TUESDAY :: PART 3 :: The afternoon was spent finishing the earrings we began on Monday. Little did we know that ALL of the blind children had either music or Braille class on Tuesday after school! One of the greatest lessons that working in Haiti has taught us is to be flexible… so we were and shifted our focus to the deaf community.
The pace quickened with the sighted children. Ismail was the first jewelry maker. This young man mastered the beading quickly. After each earring was made, he watched Sonya trim, twist and crimp the head pin, then attach the fish hooks to complete the pair – they were beautiful! Sweet angel earrings!
Ismail promptly completed beading a 2nd pair; he then picked up Sonya’s tools and finished all of the steps that she had done! The earrings were 100% his making, start to finish. What a pleasant surprise (and Sonya was out of a job!). He went on to finish 55 pair! As the other students finished the beadwork, he completed each of the final steps. Clauricianne was quality control. If the pair didn’t match perfectly, she sent them back to the student to be corrected.
Over the course of 6 hours in 2 afternoons, 2 dozen blind and deaf children made 100 pair of beautiful earrings! WOW! The satisfaction on their faces was wonderful to see! Each eagerly asking for the next pair, the concentration, the memorization of unique patterns, the focus on fine motor skills, the joy in seeing each earring come to life in their hands!
Each smile confirms the project’s success!