was sending the money down here so we had to sit on our hands for a couple of days...like I said, lumber is expensive down here! While we were waiting, there was a bit of a design change, they wanted the top beds a little bit lower. We changed the design, reconfigured our cuts for the least waste and moved on when we were able to buy the rest of the material.
The finished product turned out wonderful. They are made from 2x6 lumber with 1/2 inch finish grade plywood for the mattresses to rest on. We puttied the holes, routered the corners, sanded and applied two coats of varnish. We got 12 beds done in around 2 weeks and we were able to squeeze a little profit out for our work.
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| Jean Phillipe - my partner on this project |
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| Actually, I am just pretending to be varnishing for the camera |
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| Truck loaded with the parts to assemble six beds |
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| Some of the finished beds in the girls dorm |
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| These are their old beds that are being replaced by my beds! |
The Business -
This bed project is exactly what I had in mind for a school and business. I will secure contracts from orphanages, churches, schools and other organizations to build things like beds, chairs, tables, desks, book cases, cabinets...and so on. My students will work with me as apprentices at first and as partners or subcontractors as their skills allow. As they progress, they will gain experience in the trade and knowledge about how their trade can be a successful business. These contracts will allow the school to keep itself funded by producing something instead of it living from donations forever.
Bayonnais -
I have mentioned in the past that I am looking at an area about an hour away from Gonaives to start my first professional school. I have had several meetings with one of the community leaders from the area to discuss mutual goals for the area. They are interested in donating the land for a professional school in their area. Saturday, I wend out there again and walked around the potential school site. I am a little scared about getting something for nothing, but after much deliberation, I am planning to take him up on his offer and start my first school there. It is a pretty good size piece of land right next to the community market. The market area could prove to be a great opportunity for my future carpenters to practice...building tables, chairs, stools, sun shades for the vendors in the market area.
To make this work, I will need some help. I will need to purchase a vehicle, materials for construction of the school and the tools we will work with in the various disciplines that will be taught. My initial plan will start with English, carpentry and computer skills. Our school will have covered areas with light to allow children in the community to study after the sun goes down.
My sister has set up a corporation for this purpose and we are currently wading through the waters of the IRS to get a non profit 501c(3) status. I will keep you informed as to when donations can be accepted by that corporation, but for now...you can still contribute to my work down here through my church. If you would like to make a one time contribution, you can go to Journey Church's Donation Page and select "Scott Peters - Haiti" from the drop down box. Or if you would like to sponsor me with a monthly contribution of $10 to $100, you can do that from the top right of this page where it says "Monthly Support for My Mission"
This area is very beautiful with mountains, trees and small rivers, but it does not have much infrastructure. I think this school could be a great benefit to the area short term and long term.
God bless you and thank you for your support and prayers.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Learning and Teaching
Last weekend I had an opportunity to help with a large installation of solar panels. Pastor Mike Leland of Good Shepherd Orphanage got a generous gift of solar panels and everything else necessary to provide electricity all day every day for his orphanage. A couple of guys from Washington State, the owners of ecotechenergy.com came down here to do the installation. I have been waiting patiently for this ever since I heard that it was going to happen. We put up 15 240 watt solar modules. They were connected to an Outback inverter and charge controller and there was a bank of 16 large 6 volt batteries to store the power for the night.
Dana and John, from Ecotech Energy, were great. They answered any question that I could come up with and they gave me many new ideas for things that could work down here. He also pointed out many things with his installation that identified problems with my small system at my house.
Next month, I am going to a village in the North West of Haiti to teach a three day seminar on solar power. I hope that I get all of the tools and supplies delivered in time! We are going to build some small solar panels and charge controllers for charging cell phones. We will discuss theory and have practical experience by building these small panels. I am nervous about this, but I am sure that it will be ok.
Tomorrow, I am going back to Bayonais with one of my students. He is from that area and he will introduce me to his family and friends around there. This is one area of interest for me...possibly a place where I will build my professional school. I have met with the mayor of the area a couple of times and there is a lot of interest already. I want to meet with more of the community and see more of the area. It is a beautiful place in the mountains with trees, small rivers and lots of hillside agriculture. They don't have much in the area of infrastructure. No power, no paved roads...none of the services that Americans take for granted.
An area like this has nothing but opportunity. My imagination goes wild with possibilities to solve problems with new solutions. We aren't trapped in any current method of doing things because there is no current way of doing it. Also, solutions can be imagined without worrying about rules, regulations, zoning laws, etc. We are truly able to think outside the box and start from the beginning with possibilities.
I am also going to bring one of the Safe Water International Ministries chlorine generator kits. I was introduced to this community by my friend Frantz Pierre while he was working with a non governmental organization to help communities with safe water. I talked about this kit a while back, now I finally get to try to get it into service!
Our session of English is nearing completion, we have already begun to accept new students for the next session that starts on November 11. Our Friday afternoon English club is working out well...I sang a song for them this afternoon - several students were recording it on their phones, so video of my performance might just appear on the web sometime soon!
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. Like I said before...I couldn't do this without all of you.
God Bless you all!
Scott
Dana and John, from Ecotech Energy, were great. They answered any question that I could come up with and they gave me many new ideas for things that could work down here. He also pointed out many things with his installation that identified problems with my small system at my house.
Next month, I am going to a village in the North West of Haiti to teach a three day seminar on solar power. I hope that I get all of the tools and supplies delivered in time! We are going to build some small solar panels and charge controllers for charging cell phones. We will discuss theory and have practical experience by building these small panels. I am nervous about this, but I am sure that it will be ok.
Tomorrow, I am going back to Bayonais with one of my students. He is from that area and he will introduce me to his family and friends around there. This is one area of interest for me...possibly a place where I will build my professional school. I have met with the mayor of the area a couple of times and there is a lot of interest already. I want to meet with more of the community and see more of the area. It is a beautiful place in the mountains with trees, small rivers and lots of hillside agriculture. They don't have much in the area of infrastructure. No power, no paved roads...none of the services that Americans take for granted.
An area like this has nothing but opportunity. My imagination goes wild with possibilities to solve problems with new solutions. We aren't trapped in any current method of doing things because there is no current way of doing it. Also, solutions can be imagined without worrying about rules, regulations, zoning laws, etc. We are truly able to think outside the box and start from the beginning with possibilities.
I am also going to bring one of the Safe Water International Ministries chlorine generator kits. I was introduced to this community by my friend Frantz Pierre while he was working with a non governmental organization to help communities with safe water. I talked about this kit a while back, now I finally get to try to get it into service!
Our session of English is nearing completion, we have already begun to accept new students for the next session that starts on November 11. Our Friday afternoon English club is working out well...I sang a song for them this afternoon - several students were recording it on their phones, so video of my performance might just appear on the web sometime soon!
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. Like I said before...I couldn't do this without all of you.
God Bless you all!
Scott
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