News from TiTi

Dear Friends;

I had a long conversation with Sandra on Sunday.  Thursday was the funeral for Auntie Margaret who died after a very brief stay in hospital.  Sandra said that the 7th Day Adventists held a lovely service for her and that the family was doing well.

Everyone else in the village is well but things are financially hard for most folks.  The local resort, Ti Kaye, has low occupancy right now which means that there is less work for several of the women in the village.  The new management has also decided to change the work hours so that the women have to stay later, arriving back in the village around 8 pm.  This is a hardship for some.

On October 1, the Value Added Tax(VAT) came into effect.  There is great concern that this 15% premium will impact the tourist industry as prices will reflect the increases on goods and services effected by the new tax.  St. Lucia is already a very expensive destination.  However, once again this year, St. Lucia was voted top honeymoon destination in the Caribbean and several resorts are planning to expand.

In mid November a team of 5 is going to spend 10 days on the island working in Ciceron Combined School.  We are planning to follow up the work done by the team in July.  We will focus our attention on the Kindergarten and Grade 1 classes.  Our team will work with the students and teachers to implement The Learning Carpet donated in July along with following up on the use of Handwriting Without Tears.  We will also be introducing the Grade 1 classes to the learning bins that we started in Canaries last November.

Of course, we will visit with the teachers and students at Canaries Infant School and Primary Schools, the Canaries Pre-School, and we will make an initial visit to the Lady Gordon School.  This school was originally for deaf students but now also facilitates special needs pupils.  We had the opportunity to work with 2 of their staff members in July at our workshops and they were very enthusiastic and eager to use the new techniques they were learning with their students.

The seats are already blocked off for the March Break team from the youth group at Chartwell Baptist Church.  For the 3rd year, 10 high school students and 4 leaders will provide programs in local schools and operate Camp Sylvester for 3 days.  This initiative has become an important part of our programming and one that has special impact with our youth in St. Lucia and the youth that participate.

Last year a small team went down prior to the youth team to prep more beds and do some work in the community.  We would like to continue this tradition and possibly include a teaching week as well.  If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in volunteering for 1-2 weeks during the last week of February and the first week of March please let me know.  The costs will be the airfare plus $ 250.00 per week and includes food and transportation in St. Lucia.

2013 marks our 10th year of reaching out to the students, teachers, children, women and seniors in our part of rural St. Lucia.  None of this could happen without the support of donors and the passion and commitment of our volunteers.  Thank you to all for helping to make a dream a reality.  Together we can make 2013 - "the best year yet"!

Blessings to all

Auntie Shel

Concert 2012

Monday, February 6 2012 -

Our annual concert - you don't want to miss this amazing event in support of the St Lucia Learning Project!

Produced by Janet Martin - and featuring a cast of Canada's musical theatre elite - this concert is an incredible night with some of this country's best talent, who are donating their time to support SLLP.

Click to download the poster below

Tickets: $35.00 ($25.00 for seniors & students)

Available at:

Good Books: 905-844-3102

Chartwell Baptist Church: 905-844-2801 x.23

Michelle Anderson: 905-878-4637

All is Well

Just got word from St. Lucia that "All is well". Fortunately, Maria did not bring anything more than a little rain as she headed further north and away from St. Lucia.

Also heard that all is well in our village with no exciting news to report. The children are back at school and will reluctantly be getting back into their routines. The other good news about the
return to school is the resumption of the government sponsored lunch programs which benefit many of our students.

Thank you for your continued support.

Blessings

Auntie Shel

Weather Update

Dear Friends;


While this year's hurricane season has been very active in the north,
the Leeward Islands including St. Lucia have not experienced any
direct hits. So far, there haven't even been any near misses!
However, any weather system in the area can cause heavy rains in St.
Lucia. There have already been several serious tropical storms.
I have copied this morning's weather update from St. Lucia at the
bottom of this email. As you will see, the concern once again is that
heavy rains will cause more landslides in areas that have continued to
be weakened since Hurricane Tomas. Just before we left the island in
the middle of August there was a major "slide" on the way to Soufriere
near La Haut. As we drove to the airport. they were still trying to
stabilize the hillside but each scoop of earth they removed seemed to
release more of the hillside.
Many of the smaller islands, like St. Lucia, continue to struggle to
restore the infrastructure damaged by Tomas and subsequent weather
systems. Potable water continues to be an ongoing problem throughout
the rural areas. The catchment systems in Canaries and our own
village of Anse La Verdure are still unreliable.
The irony is that the more rain that falls the less water will be
available in the "pipes". Some of the locals in our area now have
barrels out to catch the rain water that flows off their roofs but
this will not last long when it is the only water available for an
entire family to cook, wash, do laundry, and bathe.
Please pray that this storm will pass well north of our island and
will lose power out at sea. Pray too that the rain that falls will be
enough to fill the water barrels and the village water tanks without
bringing with it the debris that contaminates and plugs the system for
days after the storm has passed.
Pray also for the government as it struggles to find the resources to
make permanent improvements to the roads and water systems throughout
the island. They will need to continue to make wise choices with
limited resources for the benefit of all their citizens while ensuring
the safety of the tourists who provide the biggest boost to the
economy.
Thank you for your ongoing care and concern for the people of St.
Lucia. For those who are camp supporters, your letters should be in
the mail next week. I love having the chance to read them and to be
reminded that together we are making a difference in so many ways.


Blessings;


Auntie Shel

Last Words From St Lucia 2011

It was strange having everyone else wave goodbye to me today as I headed down to the airport. I am the only member of Team 4 that is flying Air Canada. I just spoke to TiTi and Sylvanus, our van driver, had managed to fit everyone in with all the luggage. They should arrive here in about 1 hour with lots of time to make their flight. I may even see them briefly before I have to board my flight.

Yesterday we completed the mysterious process of making Camp Sylvester disappear. Thanks to Auntie Chara and help from Meridith and Bethany, we now have a very accurate craft inventory. We are going to focus next year's crafts on using coffee filters, beads and skewers. These items could be combined for some very unique projects! Chara expects that next year's craft budget could be kept to zero with careful planning. She certainly knows how to make me smile.

Yesterday everyone except Michaela travelled to the rainforest and the hot baths at New Jerusalem. What a lovely way to relax and deal with the stiff muscles caused by all the packing. There was also a brief chance for the Team 4 members to do a "speed shop" in Soufriere.

Last night we went up to the village for our final "dinner up top", prepared by Leona. As always the food was delicious and more than we could possibly eat. Before dinner, we met with our campers to hand out their Blessing Bags which included rice, flour, sugar, lentils, beans, tuna, milk and sardines. While we realize that the food provided is not much, it does allow the parents to re-direct their limited resources to purchasing the books, uniforms etc needed for their children.

While in the village we got word that Marie had done very well in her CXC exams and should receive her acceptance letter to A level college shortly. This is so exciting! She has worked very hard and continues to stay very focused on continuing her education. She hopes to enter the medical profession in the future and we believe she can do it.

Not all the news this week was good. For several years we have struggled to accomodate 2 young men at camp. CJ has been with us from the beginning. As the years progressed CJ's developmental delays became more apparent and it became more difficult to facilitate his participation in our programs. Last year we tried including him in the older boys carpentry program but found it was very stressful for

the volunteers in charge. This year, with TiTi's support, we tried placing him in the kitchen to help out. Unfortunately, this also proved to be too challenging for both CJ and the kitchen staff. Reluctantly, we have decided that we will not be able to include him in camp next year.

The other boy, Iman, has been with us for several years. We have found it challenging to accommodate his Rastafarian ways and dietary restrictions. His attendance has always been a problem as well has his attitude. We felt we could not move him into junior leadership nor would he be able to participate in the carpentry program. Both require regular attendance, good co-operation, and strong listening

skills. On Friday however, the decision was made for us. Iman was discovered smoking marijuana on the property next door. This was an unexpected first. Iman was asked to leave camp immediately and I made it clear that this would be his last year. It is always difficult to admit that we are not able to help every camper and that some situations must be accepted but not condoned. I reminded Iman that he is a smart boy, but that he was making choices that we couldn't accept. I wished

him well and watched him walk up the driveway for the last time. I can only hope that he will be able to make his way in life.

As I drove back and forth to Castries each afternoon for the past week, I noticed how many young men are simply sitting by the side of the road, watching as life passes them by. Far too many still do not have even a basic education. Without this, they are forced to compete with hundreds of experienced labourers who are also struggling to find work.

There is certainly lots of work that needs to be done to repair the infrastructure of the island that was so badly damaged by Thomas. However, the government has very little tax base to use to fund all the projects that are incomplete or have yet to be started. As I drove to the airport today, I had to stop as rocks and dirt from the most recent landslide was being loaded into heavy trucks and hauled away. The roads crews never seem to be able to get ahead of the situation.

Please pray for the continued safety and health of the people of St. Lucia. In particular, remember the students, teachers, campers, women and seniors who join with us each year. May God bless and protect them.

Blessings to all;

Auntie Shel

Video Update

Our video update from the first 3 weeks of camp is now online for you to watch.
Enjoy!  Thanks for watching.

Hospital Updates

Dear friends;

Today Morgan will return to camp after 5 days in Tapion Hospital with dengue fever.  Michaela is into day 2 of her hospital stay and has already gone through gallons of saline solution.  She is much more comfortable after taking antihistamines for her rash.
We have also learned that Zoe has been diagnosed with a mild case of dengue fever back at home.
The score is dengue 3 SLLP 0.
There is no dengue fever in our area so we must have been exposed to it at Rodney Bay where the outbreak seems to be centred.  Fortunately all our campers are fine with everyone at camp today.
Morgan will be fine to fly home on Sunday and there is lots of time for Michaela to recover and fly home with the team.
Please pray for good health for the rest of the team, continued improvement for Morgan, Michaela and Zoe, and continued protection for our campers and the village as a whole.

Blessings

Auntie Shel